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Endeavors and How Service Learning Plays a Role in The Development of Moral Reasoning and
Ethical Decision Making.
JP Stienberg
Prof. Dellner
INFO-110
Ocean County College Fall Semester 2014
Table of Contents
Thesis .............................................................................................................................................. 3
Empathy, Ayn Rand and Religion .................................................................................................. 6
Service Learning, Morals and Ethics .............................................................................................. 9
Research Log .................................................................................Error! Bookmark not defined.
Bibliography and Works Cited ..................................................................................................... 11
Thesis
This written work seeks to be an exploration and examination of the notion that likeminded folk within a particular discipline work towards similar altruistic goals, how and why
they come together, their purpose and impact on their social communities and their adoption and
adaptation of interdisciplinary studies and skillsets. Is this an innate human behavior or do we
find ourselves arbitrarily participating in someone else's plan according to our own disciplinary
skills rather than a genuine drive to affect positive change in the world? It also aims to marry
points of view concerning some of the research on how Service Learning may be instrumental in
shaping and reinforcing one's moral integrity thus developing ones ability to engage in ethical
reasoning and decision making; therefore directing such folk as mentioned above to interact and
pursue a mutual end goal, supposedly for the good of their fellow man. Allow me to recount a
recent incident which took place in the Ocean County College (OCC) Library.
I arrived there one afternoon after classes and lunch, as I usually do, to work on an
assignment. I made my way towards the back of the first floor where there are a number of
public computer terminals when I noticed my favorite one at which to sit was available. As I sat,
I made eye contact with the girl just opposite of my terminal, it was apparent she was upset and
on the verge of crying. But I decided that I would mind my business. Just then, one of the
librarians walked over to the girl and leaned down to speak with her. By quickly analyzing the
scenario and inadvertently having overheard sporadic segments of their conversation, I was able
to quickly surmise what the problem was; she clicked something mistakenly which caused the
computer to erase all of the work she had saved on her flash drive.
So as not to digress, let me explain the outcome and delve into how it relates to the topic at
hand. After noticing how upset the librarian was having discovered that the men from the IT
department were able to recover the girls work, but would not out of fear of breaching their
employment contract and after hearing the girl cry, I couldnt help but intercede. A concerned
faculty member, Donna, Interim Library Director, invited the girl to her office to see if anything
could be done. I had a gut feeling they werent going to be successful, as I have observed that
many common people are not tech savvy or experienced enough to recover lost data, which is
something I have done many times. When I spoke to them and expressed my desire to help, I
also reassured them that I had ample experience in such matters and could almost guarantee an
agreeable outcome. Within several minutes of sitting at Donnas desk and plugging in the girls
drive, I was able to retrieve the deleted document and let her see that every word she typed was
indeed accounted for.
Afterwards, Donna and I had a brief conversation during which it became quite apparent that
we were thinking along the same lines; we both felt an equal amount of sympathy and empathy
for such discouraging roadblocks as well as a level of contempt for the way in which the men
from IT responded to the emergency. Donna explained that she learned the IT department is not
hired to help individual students, rather to maintain the computers and network functioning,
therefore being contractually precluded from doing so. That is when we discussed the idea of
launching a voluntary student-run digital response unit on campus. We are planning to present
this to the administration shortly and expect it be met with some accord.
I note this incident to support the concepts contained in the thesis herein. Prior to the mishap
with the girls flash drive, Donna and I were not acquainted, although we have spent numerous
hours five days a week over the course of a year or more in the same building. For that matter,
neither had the librarian, who was the initial respondent to the girls dilemma, and I been
acquainted. After, however, the three of us along with several others are collectively backing the
forming of a new assistive service long needed on the OCC campus. One could not help but
describe this kind of phenomenon as a collaborative and interdisciplinary altruistic endeavor
motivated genuinely by an empathetic approach to problem solving.
become the world leader in incarceration for minor non-violent crimes as a result. Here we see
an instance where the means were justified by the concern for the greater good which have
produced far less than favorable effects. One point for Rand!
Allow me to revisit a point mentioned in a paper I wrote previously: [a]s has been
explained by numerous well-seasoned knowledgeable professionals in this and other related
fields, legislation and regulation tends to complicate altruistic endeavors more so than promote
the seamless interdisciplinary integration of professional human and social service agencies and
organizations.(Steinberg, 38)
Of course, when making an examination of this kind it is difficult to ignore the religious
institutions. Clergy and laity are often involved in collective and collaborative altruistic
endeavors out of a seemingly genuine concern for the greater good. People are generally
indoctrinated into a particular religion at a very early age by their caregivers, immediate family
and community. For the most part, society tends to use religion to instil moral values in children
as they grow up. These children are often encouraged to participate in charity events and
community outreach and service, usually uncompensated, thereby making it seem as though
these altruistic endeavors are not necessarily engaged out of a genuinely self-derived concern for
others. And when we note that the major religions largely promote the belief in punishment and
reward by a sentient godhead, we are then forced to question individuals legitimacy.
In a paper by David Horton Smith, Churches are Generally Ignored in Contemporary
Voluntary Action Research: Causes and Consequences, he observes a phenomena within the
field sociological studies which the title of his piece so concisely denotes. At the time of
publishing, he offered as evidence the fact that major national sample surveys of the US that
provided lists of voluntary groups almost always omit churches. (Smith, 297) Not wholly on par
with Smiths findings and argument, it could be said that the phenomenon regarding an expected,
sometimes required, participation in the altruistic endeavors of religious institutions by its
leaders of its followers would serve to disqualify them from inclusion in the study of voluntary
action. After all, as posited above, are the majority of laity simply following suit and doing as
they believe is expected from them and only seeking ultimate reward for their actions or are they
genuinely committed to ensuring the wellbeing of others?
should qualify and justify the methods used to reach it. But if the outcome, while focusing on a
greater good, largely ignores and dismisses the damage done while attempting to attain it then
what good have we truly done?
Lu, Yi, and Kristina T. Lambright. "Looking Beyond The Undergraduate Classroom: Factors
Influencing Service Learning's Effectiveness At Improving Graduate Students'
Professional Skills." College Teaching 58.4 (2010): 118-126. ERIC. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
Lyday, W. Jackson, et al. Connecting Communities Through Service Learning. Linking Learning
With Life. n.p.: 1998. ERIC. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
Prentice, Mary, Gail Robinson, and Colleges American Association of Community. "Linking
Service Learning And Civic Engagement In Community College Students." American
Association Of Community Colleges (2007): ERIC. Web. 8 Dec. 2014.
Rand, Ayn. "The Ethics of Emergencies." (n.d.): n. pag. Feb. 1936. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
<http://zhuanxing.cn/uploadfile/2013/0123/20130123013002746.pdf>.
Smith, David Horton. "Churches Are Generally Ignored In Contemporary Voluntary Action
Research: Causes And Consequences." Review Of Religious Research 24.4 (1983): 295303. Academic Search Premier. Web. 4 Dec. 2014.
Steinberg, JP. Social Crisis Intervention and Guidance Officer. Thesis. Ocean County College,
2014. Toms River, NJ: n.p., n.d. Print.
Waal, Frans De. The Age of Empathy: Nature's Lessons for A Kinder Society. New York:
Harmony, 2009. Print.