Soul of a Citizen
STUDY QUESTIONSThese questions have been developed by faculty teaching Soul of a Citizen in various disciplines and at varied academic levels. They’ve been used to foster both individual learning and classroom discussion, offering perspectives for journals, essays, study groups, and reflection on community service experiences.
Many of these same questions would also be useful for book groups, or any contexts where people are reading Soul of a Citizen together. If you're already teaching the book and think of additional questions that have sparked useful reflection and discussion, please email them to Loeb@soulofacitizen.org. Because I keep adding new questions, please check this page periodically.
If you're teaching a relevant course and would like a free examination copy, you can get the details here, as well as comments on teaching it in classrooms.
If you'd like to combine teaching the book with outside community service projects, see service learning for how a number of courses are doing this.
I’ve clustered the following questions by chapter: Introduction, Chapters 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,10,11, and 12, though many apply to the entire book. I've also included a quiz developed for a freshman composition class, questions asked me by students in a senior capstone course I visited, links to campus-based groups you can get students involved in, and suggestions [in brackets] for approaching classroom discussion.[Discussion tips: Students of all political beliefs really respond to Soul of a Citizen. It inspires them to think about what they can do to help create a more humane world. A few conservative students have gotten upset by my criticisms of Republican policies (although I also criticize Bill Clinton). Of course, not every individual will agree with every point in any given book, or any given class, and that's part of what we're trying to teach. But some professors have effectively prefaced their initial discussion by stressing that as students read the book’s examples of community involvement, they won’t necessarily agree with every perspective, and that’s fine. As I say in the book, readers should take whatever they can from it, and use it to reflect on how they might learn to think through their own core beliefs and then act on them.]
INTRODUCTION
What barriers does Loeb find to individuals’ involvement in efforts to make society better? What comes to mind when you hear the term "social activist"? Explore your experience with social activism and the experiences of those you know."It takes energy to act," says fisherman and environmental activist Pete Knutson. "But it’s more draining to bury your anger, convince yourself you’re powerless, and swallow whatever’s handed to you. The times I’ve compromised my integrity and accepted something I shouldn’t, the ghosts of my choices have haunted me. When you get involved in something meaningful, you make your life count." Do you agree with Pete’s statement? Why, or why not? Were you surprised that he and his friends were able to defeat the huge wealthy interests that sought to drive them out of business?
Loeb says we don’t know the stories of how ordinary Americans have acted together to change this society for the better. Have you been taught how your actions as a citizen can matter? What have you learned about citizen involvement from your classes, your family, the media, and your religious institutions? What role should discussing citizen activism play in high school and college education?
CHAPTER 1: MAKING OUR LIVES COUNT
"When we shrink from the world, our souls shrink, too," writes Loeb. Do you agree with this quote? Explain. Are there times when you have stayed silent over a public issue? Do you think it’s always better to speak out?Discuss the following quote: "We become human only in the company of other human beings." What’s your reaction?
Why does Loeb tell the story of Virginia Ramirez? Why does her husband tell her, "That’s not your role"? Have you ever been told that you shouldn’t do something because it’s not your role or place? Did it surprise you that someone who started in a situation so seemingly powerless could help create so much change?
CHAPTER 2: WE DON’T HAVE TO BE SAINTS
[Discussion tips: The next two chapters explore how ordinary and seemingly powerless individuals can create powerful social change. That's a hard concept for many students to grasp, because it cuts against the grain of our culture. So they may distance themselves from the people whose stories I present here and elsewhere, saying they could never do anything comparable. It helps to focus on the humble beginnings of the individuals I profile, and stress that they started out just as apprehensive as--and perhaps more powerless than--the students now reading their stories.]
Was Rosa Parks a "social activist"? What parts of her history have been ignored? Do you agree with Loeb’s point that "Parks’s decision didn’t come out of nowhere"? Explain. How well does the Rosa Parks example support Loeb’s main argument in this chapter?We "wait our entire lives to find the ideal moment" to get involved, Loeb writes. What do you think? Has the "perfect standard" discouraged you from getting involved in your community? Did it surprise you that King got a "C" in his philosophy class? Why do you think Loeb included this detail?
