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Poverty
in
America
, however defined, is one of the
best kept secrets in town. This conclusion is discussed at length
by Eal horris, founder of The Clemente Course in the Humanities at
Valencia
Community College
, in his Riches for the Poor(1997-2000).
In fact, Shorris says that poverty in
America
we think. He believes that most of
us are self-insulated. The real conditions of poverty and
homelessness remain obscure, thus
the root causes of these life-conditions into which any of us may
fall at any time should be unveiled and examined if we,
as Americans, are truly interested in helping to resolve
the modern plague of the
human spirit. This is where education and knowledge as a source of
power enter the door Shorris has courageously opened.
In fact, in
Orlando
,
Florida
, where we have lived and worked
for over a decade now, the
Orlando
Sentinel's
January 10, 2002
issue reported that there are at
least 6,500 homeless individuals living
in
Central Florida
. This is a 10% increase over last
year‑ at
about the same time. The
real number of poor and homeless individuals,
however, is actually higher if other independent and more
dependable demographic sources, such as The Pew Center for the
People and the Press are accessed.
Most
Americans should know that the poor and homeless often experience,
as Shorris contends, such a loss of dignity that they have been
encased in what he calls 'the surround of force' and have been
excluded from what the Greek Classical Period statesman, Pericles,
called "the political life" or from what Veniece Walker,
an inmate at a Bedford Hills maximum security prison for women in
a Westchester suburb located 50 miles north of New York City,
called "the moral life of downtown." In other words,
forces such as hunger, isolation, illness, landlords, police,
abuse, drugs, racism, neighbors, criminals, and agencies of
government designed to assist the poor out of poverty actually
enclose them in a "surround of force" which makes it
virtually. impossible for those trapped by such experiences to
extricate themselves. It is as if these marginalized citizens of
our community are condemned to poverty forever. Shorris believes
that those immersed in the abyss of poverty have been excluded
from the moral alternative to the street, such as the theater,
museums, concerts, and lectures. He claims that the humanities is
the way out of this conundrum because it is driven by the truth of
knowledge as a source of real power and nurtures reflective rather
than reactive thinking.
What
is important, however, is the role and function a humanities
education in its more unconventional form might play in helping
poor and homeless individuals find their own way out of poverty.
This is why The Clemente Course in the Humanities might serve as a
way out for many individuals trapped by "the surround of
force."
Part
I of The Clemente Course in the Humanities on Moral Philosophy and
Literature concluded on November 20, 2002. Students enrolled in
the course met for a period of 8 weeks every Wednesday evening
from 7 p.m. 9 p.m. at two locations in the downtown Orlando area:
The Women's Residential and Counselina Center (VVT CC) on East
Colonial Drive and The Wells'Built Museum of African American
History and Culture in Parramore. The class at the WRCC, a
temporary shelter for women, included a total of 8 students; The
Wells'Built course had a class of 12 men from the The Wayne Densch
Center for Preferred Living, a temporary shelter for men,
including three students from The Ripple Effect, a local non
profit organization serving the needs of homeless individuals in
Orlando.
In
order to enroll in the course, students were asked to write a one
to two page application letter in which they expressed their
interest in the humanities, discussed a book or story they had
read which had a significant impact on their life, and explained
what they hoped to get out of The Clemente Course. Two professors
of humanities were invited to teach the courses as part of their
contract load. Their competence and pedagogical style were
exceptional. They are the true architects of this unique
experiment in education for the multi generational poor. Their
work with the students enrolled in these first two Clemente Course
classes was guided by the following Outcomes:
Outcomes:
-
To
nurture in students, as a result of the pedagogy of dialogue
based on the siciplines of Moral Philosophy and Literature via
use of the Socratic Method, a discovery or rediscovery of
one's unlimited potential,
-
To
move students from reactive to reflective thinking based on
their understanding of the great ideas of philosophy, art,
literature, history, and logic,
-
To
instill in students the advantages of negotiation over the use
of force,
-
To
demonstrate among students the psychological benefits of
working within a group as well as the importance of mutual
respect between them and their professor,
-
To
emphasize the importance of family involvement in the form of
more effective parenting as well as the values of reflective
thinking and self dignity as a method of transcending the
cycle of multi generational poverty,
-
To
demonstrate
Valencia
's responsibility for building an inclusive learning community
which extends beyond the boundaries of our classrooms and
campuses to the community we serve,
-
To
equip those individuals encased in
what Earl Shorris calls 'the surround of force' with the
requisite knowledge of the radical nature of the humanities so
as to recover one's self dignity based on the view of the
nature of knowledge and its pursuit as a source of power,
-
To
expose students to the 'moral life of downtown' both within
and outside of the classroom context (e.g., theater, museums,
concerts, lectures, etc.) as the 'door' to the recovery of
what Pericles called 'the political life' in the form of
greater participation as citizens within the context of one's
family, neighborhood, city, state, and nation
-
To
build respect for diversity as a method of increasing the
opportunity for all to participate in the prosperity we seek.
Upon successful completion of The Clemente Course in the
Humanities course requirements, the students were awarded a
Certificate of Completion from Valencia during a formal
ceremony hosted by the president of the college. Students
experienced an increased level of motivation as a result of
the successful completion of the course and its requirements,
to pursue a college level, credit course of study at Valencia
or at any other institution of higher education or to secure
gainful employment.
As
Sanford C. Shugart, president of Valencia Community College and
avid supporter of The Clemente Course in the Humanities, said,
"I am intrigued that learning can be liberating. It empowers
people with knowledge to make their way through the system.
Sometimes people are trapped." This sentiment was echoed by a
first time Clemente Course student who said: "The most
valuable thing I learned in the course is that you can
overcome." What more effective outcome can we seek as
teaching professionals than to know that one of our students
learned something of value in our class? After all, knowledge is
power.
John
D. Scolaro and Elizabeth Eschbach are professors of humanities at
Valencia Community College in Orlando, Florida. John is the
Project Director of The Clemente Course in the Humanities and
Elizabeth is a Clemente Course professor at The Women's
Residential and Counseling Center (WRCC. See http://valenciacc.edu/clemente
for more about The Clemente Course in the Humanities.
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