Principle 1: A Purposeful Community
A purposeful community is the first principle of Boyer’s principles of community. According to Boyer, colleges and universities are purposeful communities, which value intellectual life and a close collaboration between students and faculties in order to raise teaching and learning standards.
From the knowledge gained through attending this class and my experience at Indiana University-Bloomington, I believe that colleges should embrace this principle. Institutions of higher learning are basically defined as places where learning takes place.
However, colleges and universities do not take this seriously. Students argue that their social lives and jobs are more important than academics since they only require credentials. Colleges and universities should embrace this principle in order to strengthen learning and interaction between students and faculties.
In most institutions, professors argue that by the time their students graduate from college, they lack adequate skills and competence to venture into the job market.
Some even opine that there is need to review the content that they teach college and university students. Most institutions do not focus on rewarding quality teaching, but instead reward research, publications and individuals who secure contracts and grants. This discourages faculty members and prevents them from investing in classroom teaching and offering guidance to undergraduate students.
For colleges to embrace this principle effectively, they must realize that teachers have the ability to create the right environment that encourages students to exercise intellectual commitment and participate fully in the learning process. A learning community starts in the classroom, although it should ideally be evident in all places. For institutions of higher learning to actualize this principle in an appropriate manner, academic concerns should be sustained. In addition, students should be encouraged to embrace intellectual commitment.
Principle 2: Openness
Boyer’s second principle of community emphasizes that colleges should be open communities, where individuals are allowed to express themselves freely. In addition, civility is affirmed in a powerful manner. From the knowledge gained through attending this class and my experience at Indiana University-Bloomington, I believe that colleges should embrace this principle. Colleges and Universities sometimes deal with competing issues, which define college life.
On the other hand, they should ensure that freedom of speech is guaranteed, while monitoring language use to ensure that only modest and acceptable language is used. Ensuring that freedom of expression and use of modest language are balanced is difficult because some students use words for different intentions other than communicating effectively. For instance, words can be used to discriminate other students based on their ethnic, sexual or racial orientation. This problem is more serious in large institutions, which have many students.
This principle can be embraced by introducing new statements about civility and the importance of respecting other people. However, it should be understood that colleges and universities give individuals an opportunity to express themselves even when their ideas are considered outrageous. This implies that in a bid to embrace this principle, speech should not be restricted through regulation.
Institutions of higher learning should avoid censoring information, allegedly to ensure that students get safe ideas. On the contrary, students should be prepared by the institutions on how to judge ideas. As institutions of higher learning protect speech, they should not be passive, especially when violation of decency and honesty occurs. In a bid to embrace this principle successfully, they should set their own standards and ensure that they are followed strictly.
Principle 3: Justice
Boyer’s third principle advocates for a just community. From the knowledge gained through attending this class and my experience at Indiana University-Bloomington, I believe that colleges should embrace this principle. Boyer argues that a just community upholds the dignity of all people and gives them equal opportunities. Most institutions of higher learning face the challenge of ensuring that justice is promoted in their institutions. Although significant gains have been made in ensuring that justice is upheld, incidents of prejudice still occur in colleges and universities.
For instance, women and black people face discrimination in some colleges and universities on the basis of their racial and ethnic orientations. In order to embrace this principle, colleges should strongly challenge prejudice and establish appropriate programs that promote diversity among students in learning communities. It might be true that the society is characterized by inequality, but colleges and universities should commit themselves to administer social justice and promote equality among all people.
Principle 4: Discipline
Boyer’s fourth principle of community talks about discipline. Discipline enables individuals to follow directions given to them strictly. From the knowledge gained through attending this class and my experience at Indiana University-Bloomington, I believe that colleges should embrace this principle.
In addition, the principle states that behavior should be guided by accurate governance procedures for the good of everybody. For instance, some colleges in the past restricted women from leaving their dormitories, exposed them to inflexible study hours and forced them to attend church services.
