Page 15 - Laker Connection Spring 2013

JAMAICA
A PLACE WHERE GREAT LEARNING HAPPENS
By Samantha Watson
There is a place where great learning happens, a place without university walls, a place with- out precisely 75 minutes of designated educa- tional time, a place where many go and see, but rarely notice.
“Jamaica has changed my life in ways I’d never imagined that it could have or would have. I am sincerely grateful for the new perspective on life that I’ve gained,” professes Clayton State University student Tiffany Hailes.
Re-thinking education and letting not only professors, but also the world, shape the minds of students is the point of Clayton State’s Study Abroad programs. The University realizes the need for experiential learning in a well-rounded education and gives its full support to, among others, Dr. Rafik Mohamed’s Study Abroad Jamaica program. This year’s program takes place in Duncans, Jamaica, from
May 29 to June 20 and is now in its fourth consecutive year at Clayton State.
classes also require participa- tion with the community part- nerships Clayton State has with local Duncans schools and a shelter for abused and aban- doned girls, since community interaction is a large part of this trip.
The general focus of the program is
on Caribbean culture, history, and
society. It also seeks to challenge the
notion that Jamaica is merely a
tourist destination by exposing stu-
dents to an alternative perspective.
“The philosophical foundations of
the program are rooted in the belief
that the independent island nations
making up the Caribbean are central to a comprehensive under- standing of modern global societies,” says Mohamed, “We also want students to consider the largely ‘unearned privileges’ they have as citizens of post-industrial ‘first world’ societies.”
This year, students have the opportunity to earn up to six credit hours in three weeks. Classes tend to last about three hours each day, and range from sociology, to African-American studies, to English, communication electives, and a core science class. The
Dr. Rafik Mohamed
Apart from the greater cultural compe- tency and critical thinking objectives of this trip, it is designed to achieve sev- eral academic goals as well. Students will leave with an overview of Caribbean society and culture from the beginning of the trans-Atlantic slave trade to the present, and will have also evaluated the impact of colonization on the shaping of Caribbean society.
Coming home from the Jamaican Study
Dr. Rafik Mohamed and study abroad Jamaica participants.
Dr. Mohamed tells his students
all the time, “You’re going to
learn a lot more from the people
you meet in Jamaica than you
ever will from me.” He encour-
ages students to interact with local community members by gro- cery shopping at the local market; taking local public transportation; hanging out with local fishermen, craftsmen and musicians; and hosting a community potluck about once a week.
Abroad program, students have a deeper appreciation for education, community, and diversity and have a willingness to engage with people who they otherwise might have viewed as “different” from themselves. Amanda Wilson states, “I will never travel without first learning about the people whose land I am to be a guest of, and never will I ig- nore the potential to build positive, lasting relationships with
these people.”
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