Consider this quote: "Contrary to expectation, we’re most effective when we realize that there is no perfect time to get involved in social causes, no ideal circumstances for voicing our convictions. What each of us faces instead is a lifelong series of imperfect moments in which we must decide what to stand for." What argument is Loeb making here? Do you agree? Explain. Are we ever too busy to get involved? If you really want to do something (such as service), can you always find time?Loeb states that "change is the product of deliberate, incremental action whereby we join together to try to shape a better world." Have you ever considered yourself to be a social activist? Have you ever taken a stand on an issue or been involved in some sort of social action? Explain. If you answered no to these questions, what do you think stops you from becoming more socially involved? (Be sure and include the reasons Loeb gives for why people are often reluctant to get involved in social action.)
Can you think of an issue that you believe you should be speaking out on? What is one small thing you would be willing to do to speak out, like writing a letter to a legislator, to the campus or community paper, or going to a meeting of an active student group? Try to do that one small action, and then write about what it felt like. Feel free to do it together with someone else in or outside of the class.
According to Loeb, does social change come about by the single act of a great person? If not, how? Please elaborate and give examples. How could ordinary citizens work on the problems you see in your service experience?
Do you have "a willingness to live with ambiguity"? What might this mean? How important is it to be consistent as a citizen?
CHAPTER 3: ONE STEP AT A TIME
When Los Angeles activist Suzy Marks hid behind her peace sign, did this evoke a familiar feeling for you? Have you ever felt like hiding and becoming invisible while participating in some new kind of activity?This chapter looks at what in our lives has held us back from social activism and also what encourages us to try to get socially involved. Think about the messages you got from your community, your family, and your religion (if you have one) about the importance or unimportance of getting involved in trying to make the world a better place. Discuss these messages. The chapter also talks about how each of us has particular abilities that we enjoy doing that we can use in social activism, such as artistic talent, writing abilities, leadership skills, being a good talker, etc. What abilities or skills do you have or parts of yourself that you might be able to use to help a particular cause?
Did you know about Maine’s Clean Elections initiative? Did you know about Deborah Prothrow-Stith’s success in stopping youth violence in Boston, or Adam Werbach becoming national president of the Sierra Club at age 23? If you didn’t, what does this say about our media culture, and about the potential of any of us to make an impact and grow through our actions? Does this new knowledge give you hope?
CHAPTER 4: THE CYNICAL SMIRK
"America’s prevailing culture of cynicism," Loeb writes, "insists that nothing we do can matter. It teaches us not to get involved in shaping the world we’ll pass on to our children." Do you agree with Loeb’s characterization of contemporary cynicism as corrosive? Do you recognize his description in people you know or in yourself?Have you ever received "the cynical smirk" when you’ve tried to do something worthwhile? Or even when you've mentioned some issue you care about?
Loeb talks about how the cynicism of our society encourages us to distance ourselves from the suffering of others; how the gap between rich and poor in this country has widened substantially, and how we use cynicism to convince ourselves that there's no point in getting involved. "If we convince ourselves that nothing can change, we don't have to risk acting on our dreams." How has this concept affected you?
The chapter also discusses how twenty-somethings have been unfairly labeled by the media as "...universally self-indulgent and apathetic, as if they were missing a key chromosome for compassion or moral conviction." Is the stereotype valid? Explain. If not, how could our society encourage more idealism in your generation?
How can we learn when to question authority and when to trust it? Who do you trust? What messages about trust have you learned from our culture? Is there a way to question authority without becoming cynical?
