Bringing Purpose to Higher Education

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The higher education crisis isn’t about price. It’s about value. The issue lies in the fact that undergraduates arrive on campus unprepared. Sure, they may have great grades and test scores, but that only indicates that students are proficient in achieving great grades and test scores. Higher education offers exceptional learning opportunities, but without a sense of purpose for their learning beyond simply getting good grades, students cannot access the unparalleled value colleges offer. This is a major cause of the higher ed crisis and should be the focus of our solutions.

This blog series explores freshman study abroad as a means of addressing this value crisis. Students often return from traditional study abroad programs claiming a greater sense of purpose for their learning. They dive into their studies, majors, and co-curricular activities with greater commitment and clearer intent. If purpose is a key to student success, and it can be successfully developed through study abroad, then sending freshmen abroad in intentionally designed programs that develop purpose could dramatically improve student learning on campus and increase the value of higher education.

How Children Succeed

How Children Succeed and Purpose in Higher Education

Paul Tough’s book How Children Succeed is the hot new education vision. Through his research into neurology, pedagogy, and psychology, he identifies a key set of skills and dispositions shared by successful students — those who persevere in school and graduate with good grades. The book intends to identify universal truths about students, regardless of their backgrounds.

But, something is missing in his analysis. While he identifies cognitive skills and noncognitive traits, which he classifies as “character,” as being key to success, his argument is based around the assumption that students should be intrinsically motivated to learn for the sake of learning and achieving. I disagree with this assumption. I suspect Tough does, too.

He starts the last chapter of the book by sharing the story of why he dropped out of college — twice. On page 178 he states:

Even in high school, while I was being such a responsible student, I had grave doubts about my relationship with formal education. I had a rebellious streak — I was a teenage Kerouac reader — and like millions of high-school rebels before me, I was convinced that what I was learning in the classroom didn’t really matter, man… [he quotes a letter he wrote explaining his decision to leave Columbia University] ”Going to school is all I know. Education is a game, and let’s face it: I’m good at it. I know the rules; I know how to perform all the required tasks. I even know how to win. But I’m sick of the game. I want to cash in my chips.”

Reading this passage, it’s clear that he dropped out despite having all of the traits he identifies as key to student success. He didn’t struggle with past trauma, he had the grit, curiosity, and perseverance needed to get through challenges, and he clearly had strong cognitive skills as he was enrolled at Columbia University. What he didn’t have was a clear sense of purpose. He had no vision for who he was in the “real world” outside of the daily “game” he’d been playing for 13 years in the classroom. It was a game to him because learning was not rooted in exploring issues that have clear social value. Nor was it rooted in a pursuit of understanding and actualizing his values. He was motivated to win, not to learn. Thus, he dropped out of an Ivy League school, jumped on his bike, and found himself engaged in a dynamic environment that offered learning opportunities authentically rooted in society.

Purpose in Higher EducationUnderstanding “purpose” isn’t easy. Learning for the sake of learning or achievement defined by grades assumes a narrowly defined sense of self-worth. Humans are inherently social beings. While receiving accolades from others is gratifying, humans tend to benefit far more from deeper relationships. We crave interaction, exchange, and kinship. We find these relationships not only in our friends and family, but also in our work, contributing efforts and expertise for the benefit of a cause greater than ourselves. When the purpose of our learning is rooted in a cause with clear social value, we have a drive to learn far stronger and more resilient than accolades for good grades can inspire.

Tough then points to learning driven by grades as risking any chance of having a fulfilling career. On page 184, he quotes James Kwak, a Harvard alum who went into investment banking and management consulting, as saying that undergrads take these sorts of jobs because they are “driven more by fear of not being a success than by a concrete desire to do anything in particular.” For Ivy League grads, being a success is undoubtedly core to their identity and self-worth. Their career motivation is rooted not in a desire to create value along with others. They are motivated to achieve for the sake of achieving. The quote suggests that this drive will result in work and pursuits that are ultimately unfulfilling as they are devoid of social value, even if they are “successful.”

If we expect students to arrive on their campus ready to access the educational value offered by their college, they will need to have a sense of purpose rooted in a cause with clear social value. Colleges are mountains of incredible learning opportunities. But, unlike high school, accessing this educational value requires more than showing up to assigned classes. Students have to choose a course of study. And, some of the best and most important learning opportunities lie outside of the classroom. Students need to arrive on campus with a sense of what they want to learn and how they will use that knowledge in their professions and citizenship. This doesn’t necessarily require students to start college with an unwavering commitment to a major, but they should start with a commitment to their own learning and growth as tools that will serve them well in the society they want to be part of and contribute to.

