Expanding Education (Kate)

One thing that I have truly come to love about our "Traditions of Giving and Serving in American Life" course is how applicable it is to my other classes and fields of study here at Valparaiso University. I am currently enrolled in a course titled "Who's Your Neighbor?" which seeks to discuss social responsibility in an unjust world by determining what we truly believe the word "neighbor" is defined as. Our class that is funded by the Learning by Giving Foundation allows me to truly develop my idea of neighborliness; I can intertwine the discussions I am having in both classes to create a rich and holistic approach to the other. Our English 396/LS 610 class gives way to teaching me just how important the idea of philanthropy and giving can be when you determine who a neighbor is within the context of your own life. Our current social and political climate has evolved our understanding of the humans we encounter each day and has ultimately changed the way we define what a neighbor looks like, sounds like, and acts like. Since the class is based around the tradition of giving within American life, we can examine how the idea of philanthropy has evolved to it's modern identity, much as the term neighbor has evolved. I am able to combine the conversations that I am having when evaluating agencies and mission statements to the conversations in my other class where I am deciding whether or not groups of people have actively worked together enough to be neighbors. I feel that I am gaining so much by being in a class that helps to define the ever-changing stance of donations and giving because it allows me to create new definitions for terms and ideas I am using in classes that are far different