CHAPTER 5: UNFORESEEN FRUITS
This chapter talks about how, throughout history, movements have sprung up to promote social justice. People in these movements have had to wait many years sometimes to see any changes happen. As Loeb quotes Sonya Vetra Tinsley: "So much needs to be done to educate people on how the freedoms and rights we take for granted didn't come about through chance, coincidence, or benevolence, but through struggle and intention. There's very little of worth in our society that someone didn't fight for."Think about the movements for social justice that have made a difference in your life and in the lives of your family members. For example, without the women's suffrage movement, the women in this class would still not be able to vote. Think about all the aspects of your life: social, work, economic, family, religious, etc., and think about all the rights and privileges that you enjoy that were earned by the work of active citizens. Try to list at least five of these rights, privileges, and gains in human dignity that grew out of the movements they created--for instance the 40-hour work week and laws against child labor.
Do the other antidotes to cynicism presented in Chapter 5 persuade you? That is, do you believe these ideas and examples could reduce cynicism in yourself and others you know?
Did you know about the American student anti-apartheid movement before you read this chapter? What recent and current student movements have you heard about?
Was Derrick Bell foolish to resign his tenured position at Harvard Law School? Were the results worth the cost?
As Loeb describes, student activist Tess Rondeau registered 300 voters on her campus--in an election her Congressman one by 21 votes. Does this example, and the closeness of the 2000 presidential election, make you more likely to vote or volunteer for candidates you support?
What kind of results do you expect when you try to change the world? Could you do this work if you couldn't see the fruits of your efforts right away?
CHAPTER 6: THE CALL OF STORIES
This chapter focuses on stories. Do you have a favorite story from this chapter, or from the book? How might this story influence your life? Has Loeb persuaded you that telling stories about our commitments can make a difference?What does the author mean when he states that, "other people's stories can expand our view of the world"? Discuss the importance of listening to other people's stories. Why are other people's stories important to hear, even if we're not victims of social injustice?
How do you learn to distinguish true stories from false? Does Loeb offer lessons about how to reconcile stories that seem to conflict, as in Sister Helen Prejean’s work with Death Row inmates and with the families of their victims?
How is it different to take a stand for your own community, like Virginia Ramirez, or to win humane treatment for a different community, like Carol McNulty’s involvement challenging the sweatshop practices of the Gap?
Does the story of David Lewis change your perception of how we should approach crime and rehabilitation?Have you read any self-help books? Are they a force for social change or for withdrawal from larger issues to a purely personal life? Explain?
What stories might you tell from your own life? What story would sum up your own life? What stories shaped your views of community involvement? How would you write your political autobiography?
CHAPTER 7: VALUES, WORK, AND FAMILY
This chapter deals with work and family issues. As you read it, you may have thought of your parents' work and your experiences growing up in your family--or your work and family now--or your career and family after you graduate. What thoughts came up for you as you read this chapter? Do you think that businesses need to concern themselves with "the larger social good"? How might you be able to incorporate social responsibility in your future workplace?Discussing Yvon Chouinard, head of the outdoor clothing company, Patagonia, Loeb says, "Chouinard’s participation in environmental activism was even more deeply gratifying than his corporate success, because it produced results well beyond what he could achieve personally." Do you find this example convincing? Why, or why not?
If you plan to go into the corporate world and hope to make change there, what's your expectation about how you'll make an impact with your values? Through speaking your mind on difficult issues? Through working with other employees to achieve specific goals? Through supporting the efforts of citizen groups who are pressuring your company from the outside? What does the Inland Steel example teach us about the relation between individual and collective actions for change within a corporate context?
Loeb suggests that our society lacks a concept of "enough"—that we’re taught to never be satisfied unless we consume more. What level of material comfort do you think you need to be happy? Can you achieve this while also being involved in your community?
A growing number of schools are promoting public graduation pledges, where, as part of their ceremony, students pledge "to explore and take into account the social and environmental consequences of any job I consider and will try to improve these aspects of any organizations for which I work." See graduation pledge for more information. Would you feel comfortable taking such a pledge, or organizing one at your school? How would such a pledge shape your choices?
