Community and Civic Engagement & Service Learning at LREI
“My humanity is tied to yours”
“The commons” is a term often used to describe those resources or spaces whose protection and cultivation are the shared responsibility of an entire community.
As a lens for approaching service learning, and civic and community engagement, we choose to interpret the idea of the commons broadly in examining our role as citizens of our school community and of the larger world. We believe the work of building and sustaining thriving communities is both a local and global endeavor that belongs to each of us in partnership; and while this work may take place within the space of a classroom, our neighborhoods, or across state lines or national borders, it is rooted in the foundational belief that “my humanity is tied to yours”–that the act of caring for the dignity, health, and safety of others is essential to realizing one’s own sense of place and purpose in the world and in creating vibrant, compassionate, inclusive communities.
in our sense of collective responsibility, and in our efforts to turn these shared principles into action.
The Commons Project represents not an addition to our program but rather a fundamental orientation for the way we engage in community within and beyond the school. At its core, the projects aims to inspire in students an ethic of care rooted in:
This work includes collaboration between LREI students and faculty and their larger communities (local, regional/state, national, global) for the mutually beneficial exchange of knowledge and resources in a context of partnership and reciprocity.
The purpose of community engagement is the partnership of the school’s knowledge and resources with those of the public and private sectors to enrich scholarship, research, and creative activity; enhance curriculum, teaching and learning; prepare educated, engaged citizens; strengthen democratic values and civic responsibility; address critical societal issues; and contribute to the public good.
*Adapted from Carnegie Foundation definition of community engagement.