Written by Caleb Chunn
The College of Education is offering two sections in January and April of a new one-credit hour course titled: “Engaging Communities Through Mission,” taught by the college’s dean, Dr. Donny Lee.
This new course is being offered in two Friday and Saturday sessions, Jan. 27-28 and April 14-15, and will cover a wide array of topics from “agenda setting” all the way to “cultural norms and influences,” according to Lee’s course guide sheet.
“This one-hour course introduces students to the world of communities, schools and families, and how our mission can intersect in meaningful ways with them,” the course description said. “Specifically, the course will explore mission paths involving teaching, mental health care and organizational leadership.”
Lee said this brief course will be a deep dive into what it means to engage a new group of people, and he has set up room for students to take the class in whatever direction they wish to go.
“That’s my goal for the class,” Lee said. “Honestly, I don’t even have, in terms of content, I don’t have an outline that I’m going to be following in this class. It’s going to be mainly drawing on the knowledge and experience I have and what the needs and the direction that people in the class want to go.”
Lee said he hopes this class will engage and involve students in conversation and asking questions.
Junior education major Brenley Colbert spoke on her feelings about the course being added to the catalog.
“For education majors, we have to understand what communities and schools we are walking into,” Colbert said. “It’s important to embrace the cultures and people in your schools to know how to best lead and teach them. If you are not an education major, a class like this opens your eyes to how you should be involved in communities. In some ways, we are all educating others every day, so a class like this prepares everyone for the day they educate someone.”
If you are interested in this course, it is open to all majors and grade levels. For more information and for any questions about the course, contact Lee at dlee@harding.edu.