"Our most fundamental responsibility as citizens," Loeb writes, "is to love not only our own children, but other people’s as well—including children we will never meet, who grow up in situations we’d prefer to ignore." In other words, focusing beyond our families is fundamental to our public lives and commitments. If you repeated this quote in one of your classes, or to a group of your friends hanging out for the evening, or to your family, what kinds of responses do you think you would receive? How would you interpret their reaction? (You might actually do this as an experiment, rather than trying to imagine what might happen.)
Loeb suggests parents set models of community involvement or withdrawal for their children. What models did you get from your family? What models would you like to show your own children?
How do you hope to balance work, family, and community involvement after you graduate? Do you know any people who’ve managed to do justice to all three?
CHAPTER 8: VILLAGE POLITICS
[Discussion tips: Sections of this chapter deal explicitly with the tension between volunteerism and advocacy, which weaves throughout the book. Our culture encourages students to be volunteers, and many have had high school volunteer experiences. Although they may feel apprehensive getting out into the community for one-one-one projects, still working with Habitat or Boys and Girls Clubs probably won't absolutely terrify them. The harder challenge is for them to address the roots of issues that come up while they're volunteering for these kinds of excellent groups. I'd suggest encouraging them to develop their commitments one step at a time. If it pushes their comfort zone just to get out into the community, that's fine for a start. But then they can learn from their experience to begin asking some larger questions.]
This chapter talks about the importance of connecting with various institutions in our communities to help us further the causes we believe in. Think of a social problem or issue that interests you. It can be one that affects you or others in your community or even outside of your community. It can be a campus, city, state, national, or even global issue. What issue have you chosen, and why have you chosen it? What would you like to see happen with this issue? Next, think of which groups that you are connected to that you could enlist to help you achieve your goal. It could be friends, church/synagogue/mosque, college classes, campus clubs, your dorm, your neighborhood, etc. Why did you choose the specific groups you listed?Taking an issue that you have identified, what are some ways you and your "village" could help people directly dealing with this issue directly to help create social change? For instance, if you're concerned with battered women, you might volunteer at a battered women's shelter and recruit others to do the same, by speaking at your church or synagogue about domestic violence. At the same time, to get more services for battered women, you might ask your "village" to meet with your state representatives and talk about the importance of getting more services for battered women. That would help change the situation of many battered women, rather than just helping one at a time.
Loeb quotes Harvard public policy professor Robert Putnam’s finding that over the past several decades more Americans have been bowling, while league bowling has steadily declined. More Americans now bowl in a typical year than vote in Congressional elections, but Americans are, in Putnam’s phrase, "bowling alone," instead of in groups. Should we be concerned about such statistics? Are we losing a sense of community? How does this affect community involvement?
Communities can also have their limits. Loeb entitles one of his sections, "Let’s not talk about the bad things." Do you think many of us are afflicted with "misplaced politeness"? Use examples from the text and your own experiences.
This chapter also addresses the relationship between one-on-one volunteer work and efforts at long-term change. What is the lesson in the story where the Stanford student says he hopes his grandchildren will get to volunteer in the same homeless shelter as he has? What would it take to create a society where people didn't have to sleep in shelters or in the streets? Do you think we could make this happen by the time your grandchildren come along?
Loeb writes about "the politics of witness" as a bridge from one-on-one service to broader social change. Explain this concept. Have you noticed anything in your community service projects about which kinds of governmental and institutional choices we need to change? How could you draw on your experiences to get involved in larger issues? Try visiting a local group that works to change policies on these issues, and interviewing participants. Or write a letter (to the campus paper, a local paper, or an elected official). Or develop a class presentation where you talk about what you've learned, and the changes that could help the communities you've worked with.
CHAPTER 9: WIDENING THE CIRCLE
Loeb discusses, in this chapter, the importance of seeking out other people whose points of view may be different from yours. He also talks about the importance of involving many different groups to work on social action issues. What does he mean when he states, "The more we listen to those whose experiences and perspectives are unfamiliar, the more we realize what draws us together"? Give an example from the chapter of how people who generally might seem to have nothing in common worked together to make a positive change. Think about your own life, and ask yourself how often you put yourself in situations where you are exposed to people who may have very different ideas or lead very different lives than your own.Can people with different political beliefs work together? Can you think of any examples? What do you believe motivated former Ku Klux Klansman C.P. Ellis to change?