These rules could not be sustained because they were rejected by students. Although it is not possible for administrators to take up the roles of parents, they often establish standards that should be used to determine whether the conduct of students is acceptable, especially if it is deemed to be harmful to them and the larger society. Some of the most serious misbehaviors that are of concern to administrators include alcoholism, although alcohol has always been regarded by many people as part of college life.
However, a disciplined community is concerned about the health of its members, as well as adhering to enacted laws. If individuals under the age of 21 years are prohibited from drinking alcohol, colleges should embrace this principle by ensuring that they support the laws. They should identify the right models that encourage students to embrace positive behaviors.
Crime is also another problem that is often reported in colleges and universities. Many students in colleges complain of theft cases hence institutional heads consider it a problem too. For instance, researches which have been conducted in the past in various colleges have confirmed prevalence of disruptiveness and unnecessary noise in colleges.
There are also concerns of fraternity life. Fraternities are only important if they lead to positive outcomes. But colleges and universities have a role to play in ensuring that indiscipline cases do not prevail within their institutions. They should ensure that they abolish college organizations that do not show commitment in promoting civility.
Despite all the problems that colleges and universities face, most of them have been trying to handle them to ensure that they create disciplined communities. Colleges can apply additional methods to embrace this principle by establishing educational sessions on alcohol and how to avoid addiction. In addition, special task forces could be established to conduct seminars, which educate individuals on the importance of avoiding crime.
College religious centers and chaplains can also play a critical role in ensuring that the principle of discipline is embraced in colleges. Students nowadays take an active role in determining new codes of conduct because they would not like to be exposed to rigid regulations. Colleges and universities should establish standards in both academic and non-academic areas in order to embrace discipline in their institutions.
Principle 5: A Caring Community
The fifth principle of community advanced by Boyer states that a community should be caring. From the knowledge gained through attending this class and my experience at Indiana University-Bloomington, I believe that colleges should embrace this principle.
A caring community is always concerned about the welfare of everybody and encourages individuals to serve one another. Caring for others is the most important principle in colleges because it determines the success of other principles such as purposefulness, openness, justice and discipline.
This is because the manner in which individuals relate with one another is very important. Independence and freedom is of great value to students because it enables them to develop a sense of belonging. They argue that college administrators should be concerned about their lives without getting involved. Students establish unique groups or communities while in college in order to seek identity. It is important for them to have close connections and relationships with their institutions.
Colleges and universities should promote community building without necessarily applying strict regulations that are difficult to change. Institutions and students agree that communities should be strengthened in order to improve college life. This would ensure that people care for one another.
Principle 6: A Celebrative Community
Boyer’s sixth principle states that a community should be celebrative. From the knowledge gained through attending this class and my experience at Indiana University-Bloomington, I believe that colleges and universities should embrace this principle.
The heritage of institutions of higher learning and the rituals performed occasionally bring people together and enable them to share different topics. Colleges and universities should sustain their own heritage and traditions because communities in institutions of higher learning underscore the importance of preserving traditions and heritage. Celebrations, rites and ceremonies enable students to identify with their institutions.
For this principle to be embraced effectively, colleges and universities should ensure that ceremonies and rituals are established with fun and meaning, because they sustain institutional pride and memories. Institutions should continually recreate communities since they get new students from time to time. Continuity in colleges is negatively affected due to lack of activities such as celebrations that bring people together.
Conclusion
The six principles of community by Boyer are found in almost all institutions of higher learning. From the knowledge gained through attending this class and my experience at Indiana University-Bloomington, I believe that colleges should embrace them, because they play a critical role in building communities. The issues that colleges and universities experience usually extend beyond the institutions. Divisions and racial tensions among societies have increased as well as widening of the gap between the poor and the rich.
However, despite all these differences, people need their colleagues because they cannot succeed on their own. As a result, colleges and universities should work together and eliminate social and academic divisions that make it difficult for students to enjoy college life. Discipline, justice, celebrativeness, openness and the ability to care for others are principles that would increase integrity of institutions of higher learning if emphasized.