Intentionally designed study abroad is a highly effective tool for helping students develop this sense of purpose. By shaping freshman study abroad programs around their particular developmental needs and the educational transition as they begin college, study abroad can serve as an exceptional tool for ensuring students are prepared to take advantage of the value colleges offer. This theme will be explored in coming posts. Stay tuned…

Want more on purpose in higher ed? Check out this post by TBB Founder & CEO Robin Pendoley on Forbes.com.

Students Fund Gap Year Scholarships With Indiegogo

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One of the consistent challenges faced by TBB in delivering high quality, rigorous international education for our students, is that it is not cheap. In our first five years, we have given away hundreds of thousands of dollars in partial scholarships, and been fortunate enough to enroll incredibly dedicated students who have worked hard to raise the funds needed for their programs. But, we want to do more. We want more students to be able to participate in our programs, more young agents of change out there ready to take on the world’s most pressing issues.

Funding Gap Year Scholarships

Meg John Gap Year ScholarshipSo, TBB has launched a partnership with the online fundraising giant Indiegogo to make this process easier and more effective. Indiegogo is the largest global crowdfunding platform, empowering anyone, anywhere, at any time, to raise funds for any idea. Since launching in January 2008, Indiegogo has enabled individuals to launch campaigns from every country around the world. With millions of dollars distributed globally each week across the site, Indiegogo is democratizing the way people raise funds for any project – creative — entrepreneurial or cause-related. This partnership will provide greater support, higher visibility, and a broader fundraising reach for our incoming students. Our first two student campaigns (Meg from Vermont and Nikki from Ohio) have been up and running for a number of weeks, and have already raised a total of over $11,000.

global-gap-year-programs-buttonAs part of the partnership, TBB now has a dedicated partner page on the Indiegogo website where prospective donors can browse the various student campaigns and give directly to a particular student. Depending on the student’s level of financial need, they can receive up to a 2:1 match from TBB for every dollar that they bring in. In other words, for the most needy students, a program tuition of $29,500 gets reduced by two thirds, with TBB pledging to match up to $20,000 if a student can raise $10,000. As more and more TBB students set their campaigns up on Indiegogo, they will feature more prominently through Indiegogo’s unique algorithm, the gogofactor, which pushes successful and innovative campaigns to be featured on the site’s homepage and weekly newsletters.

This new partnership enables students to reach far more people than traditional fundraising methods, as they spread their campaign and their story out through social networks like Facebook and Twitter. It will provide a central hub for all student fundraising efforts, so that anybody who wants to give to TBB can go directly to the partner page, make a donation, and see exactly to whom that donation is going. Finally, students will also learn great new skills in fundraising, campaign management, networking, and online crowdsourcing before they even start their first day as a TBB student. These are all skills which are crucial for students to master as they start their careers as agents of change.

Stop by our page and make a donation to help these amazing young students realize their potential. And watch this space for more campaigns going up over the coming weeks and months!

Gap Year College Credit May Hurt You

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Students and parents regularly ask whether students can earn college credit by participating in a Thinking Beyond Borders gap year program. Unfortunately, the answer is no (with one acception; see below). It’s not that our programs aren’t rigorous learning opportunities. Rather, it’s that earning college credit for a gap year program can be risky.

There are many great reasons to take a gap year. Perhaps most importantly, it is a fantastic investment to ensure students are ready to take advantage of their college careers. But, if you’re looking to the gap year as an alternative way to earn college credit, you’ll likely be disappointed.

TBB Global Gap Year Student StudyingFor both students and parents, earning college credit during a gap year is enticing. In theory, your gap year could count toward your degree, reduce the cost of college, and make it possible to use financial aid to pay for your gap year program.

The problem is that the vast majority of colleges don’t want students to earn credit during their gap year. When students accept admission and then defer their enrollment, they are making an agreement with their college. The school is agreeing to hold that spot on campus the student has worked so hard to earn. But, the student is agreeing to come back and be a full member of the student body after their gap year.

This is a risky proposition for colleges. While it often seems college admissions officers hold all the power in the application process, the reality is much more complicated. Admissions officers work hard to create a unique campus culture and community that meets the school’s mission. They consider each applicant carefully, balancing a wide variety of factors that make up the student body, from ensuring a diversity of talents and interests, to geographic and ethnic diversity, to financial aid needs. Once a student has been offered admission and accepted, the college is expecting her to bring her talents and passions to campus.