Have you ever been intimidated by the language or knowledge of people who are involved in activist causes? What would have made you feel more welcome? Or if you’re already involved, how could you reach out to people who feel too hesitant to take the first step?
Loeb also talks about the dangers of holding onto anger. What does he mean when he states, "To forgive another person from the heart is an act of liberation"?
CHAPTER 10: COPING WITH BURNOUT
Have you ever been burned out while involved in a social cause? What about while participating in other activities? Does fear of burnout hold you back from social involvement? How do we balance our larger commitments and our personal lives? What are some ideas in the chapter that could help prevent your burning out?Can you imagine yourself living to 100, like Hazel Wolf, and being involved your entire life? What qualities allowed Hazel to keep on? Can we learn from Hazel's ability to take on the most serious issues, yet keep enough of a sense of humor so she never takes herself or others too seriously? How could you develop a balance between more personal activities that nurture your soul (like Hazel's hiking and kayaking) and work that gives back to the community?
If you’ve been involved in community issues, do you take the time to celebrate your achievements and victories? How could you do this more?
CHAPTER 11: PIECES OF A VISION
Loeb talks about envisioning a world that incorporates principles of social justice. He specifically talks about how we might create a more just economy and how we might act to preserve our environment. What are your thoughts about the examples and ideas suggested by Loeb and by people like Virginia Ramirez, Pete Knutson, and David Lewis? What ideas from the text would you incorporate into your own personal vision for a better world?Explain Marian Wright Edelman’s statement, "We are going to have to develop a concept of enough at the top and the bottom." Do you agree? Why or why not?
What does it say about America that we're in some ways the most affluent nation on earth, yet have the highest poverty and violence rates in the industrialized world? How would we change this situation?
What does Loeb mean by "An Ethic of Connection"? Do you think such an ethic is important? Explain. Why do we allow the environment to get destroyed or our fellow human beings to be demeaned when most of us know this is wrong?
What is your vision of a just society? What would it take to achieve it? What are the most important social problems that you think need to be solved? As you read the book, did the issues taken on by the people Loeb profiled make you think of areas where you'd like to take action?
How do we deal with the Enrons of the world, and how financial greed deforms our society? Does Enron present a challenge to the belief that if we just let market forces operate freely everything will work out ok? Does the model represented by Maine's campaign finance reform offer one partial solution to the corrupting influence of money on politics? Could you see joining such an effort on your campus or in your state? [See www.democracymatters.org for a student group working on this issue]
Does our responsibility as citizens change in time of visible crisis, like in the wake of the World Trade Center attacks? If so, why and how? Can we address such crises in a way that addresses their fundamental roots, and builds greater justice for the future?What’s our definition of patriotism? Following the lead of the President? Challenging policies with which we disagree? Fostering sustained discussion in our communities? Does Loeb’s Village Politics offer clues on how to do more in our outreach than simply "preach to the choir"? Could we say that the highest duty of a patriot is to ask the hardest questions in the most difficult time? [See Breaking the Cycles of Violence for an article of Loeb's on the September 11 attacks]
CHAPTER 12: THE FULLNESS OF TIME
This chapter reviews many of the ideas found throughout the book about social involvement. List the messages Loeb gives here that you think are most useful or inspiring.What does Loeb mean by radical patience? How did Nelson Mandela, Martin Luther King, and Susan B. Anthony exemplify this? How can you relate this concept to your life and the things that you see need changing?
Sonya Tinsley, a young African-American activist in Atlanta, talks about "picking your team," those who try to live their commitments, versus the team of the cynics. Which team would you choose to live your life with? What are you hopeful about, and what motivates your hope? Has this book changed your sense of what you might be able to achieve?
How would you answer Rabbi Hillel’s question in terms of how you’ve lived your life, and how you want to live it from this point on?
