AVReading Newsletter October: Obstacles to Community
As a society, collaboration and community does not come very easily for us. So much of our cultural narrative is built upon the idea that people just have to tough it out on their own. If you want to make it in this world, you have got to take matters into your own hands and power through. You can’t depend on others, and anyone who does not do their share is simply a freeloader. Additionally, we are not very trusting. We are more likely to be suspicious of our peers than we are to engage them in conversation, or get to know them. In fact in the classroom, “creating community” which too often is lumped in with “collaboration” is more often than not dreaded by students. Inevitably, students complain about the ugly side of group work where one or two participants end up doing a disproportionate amount of the work. Students also come to class with his...