Gap Year Programs College Admissions Expert Robert Clagget On College CreditGenerally, admissions officers know that gap years help students find the purpose and direction they need to take advantage of what college has to offer (check out TBB board member and former Middlebury College Dean of Admissions Bob Clagget’s research in the NYTimes). But, these same admissions officers also have a fear – that during a gap year, students might decide not come to their campus. They generally don’t want students to earn credit from another college for fear they’ll go to that other school (to offer credit, gap year programs require you to enroll in their partner college; the credits you earn are from a college, not your gap year program).

So, what can happen if you earn college credit from your gap year? Here’s a range of the outcomes, from best to worst:

  • Your college accepts all of the credits. – This is pretty rare. This usually happens if your college happens to be the one that partners with your specific gap year program. TBB has an arrangement like this with Franklin & Marshall College for our Ecuador Gap Semester.
  • Your college accepts some of the credits, though few – if any – count toward your degree. – This means you haven’t actually reduced the cost of your college degree.
  • Your admission status changes from that of a normal freshman, to something closer to that of a transfer student. – This can affect your financial aid and scholarship awards, housing, and even the order in which you register for classes.
  • Your college decides you are no longer a freshman. – Because you earned a semester or more of credit at another institution, you must reapply as a transfer student.

Here are the questions you should ask your college’s admissions office to determine if pursuing credits for your gap year is a good idea:

  • Will earning credits affect my admission or enrollment status? Be sure you are clear on any affects to your class registration priority and eligibility for housing.
  • Will you accept the credits I earn from a gap year program? Be sure to be specific about the program, any colleges they may be affiliated with, and the types of credits you’ll earn.
  • Will earning credits affect my current and future financial aid and scholarship awards? Every college has different rules about whether awards can be deferred. Ask specifically about each award, as each scholarship may be handled differently.

The ultimate message is this: If you are going to pursue college credit for your gap year, be sure you do your homework.

Freshman Study Abroad: A Fix for the Higher Education Crisis

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There is a crisis in higher education. And, freshman study abroad programming could be a critical part of the solution. In this series, I’ll explore how freshman study abroad can bring value back to higher education. I’ll also share Thinking Beyond Borders’ research and experience related to the design principles of successful freshman abroad programming. So, subscribe, read, comment, and share with others who are thinking about innovations in higher education.

There is a crisis in higher education. Virtually everyone is questioning its form, its function, and most importantly, its value. Is a traditional university degree worth the money? Is it worth the time? Is it worth the effort?

The response to this crisis is in its early days, but everyone from higher education leaders to disenchanted undergrads to tech sector innovators seems to be holding little as sacred. There is a startling willingness to disregard the institution of higher education and start over.

The discourse around this crisis is focused on what is wrong with higher education. But, what we should be asking is this: Why aren’t students gaining value from higher education? When we ask this question, we acknowledge the unparalleled learning opportunities colleges offer that are dramatically underutilized by undergraduates. Effective solutions to this crisis should be innovations that leverage the existing value of higher education rather supplant it. While it isn’t a complete solution, freshman study abroad is a great place to start.

Higher Education’s Crisis: The Fire and Those Who Fan the Flames

It’s not hard to find news on the fire burning down the house of higher education. The average undergraduate degree has been deemed too expensive and lacking in value in the job market. Students and their families are taking on enormous debt that threatens both their solvency and, possibly, the nation’s economy. If they aren’t graduating with the skills to be highly productive, they won’t earn at a level high enough to repay their loans. And, if all of this weren’t bad enough, there are still millions who face serious barriers to obtaining an undergraduate degree.

There are many who – perhaps rightly – see this crisis as an opportunity. Higher education is notoriously risk averse as a sector; when an industry is built largely upon reputation, few are willing to weather the iterative process of innovation (i.e. the cycles of getting it wrong that are necessary for one to learn to get it right).

But, as the flames around the institution get hotter, some are finding the impetus to take risks. Harvard and MIT are collaborating to advance online learning with MOOCs (Massive Open Online Courses), a widely hyped model for providing course material to virtually anyone around the globe. Peter Thiel, Co-Founder of Paypal, has created a fellowship to encourage students to drop out of college to create technology and organizations representing meaningful work. Dale Stephens, a Thiel Fellow, is leading the “uncollege” movement, encouraging students to avoid college by “hacking” their way to the learning they need (his book Uncollege was recently published to much fanfare). These high profile examples are representative of the efforts to address the crisis.

