Some years past I attended the annual meeting of the American Association of Higher Education in Washington, D.C. I remember clearly the message of the keynote address, even though the name of the speaker has slipped away from me. The message was this, that as academics we are in the business of “making people better people” regardless of our respective disciplines. The message sticks to me till this day. So in crafting a service learning course and project in Cuba I intentionally have kept this thought in mind. For me the critical question is and continues to be, how do we give students an experience that enhances substance of what it means to study Cuba while integrating a significant and meaningful service learning activity that addresses community needs and concerns, as the Cubans see it?
In this regard, we will be partners and collaborators in that endeavor. We’ll bring resources, our sweat and understanding of their reality and concern of what constitutes their well-being. All of this is being done at warp speed. We are in the midst of a six-week online course on Cuba anchored by an 8 day on the ground experience in Havana. We will meet Cubans from every walk of life, from economists and physicians to dancers, students and artists. Our broad objectives are to bring the substance of our readings and lectures to life and to engage an element of the Cuban reality to enhance the promotion of art and culture in their society. Specifically, we are collaborating with Proyecto Espiral, a community service collective comprised of students and young professionals to assist Okan-Tomi, an Afro-Cuban dance company in their effort to renovate their community theater in Marianao, a suburb of Havana.
None of the students has been to Cuba before although one of the graduate students did accompany me on a previous international service learning trip to Peru. What I know from my trip earlier this year to Cuba is that our collaborators and partners are excited to work alongside of us. It bodes well for a productive and fruitful experience that we hope will serve as the first of many more trips of this kind. My hope is that it deepens the relationship and linkage between our Cuban partners and the university. Moreover, we are hopeful that someday in the not too distant future that Okan-Tomi and the members of Proyecto Espiral will grace the UNO community with their presence and their gifts.
Service learning as a pedagogical method aspires to provide a transformative experience and opportunities for young people to reflect on this one in a lifetime adventure in learning. We all should be so lucky.
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Dr. Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado
In this regard, we will be partners and collaborators in that endeavor. We’ll bring resources, our sweat and understanding of their reality and concern of what constitutes their well-being. All of this is being done at warp speed. We are in the midst of a six-week online course on Cuba anchored by an 8 day on the ground experience in Havana. We will meet Cubans from every walk of life, from economists and physicians to dancers, students and artists. Our broad objectives are to bring the substance of our readings and lectures to life and to engage an element of the Cuban reality to enhance the promotion of art and culture in their society. Specifically, we are collaborating with Proyecto Espiral, a community service collective comprised of students and young professionals to assist Okan-Tomi, an Afro-Cuban dance company in their effort to renovate their community theater in Marianao, a suburb of Havana.
None of the students has been to Cuba before although one of the graduate students did accompany me on a previous international service learning trip to Peru. What I know from my trip earlier this year to Cuba is that our collaborators and partners are excited to work alongside of us. It bodes well for a productive and fruitful experience that we hope will serve as the first of many more trips of this kind. My hope is that it deepens the relationship and linkage between our Cuban partners and the university. Moreover, we are hopeful that someday in the not too distant future that Okan-Tomi and the members of Proyecto Espiral will grace the UNO community with their presence and their gifts.
Service learning as a pedagogical method aspires to provide a transformative experience and opportunities for young people to reflect on this one in a lifetime adventure in learning. We all should be so lucky.
---
Dr. Jonathan Benjamin-Alvarado
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