Service-Learning and Stereotyping

Service-Learning teaches students to apply academic knowledge to serve the community’s needs, while they also learn much through providing service - a great form of experiential learning.  In our subject, for example, we are teaching our students to install solar panels to generate electricity for lighting and mobile phone charging, for villages not covered by the utility grid in Rwanda and Tanzania; and to build community learning centres in Cambodia, for those villages whose schools are poorly equipped.  Through the process they learn about poverty in general, particularly energy poverty, the digital divide, the impact of technology on people, problem solving, self-confidence, team work, leadership.  

Respect for diversity is crucial.  We have students from Hong Kong, Mainland China, Taiwan, Indonesia, Malaysia, Kazakhstan, USA, Rwanda, Pakistan, etc., working together.  They will be collaborating with people from Cambodia, Rwanda and Tanzania. They may be East Asian, South Asian, Central Asian, White, African American, Black African, …  Among them there are Christians, Muslims, Buddhists, atheists, …  They speak Cantonese, Mandarin, English, Khmer, Bahasa Indonesia, Malay, … They may be political conservative, liberal, communist, capitalist, … For the service project to work well, they have to learn to work with people from very different cultures.  On the other hand, the service project is a great way to learn to work with people who may be radically different from you. 

Stereotyping is one key concept in learning to respect diversity.  On the one hand,  identifying common characteristics with easy-to-understand abstractions help us deal with a very complex world. On the other hand, highlighting certain characteristics while ignoring others, forgetting that individuals often differ from the average radically, etc., can lead to damaging misunderstanding. Some stereotyping are downright wrong and sinister in nature. Through readings, games, discussions, etc., we are teaching students to be aware of the danger of “single stories”.  

For example, HongKongers can be perceived as very efficient, always in a hurry, adaptive, materialistic, rude, apolitical, and lacking in culture.  Which ones are true, not true?  Which ones do HongKongers wish to change?   What other perceptions do other people have of HongKongers that HongKongers are not aware of?   Are all Americans very outgoing, active, openminded, friendly?  Is discrimination pervasive in USA?  Is there really nothing but genocide and poverty in Rwanda?  Do all Chinese know KungFu?  Do Malaysians speak Malay only?   Is there a lot of corruption in Mainland China?  Is it true that all products (particularly cheap copies) are made in Mainland China?  

We found that there is general agreement in some but great disagreement in others.  There are some surprises, and many that people want to change.  

We are teaching and learning all these with about 65 students.  But not in one big classroom.  Not even in the same tome slot.  15 American students meet in one classroom in Maryland.  The 50 PolyU students meet in two separate time slots.  All are logging in from home or the dormitory.  The PolyU teaching team gather in one room on campus, and meet the students online.  At any point in time, there may be 30 talking heads on the screen that one has to watch.  There is a lot of technology involved that make this possible.  We have a great team that put all these together.  

All of this for just one 3 hour class.  A fraction of the time and effort involved in teaching this subject.  Education is expensive, in terms of manpower, expertise, time, and resources.  However, considering the impact on the students and what they might do in the future, it is the best investment that a society can make.