But, what if these “solutions” actually fan the flames?

If the “flames” engulfing higher education are symbolic of inadequate student learning, there is cause for concern with these “solutions.” Student outcomes for MOOCs are largely unmeasured. Investments in expanding access through online courses may actually deliver a low quality learning to more people. The Thiel Fellowship is a wonderful concept, but when I met one 18 year old fellow at a conference recently, she baffled me with her apparent inability to think critically about whether rural communities in South Africa should be treated as unwitting testing grounds for her projects. Dale Stephens’ “uncollege” may be a viable model for business and high tech entrepreneurs, but where will we get the doctors, teachers, and CPA’s that keeps us healthy, prepared for our future, and running our innovative new businesses with sound finances? As each of these innovations gains press coverage and funding, their potential to undermine the existing value of higher education grows stronger. They may be fanning the flames.

A Problem and a Solution

College and university campuses offer unparalleled concentrations of learning opportunities. Faculty offer expertise in virtually everything. Facilities include labs, classrooms, and libraries to support dynamic learning and research. Flexible schedules and communities allow students to explore multiple paths and bring together disparate interests in innovative ways. Co-curricular opportunities include study abroad, internships, and athletics that develop key skills like communication, leadership, and creativity. And, educators work with determination to make all of these opportunities functional parts of student learning. Higher education in its current form is overflowing with the exact value we want students to gain.

So, what’s the problem? Students are arriving on campus as freshmen without the purpose or direction needed to effectively take advantage of the learning higher education offers. Students generally feel the purpose of their learning in high school was to get good grades and test scores to get into college. High school wasn’t about pursuing their interests, exploring critical social issues, or preparing for a professional career aligned with their values. After 13 years of schooling, students arrive on college campuses without clear purpose for their learning.

But, the way colleges are often designed, an intrinsic motivation is requisite for students to take advantage of the learning opportunities their campuses offer. While students get by doing the basic work assigned as part of classes, the richest learning happens when students have a vision for why their studies matter to them and society. Additionally, the strongest learning is when classroom study is coupled with pursuit of their passions through clubs, internships, or study abroad. Without the sense of purpose necessary to commit fully to this learning, even the highest achieving high school students report feeling lost or unmotivated.

There is no single or simple solution to this problem. But, we can learn from what is already working to help students develop the purpose and direction they need. One of the most common ways is study abroad. Students returning from quality programs often report a clearer sense of direction and ownership of their learning. Faculty report that students returning from abroad tend to pursue academic interests with more passion, get more engaged in the classroom, and assume more leadership in co-curricular activities. What would higher education look like if students returned to campus after studying abroad as freshmen with the purpose, direction, and maturity we see in traditional study abroad students?

In the coming weeks, I’ll share additional posts highlighting research and experience that shape the design principles of effective freshman study abroad programs. I’ll also explore the challenges and solutions for implementation. Stay tuned…

Making the Right Gap Year Choice

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A gap year could be the best educational investment any student and family can make for their college education. But, every program and opportunity is different. With so many options promising wonderful gains, choosing one that is both a good fit and high quality can feel daunting. This is a quick guide to understanding the potential benefits of a gap year and choosing a quality program.

Benefits of a Gap Year

Gap Year Programs Student in ChinaGap years prepare students to get more out of college. Students regularly report having more direction and a greater sense of purpose for their studies as a result of their gap year. Bob Clagett, former Dean of Admissions at Middlebury, has conducted research showing students who take a gap year before college tend to outperform those who don’t. Top universities in the US value gap years so much that they have committed to actively promoting them (Harvard, Princeton, and UNC are just a few examples).

Why do gap years matter? Students have specific needs as they transition to college. It’s a complex time in life when they shape their adult identity, reflect on their values, and come to rely on peers for support. These are not easy processes.

When students arrive on campus as freshmen, they find themselves without the adult mentors (parents, teachers, coaches, religious leaders, etc) they relied on in high school. And, there is rarely anyone to replace those mentors. They are surrounded by peers who are also trying to define themselves. This all happens in an environment offering access to challenging social decisions ranging from time management to drugs and sex. To top it all off, their motivation to achieve in high school was largely driven by the need to get into a top college. Once they’ve arrived at college, many struggle to find a new source of motivation.

Parents and students are often concerned a gap year will mean students are out of step with their peers when they arrive on campus as freshmen. Gap year alumni report that they do well socially and academically, but that they often relate more closely with upper classmen. They do not relate to the lack of purpose and direction that other freshmen struggle through.