FOR ANY OF THE CHAPTERS:
Pick two or three quotes from the chapter you’re reading, and be prepared to talk about why you picked them: How did they inspire you, annoy you, trouble you, or otherwise affect you? Break into groups and have different people represent the different arguments.GENERAL QUESTIONS
[Discussion tips: Soul of a Citizen is being assigned to students at every conceivable academic level, from high school classes and freshman summer reading programs to graduate seminars. Students at a less sophisticated stage in their intellectual development may have a harder time with some of the concepts (although they may also be less cynical). But I think it's worthwhile to help students wrestle with these ideas from the beginning of their college career, or even in high school. Teachers at lower academic levels simply need to be patient and recognize that much of what you'll be doing may be planting seeds for the future.]
Which stories and examples from the book moved you most and why?Has the book made you want to get more involved in some issue you care about?
What barriers still remain, making involvement more difficult, and how would you get past them?LINKS TO CAMPUS-BASED GROUPS
Students can find links to national activist groups with off-campus chapters at www.soulofacitizen/Organizational links.htm. Here are some links to national student organizations or groups with campus-based chapters or projects.AFL-CIO--Union Summer Project
www.aflcio.org/unionsummer
[Summer program, aimed at students, that offers training and paid internships in union organizing campaigns]Amnesty International
www.amnesty.org
Campus Outreach Opportunity League [COOL]
www.cool2serve.org
National organization that provides college students and their campuses with educational and leadership opportunities to strengthen communities through service and actionDemocracy Matters
www.democracymatters.org
[New student-community group founded to work on real campaign finance reform, following the successful model of Maine]Democratic Socialists of America--Youth Section
[Student affiliate of national counterpart to European socialist parties, led by people like Cornel West, Barbara Ehrenreich, United Farmworkers co-founder Dolores Huerta, and the late Michael Harrington]
www.ydusa.org
NAACP
www.naacp.org
Oxfam America
www.oxfamamerica.org/youth
[Wonderful hunger relief and advocacy organization--campus section]
National Student Campaign Against Hunger & Homelessness
http://www.pirg.org/nscahh/index.html
Public Interest Research Groups (PIRGs)
www.pirg.org/uspirg
[Campus and community-based group originally founded by Ralph Nader]
Sierra Student Coalition
www.ssc.org/index2.html
[Student arm of the Sierra Club]
Student Coalition for Action on Literacy Education [SCALE]
http://www.unc.edu/depts/scale
[They do advocacy and one-on-one projects related to literacy]Student Environmental Action Coalition (SEAC)
www.seac.org
[Largest national network of student environmental groups]
United States Student Organization
www.usstudents.org/cgi-bin/ussa
[Students join through their student governments. The most effective student voice for acting on issues like federal financial aid]
United Students Against Sweatshops
http://www.usasnet.org
[Students working against sweatshop labor conditions, including making sure that their campus sweatshirts, T-shirts, etc. are produced in conditions that respect the workers that make them]
STUDENT QUESTIONS
To give you an additional sense of how Soul of a Citizen is being used in the classroom, here are some of the excellent questions students prepared for me when I spoke to senior capstone classes at Millikin University in Illinois, where all the students were reading Soul of a Citizen.These were relatively conservative, largely first-generation students from the Chicago suburbs and downstate Illinois. I was impressed by the breadth, range, and realism of their questions—which spoke to their fundamental values and to the complex life choices they will be making. Here are their questions:
"In your book, you mention that being 'perfect' is irrelevant to social activism. Most people, if their efforts do not instantly achieve dramatic results, are quick to criticize themselves. How do they, as citizens, become 'good-enough activists'?"
"Do you think there's a difference between activism and community service, and if so, what is that difference? When does one step over into the other? Do you support both? To what extent?"
"A large part of your book is dedicated to helping one's own community. How do you feel about helping another community, another culture, another country? Which takes priority over the other?"
