tqmsform society, so that the problems can be resolved. While administering the needed band-aids, students could h~lp to find a cure, at that deep'community level inaccessible to national government planning. In the last 24 years, over a thousand students have trained in grassroots work through the CS program. So many students that, says Mike Rotkin, Field Studies , Coordinator for the program, "The Santa Cruz non-profit sector might well collapse if it weren't for CS students and graduates." The commitment of graduates is so strong because they experience; while still in school, the satisfaction that comes from fulfilling their constructive ideals. As one student, Maria Chua, says, "making a difference in the world has made all the difference in my education." The works of John Dewey, Charlotte Bunch, Myles Horton, Paulo Freire, and other well-known educators inspire a cs curriculum based on a fusion of theory and practice. Students work democratically with faculty, and there's a heavy reliance on dialogue in the classroom. After all, if we want participatory democracy in society, it should also exist in class. Away from the chalkboard, students.go into the field to "actively participate in community groups in a way that they define as useful," says Bill Friedland, founder of the CS Progr,am. Importantly, the program concentrates on what students view as relevant and effecWe Must Hang A Bell On That Cat! . On the following six pages, Oregon .cartoonist Paul Ollswang illustrates a story oflittle activist New Left • mice fed up with the established order. The fat cat, representing Capitalism, has been exploiting the masses ofmice. Organizing themselves politically, andforging for themselves the means to a better life, they cooperatively overcome adversity and put a little warning bell on kitty. ... . ,., · ... . .. · ·.·. . . .. . '' .. ··:.: Page 44 RAIN Summer 1994 Volume XIV, Number 4 tive. "We teach out of their experience rather than just laying the material on them. Instead of purely cognitive education, an education which comes from the head, a more potent education combines the cognitive with the viscera, the guts, the lieart, the emotions, the ~ffect. If you can touch all of those elements of a person, then the education is more meaningful." Addressing real problems in the real world with real people, instead of just reading, writing, or being lectured about ~hem, gives the education, and perhaps the University , itself, meaning and purpose. Rotkin adds, "It's much better than the class where the teacher opens up the yellow notes they have been using for 20 years and tells students what-· ever their professor told them when they were in college." It all begins with a class that demystifies Theory, the one with the lOoming "T'. Everyone has theories about how things work, or thoughts on why things don't, and even visions of how things might work better. "You don't need to be an expert, or have your thoughts institutionalized before you are able to theorize," says Stefano Dezerega, a recent · graduate of the program. "The class validated the theories underlying our actions and beliefs, and provided a structure for us to articulate them." · ' Faculty member Mary Beth Pudup says, "we look at · the·social construction of knowledge and discuss how others, as well as ourselves, view social change." Students read and discu~s theories and ultimately adopt a system of their ow~. For example, Stefano was interested in problems of international dev~lopment: top-down, World Bank-style development can destroy the fabric of community life. He studied a number of relevant theories and ultimately aligned with grassroots development, which, according to Stefano, "emphasizes the participatory process, self-relianc~·, local knowledge, voluntary contributions by the community, small-scale projects, appropriate technology, sustainability and community..building." [See his report on the Kechuaymara project in Bolivia, this issue]. Giving voice to their theories, having the academic foundation,. students can confidently go into 'the field to see how a theory is · . . . ~ · .. ~ :~· .• ·. . . .• . ·:·,:· .· . . • ···. .. · .. . .. .... . . ·::· .. ...
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