A gap year can help students through this transition and better position them to learn with purpose, direction, and confidence. Many programs and individualized plans are built to provide adult mentorship and structured peer groups to support students as they define themselves as adults. Some options engage students in real world issues through service, internship, or work placements. Each opportunity offers a unique balance between independence and structured group experiences. Finally, there is a range of learning environments from experiential to academic. Dynamic gap year programs and plans can meet the needs of virtually every student.

Choosing the Right Gap Year

The hardest part about choosing a gap year program or plan is that they all claim the same basic things. It will be safe. It will be exciting. Your student will learn and grow. But, programs are not all the same. Parents and students face the challenge of determining which options are the right fit and high quality.

Determining the right fit starts with determining the student’s needs and interests. As a family (and possibly with your school guidance counselor), discuss the ways your student may want and need to grow to be prepared to take full advantage of college. Will it take “real world” experience, social or academic confidence, inspiration, or a combination of all of these? What types of experiences and supports will help ensure this growth? Make a list and be as specific as possible.

USA Gap Year Fairs BannerNext, start looking at programs. There are LOTS of them out there. The USA Gap Year Fairs website is the most comprehensive list of programs based in the US. Here is a previous post that will help you find the options quickly and narrow the choices to those that look like the best fit. Ideally, you’ll have a shortlist of 3-5 programs.

The final stage of choosing the right program is determining which among your finalists is the highest quality. There is not currently an organization that ranks programs based on quality and safety. However, if you know what to look for, it’s fairly easy to tell which of your final choices is best.

Start with a review of the website. Here are a few key questions:

  • What does the program do for students? – Beyond the basic itinerary, what does the program do to ensure student growth and learning?
  • Who designs and runs the program? – Considering education and previous experience, are they well prepared to deliver the education and mentoring your student needs?

Next, make a phone call. Speaking with the marketing staff is a good place to start, but don’t hesitate to ask to speak with a Program Director. Here are a few key questions:

  • What do you do to prepare for safety emergencies in the field? – Listen carefully for a clear description of how their staff prevents emergencies, prepares for any eventuality, and uses all resources available.
  • What was your worst health emergency and how did you handle it? – Every program faces health emergencies at some point. Listen for evidence that their emergency plan worked and that the organization learned how to better prevent and deal with such emergencies from the situation.
  • How does your program support students in their learning and growth? – Listen for specifics, including that the Program Director understands the needs of your student and has a clear vision for how to provide support for all of her needs. The program should offer the balance of independence and structured support appropriate for your student.

Finally, ask to speak to alumni parents and students. Asking the same three questions above, you’ll get a sense of what the student and parent experience was within the program and whether it lines up with what those running the program are trying to offer.

This work will help you understand two things about your final choices. First, you’ll hear a difference in how closely each program aligns with your student’s needs. Every program is built differently, and what might be a great fit for one student won’t necessarily fit well with another. Second, you’ll hear a marked difference in quality with regard to safety and student learning. It doesn’t take expertise to recognize this, just common sense and careful listening.

A gap year can be a great educational investment and help ensure success and fulfillment in college. Take the time to think carefully about what your student needs. Research the options available to find one that meets those needs. Once you find the right fit and a high quality program, great learning and growth will be on the way.

Subscribe to this blog for more information about gap years and available programs. This blog is authored by Robin Pendoley, Co-Founder & CEO of Thinking Beyond Borders, an educational non-profit offering international gap year programs. He also serves as Co-Director of the USA Gap Year Fairs.

Creating Social Change Leaders

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The social sector invests heavily in the tools of social change. But tools don’t build or fix things. People do. Specifically, it’s social change leaders with vision — shaped by love and intellect — that wield tools effectively (see parts #1 and #2 of this series). We must invest in developing highly effective social change leaders to create a more just and equitable society.

But, this leaves us with a very important question:

How do we develop social change leaders of this caliber?

Origins of Social Change Leaders

Great social change leaders like those mentioned in previous posts (Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, Muhammad Yunus) are treated like charismatic super heroes. It’s assumed their exceptional vision is a supernatural power.

Gandhi Social Change LeaderThe truth is, they are humans who lived and learned. Their experiences, studies, and personal reflection developed their capacities for love and intellect. Their love was agape love, which requires empathy for all, even those who oppress. It also requires faith in everyone’s capacity for that same love. Their intellect was couched in honesty, humility, and determination to pursue truth to empower all. Their love and intellect continually shaped the vision with which they wielded the tools of social change effectively. They were not born with these exceptional capabilities.

