Professor's Perspective...

Greetings all,

     Our students asked me to blog today from the perspective of an instructor. As such, I need to forewarn you that this will be far more boring than previous blogs. This course has been a real eye opener for me. I have led student groups to Guatemala from James Madison University, Western New England University, Cornell, and Harvard. This group of students is the best yet. It says a lot about Furman, liberal arts and Engaged Learning.
     This is the first time I have had the opportunity to take another faculty member who speaks Spanish, Professor Mary Grant. Better yet, Mary is a professor in our Modern Languages Department. I feel the two of us and Chrissy Carpenter of the Study Away Office have provided an excellent learning opportunity for our students when compared to previous trips that I have led.
      For me, the best part of the course was for the students to see how sustainability works in the developing world. We had a great mix of students, including majors in physics, music, environmental science, accounting, business, spanish, and education. I feel the mix of students provided some significant synergisms. According to the course syllabus, if we are successful, the students will be able to: explain and understand global sustainability; understand the workings of non-profit organizations; recognize effective project management tools; compare and contrast effective global sustainability techniques; and converse effectively in foreign culture. While all are important, I feel the first (explaining and understanding global sustainability) is the most important and the least understood. My latest research investigates the relationships between investments in environmental sustainability, economic development and public health - the three pillars of sustainability. I feel this travel course provided our students unique opportunities to see these constructs and their relationships up close and personal. The students were able to talk with successful labor leaders, politicians, former guerrillas, and leaders of unique non-profit organizations. We also provided joint and mutual learning experiences with students and professors from Stanford, Cornell, Rice, and Loyola. I have planned for our final presentation to be with the Minister of Environment of Guatemala.
      I join our students in applauding the excellent support from Furman's Departments of Modern Languages and Business and Accounting and our Study Away office. Their generous assistance and willingness to support an extremely tailored and flexible pedagogy has made this all possible. In no way could I have ever provided this level of learning experience in the classroom. Finally, Mary, Chrissy, and I thank our students for their great attitudes and willingness to be flexible in such a different world. One student recently shared that she was amazed that my Guatemalan friends who live on dirt floors and do not have access to running water can be as happy as Americans. That feeling alone would make this course worthwhile.

-Bruce Clemens