"What balance needs to exist between finding the initiative within yourself to combat apathy in your community and helping motivate others to join your cause?"
"You make a point that public involvement demands a tolerance for mixed feelings, doubts, and contradictory motives. What advice would you give the social activist to combat the social stigma of public activism?"
"Do you think it is more productive to examine what is wrong in our world, or to focus on what is right?"
"What are some ways that a person can balance a new family, new career, and volunteering? What if your family opposes your spending valuable time helping the community?"
"You describe participation in public life as 'a process through which our personalities evolve' and argue that taking action is also an experiment in self-education. It helps us learn about ourselves through our own actions and those of others. You also imply that social activism is a way to learn how to listen and learn from those who disagree with us. What role should social action play in formal education? Should schools require students to become participants in public life and take part in social movements?"
"You talk about the 'necessary discomfort' in working with people who don't agree with you completely in order to successfully 'widen the circle.' When working with people of opposing or differing views, which is most important: acceptance or understanding? (Also, can that be related to forgiving or forgetting?)"
"Today's society is considered 'possessed by our possessions.' Individuals may be able to break this cycle of greed and need for riches, but seemingly only those who've been brought up according to a moral structure based more upon giving than taking. Is the vast majority of the population too focused on material things and a frivolous lifestyle to change? Will the extreme presence of wastefulness and frivolity sway the resolve of those who live frugally, or does ingenuity really have a chance to persevere?"
"At what age do you think it's a good idea to get kids involved in community issues? Should they be able to understand fully what they're doing before they're allowed to contribute on their own, or is any contribution, whether understood or not, a good start? What if they're involved in a destructive cause?""Today's society seems to have become very self-oriented. How do you think we can get away from the 'me first' frame of mind? How do we go about getting people to think about the good of society again?"
"You said that working in a place that lets you spend time on community involvement is very important. What are some practical ways that people in workplaces that do not offer this kind of opportunity could start programs to benefit their community and workplace? Should those in the 'helping' professions still volunteer? Or do they give enough on the job?"
"What would you say to an 18-year-old female who wants to become involved in pro-choice activism, but is afraid of being chastised by her mother—an avid pro-life Catholic who gave up the chance to be a successful businesswoman by having this daughter at age 22?""You make a case that change is a product of 'deliberate, incremental actions' rather than single, spur-of-the-moment unique events. In your opinion, what one deliberate, incremental action could today's college-age youth take that would be likely to evoke lasting, long-term change in our society?"
"What is your best advice to a person who feels strongly about an issue, but cannot motivate others to get involved, and needs them to pursue their cause?"
"Will the pressures of economic globalization (the Lexus) overcome the need for identity/family/culture (the olive tree)? How do we put on the golden straight jacket without foregoing community values?"
"You discuss vulnerability and call it both an asset and a limitation. It would appear that there is a fine line between being vulnerable enough to listen, ask for help, and accept that you don't know everything, and being so vulnerable that you give up hope of being able to achieve anything. It would appear that a balance of vulnerability and confidence is required to be effective in public life, especially in a leadership position. How does one achieve the correct balance?"
"You tell how your friend Jorge, a doctor who volunteered in Nicaragua, lost faith in his ability to make a difference. While believing in what he did, Jorge was overwhelmed because he could not address all areas of an issue at once. You say that Jorge's 'pained silence exemplifies the predicament many formerly active people find themselves in today. They remain caring and compassionate, but they've lost faith in their voices.' I frequently find myself feeling as Jorge did. I feel that if I cannot change everything at once, why bother? How does one maintain faith in their work and their ability to make a difference?"
"In the section We Never Celebrate Our Victories, you stated that 'Few of us are capable of taking on highly difficult tasks without being rewarded somehow. We need approval, gratitude, a feeling of accomplishment, some indication of success.' If you are attempting to lead a group on issues, how can you make people feel this reward and keep them involved?"
Classroom Study
Questions, Sample Quiz and Student Questions
Soul of a Citizen & Service Learning
Projects
Loeb Academe article on teaching for engagement
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