When we founded Thinking Beyond Borders (TBB), we believed these capabilities could be developed.

Teaching Love and Intellect

TBB seeks students with aspirations of social change leadership. During a critical period of their development, we provide them carefully structured learning opportunities that challenge and support them as they shape their capacities for love and intellect. The entire process happens as each student creates a vision for how she’ll address critical global issues.

Thinking Beyond Borders Students Social Change LeadersStudents participating in our programs are 17-19 years old: a critical developmental period as they shape their adult identity. They’re thinking critically about the values they grew up with. Their brains are developing the ability for meta-cognition — seeing the “big picture,” the players involved, and the dynamic ways they relate to one another. They’re shaping a vision for who they want to be and what they want to accomplish. They’re ready to be challenged, and they need to be supported.

Challenging and supporting students requires a carefully structured learning environment. During TBB’s Global Gap Year, for example, students study HIV/AIDS and public health in South Africa. They live in a wealthy White community while doing fieldwork in surrounding townships. As students develop relationships with their host families, the health care workers they shadow, and patients in the townships, they examine the varying perspectives of the many players in a complex system.

Social Change Leader Student in South AfricaAgape love is developed through social, cultural, and emotional learning. TBB students naturally feel empathy for the patients as they fight for health with virtually no resources. But, those same students often struggle to find empathy for their more privileged host families. The host families pose a problem: they show love to the student despite being virtual strangers, but often fail to show the same love to members of their local community. This creates cognitive dissonance for the students. Through structured analysis, students are pushed beyond seeing oppression in South Africa as the result of the malevolence of wealthy White citizens. Rather, the TBB program and curriculum challenges students to look for factors within the cultural, political, and social systems that prevent agape love from creating greater equity and justice.

Developing an intellect rooted in honesty, humility, and a determination to pursue truth to empower all means unraveling how we learn. The readings and seminars of the TBB curriculum add to the dynamic reality students encounter each day in the host community. The students explore the roles of drug makers and intellectual property law. They explore policies that have slowed and sped the spread of HIV. They explore the roles of foundations that have to make decisions about which diseases to treat and what to research. Through the examination of the myriad of related issues, students see the dynamic and complex nature of public health. By juxtaposing the perspectives of authors with those of patients and care workers in the host communities, students learn to treat every perspective as valid. Learning in this way builds a sense of humility; students are taught to value questions that lead to dynamic understanding rather than simple answers.

The TBB curriculum challenges students to question their assumptions about themselves and the world. As they do, they find core values and beliefs that conflict, resulting in cognitive dissonance. In South Africa, many TBB students confront their assumptions regarding the ability of the West to solve the problems faced on the continent of Africa. As they come to know brilliant and committed local people and the incredible complexity of the HIV/AIDS pandemic, it seems ludicrous that they ever believed they could be uniquely qualified to address such issues as Westerners. Through seminars and discussions, the students examine the origins of those assumptions, and how “Western culture” has shaped their world view. Analyzing these points of cognitive dissonance pushes students toward intellectual honesty.

This learning process is neither easy, nor linear. Each student encounters a wide range of thoughts and emotions. Their understanding of the world, its issues, and their individual capacity to create change evolves. The end result is a belief in agape love and a well-honed intellect that work together to create a vision of a more just and equitable world, and an understanding of how that individual student can lead most effectively.

Developing this love and intellect doesn’t happen simply by sending students abroad. It takes fieldwork partners and host families who are willing to take emotional and intellectual risks. It takes teachers with exceptional skill in creating a challenging and supportive learning environment. It takes a curriculum that teaches how to think, not what to think. It takes time and faith that each student will reshape their learning. It takes a major investment to help each student develop the capacities of love and intellect that will make them exceptional social change leaders.

This can be done. Thinking Beyond Borders is one example of the possibilities for creating social change leaders.

The tools of social change are important. Improving them and teaching about them is key to equipping social change leaders. But, without a highly developed vision for social change leadership — based on a conscientious development of love and intellect — those who go into the world wielding powerful tools like social innovation run the risk of creating more harm than good.

Love and Intellect in Social Change Leadership

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Social Innovation’s Weakness

Social innovation is a tool, but tools don’t build or fix things. People do. This idea was explored in the first post in this series, which illustrated that despite social innovation’s widely trumpeted potential to solve the world’s problems, it simply can’t. Meaningful and lasting solutions come from social change leaders with highly developed vision.

Where does this vision that makes social change leaders exceptional come from?

Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. are among the many social change leaders who identify love and intellect as fundamental to shaping their vision.

Love as Empathy

Martin Luther King, Jr. Social ChangeDr. King spoke and wrote eloquently about love and intellect. In his 1957 sermon “The Power of Non-Violence,” Dr. King explained that ancient Greek philosophers had three forms of love, but that agape love was the form essential for social change leaders.

We often refer to agape love as “empathy.” Generally speaking, the value of empathy is widely accepted. But, we tend to vilify those who harm or oppress others. Dr. King points to empathy for everyone — those who are oppressed and those who oppress – as crucial for social change leadership. This empathy allows us to recognize evil acts, but does not allow anyone to be seen as evil. It requires us to find love for all and have faith that all are capable of that same love. In the social sector, this means all stakeholders are treated as essential partners for any solution, regardless of any previous or current acts.

Honest, Humble, and Determined Intellect

In Dr. King’s 1947 article “The Purpose of Education“, he shared reflections on the importance of intellect. To Dr. King, the development of intellect is not about identifying winning arguments or making a case for one’s side. It’s about pursuing truth. This requires honesty that does not ignore or rationalize difficult truths. It requires humility that admits a lack of knowledge and limited perspective. It requires determination to pursue truth to empower all rather than a few. In the social sector, this means giving equal value to the needs of each stakeholder. This means treating everyone as authentic sources of knowledge and truth. This means giving up positions of social, cultural, and political power that prevent the realization of truth.

Mahatma Gandhi, Mr. Mandela, and Dr. King all ascribed to this thinking. Each wrote extensively about the importance of finding love for their oppressors. Each developed their intellectual capacities extensively. Perhaps most importantly, they each shaped their vision as social change leaders using their love and intellect. Their efforts are renowned because they were rooted in a vision of creating justice and equity for all, not just the oppressed. Their social change outcomes endure because the vision shaping their actions was based on a pursuit of truth, not on advocacy that shifted power from one stakeholder to another.

Ultimately, it was these qualities that allowed leaders like the three above and Muhammad Yunus (discussed in the first post of this series) to wield the tools of social change so effectively. Our pursuit of greater justice and equity in society requires social change leaders with highly developed vision shaped by love and intellect.

In the final post in this series, we’ll look at how these qualities can be developed. Stay tuned…

For more insight into the impact love and intellect had on the shaping of each of the above mentioned social change leaders, pick up the following books:

Subscribe to this blog to continue to follow the posts in this series. This blog is authored by Robin Pendoley, Co-Founder & CEO of Thinking Beyond Borders.

Social Innovation Won’t Save the World

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David Bornstein in the NY Times Fixes column recently referred to social innovation as part of a “breakthrough – maybe even a new Enlightenment.” He believes it is creating new and lasting change that is unprecedented in the social sector.

But, social innovation faces an undeniable limitation: it is merely a tool. And, like any tool, its impact is determined by the vision of those who use it. Great architecture isn’t created by hammers. It’s created by architects and carpenters with highly developed vision.

For the past few years, much of the investment in the social sector has been in building better social change tools and teaching people about them. It’s assumed that if we build just the right model of micro-finance or social entrepreneurship, we’ll end poverty, empower women, and create environmental sustainability.

Sadly, this isn’t true. Until we invest in developing social sector leaders with exceptional vision, we will not see the more just and equitable society that supporters of social innovation claim is on the horizon.

Social Innovation Is Just a Tool

To be fair, social innovation is a remarkable tool. Actually, it’s a set of tools built on the idea that business principles and social missions can be merged. This merger can create self-sustaining ventures with high social impact. It’s revolutionary because it alleviates barriers for social sector organizations. It reduces dependency on donations. It incentivizes businesses to meet the needs of the “bottom of the pyramid” by creating profit for those that do. It empowers the “poor” as consumers who determine which products and services meet their needs best. You’ve probably heard of micro-finance, micro-enterprise, impact investing, and social entrepreneurship — all are social innovations.

Yunus Clinton Social InnovationHow does this play out in the real world? Proponents of social innovation often point to micro-finance. Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank pioneered micro-finance to bring financial tools and opportunities to the fiscally destitute. Grameen’s monthly report from August 2012 shows over $12 billion borrowed by 8.3 million clients since the bank’s founding. Of those clients, 96% are women. Plus, Grameen turns a healthy profit. It’s 2010 audit shows over $9.2 million in annual profit. Clearly, Grameen has seen organizational success.

In 2006, Professor Yunus was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for this work. With various studies showing positive impact on childhood mortality, empowerment of women, and poverty alleviation, Grameen’s success at solving societal ills and meeting critical needs is often used as the benchmark of how social innovation changes the world.

Sadly, it’s not true.

Social innovation is not the cause of those gains. It’s a tool used in the process of creating those gains. The real cause of Grameen’s positive social impact is Professor Yunus.

The Vision and Intent of Social Change Leaders

Social Innovation and Muhammad YunusIn Banker to the Poor, Yunus’ book chronicling the development of micro-finance and Grameen, it is clear that he is not simply a banker meeting women’s need for financial products. His impact was the result of his highly developed vision as a social change leader, not his exceptional economic prowess. His vision included carefully developed values that define a more just and equitable society. It included an ethical and effective path to creating meaningful impact. His vision also included a critical understanding of his role in reshaping society, acknowledging his strengths and limitations. It was this vision that guided his work developing and implementing micro-finance as a social change leader.

Professor Yunus’ vision defined his approach in key ways. He was humble, leading him, as a college professor, to enter slums with the understanding that the inhabitants knew more about their needs than he did. He exhibited grace, allowing him to collaborate with women in a male dominated society and develop a tool that was respectful of their values, culture, and desires. He relied on trust in the human dignity of the “destitute,” leading to the creation of self-regulating lending circles with repayment rates unmatched in the banking community. It was Professor Yunus’ highly developed vision that created impact worthy of a Nobel Peace Prize, not the tool of micro-finance.

Not convinced? Consider the slew of micro-finance institutions noted for causing harm to their borrowers here, here, and here. Wielding the same social innovation tool as Yunus, lenders around the world have hurt those who micro-finance was designed to help. Some have created profits for the lenders but no positive, lasting social impact. Abhijit Banerjee and Esther Duflo expound upon the failings of lenders in Poor Economics, pointing to the poor vision of some social innovators leading to usurious practices which further impoverished borrowers.

Without social change leaders with highly developed vision, tools like social innovation can cause more harm than good. If we want to create impact in our society that moves the needle significantly toward justice and equity, we must invest in the development of social change leaders with the vision to wield tools effectively.

The second in this series of posts explores the factors that shape the vision that defines exceptional social change leadership. The final post in the series examines Thinking Beyond Borders’ international education programs as models for developing those leaders. Stay tuned…

Subscribe to this blog to receive upcoming posts in this series. This blog is authored by Robin Pendoley, Co-Founder & CEO of Thinking Beyond Borders.

iOnPoverty: Tempering Idealism Against Realism

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Idealism is often referred to as “youthful.” It’s meant as a dismissal, implying in a not-so-subtle way that such naiveté will give way to realism once we have a bit more life under our belts. But, great agents of change in history have all been idealists. Given the challenges our global community faces, it’s pretty clear we need some of today’s Millennial generation to become change agents. Fortunately, iOnPoverty.tv has arrived to temper “youthful idealism” into highly effective careers cemented in a vision of social justice.

Jonathan Lewis, iOnPoverty’s founder, and his intrepid team are addressing one of the great challenges faced by aspiring change agents: how to overcome the difficult personal and career hurdles that lead to acquiescence to “realism” (to be read as “accepting the injustices of the status quo as our unmovable reality”). The iOnPoverty website offers free video interviews of professional change agents speaking candidly about their own paths over, under, and around these challenges in pursuit of their idealism. These interviews share years of experience ranging from how to get a job when you have no experience to balancing family obligations with a commitment to pursuing social justice. These are not self-help vignettes. Rather, Jonathan as interviewer pushes to the core of the issues, often exposing not just the successes of the interviewee, but also the failings that led them to more effective paths.

What difference might this make? Imagine if Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., while sitting in a jail cell in Birmingham, Alabama in the spring of 1963 had read the letter from religious leaders  denouncing his anti-segregation campaign and decided to call it quits. It would be a difficult but logical decision for most. The campaign was faltering much as the Albany campaign had. He was 8 years into a struggle for justice that had separated him from his family, muddied his closest friendships with politics, and utterly isolated him from anything resembling normalcy. What decision might he have made had he not read virtually every published word of Gandhi’s struggle for justice in India and learned valuable lessons of both personal and professional import? What decision might he have made had he not drawn on the lessons of liberation theology, seeing Jesus as an agent of change who had to make balance decisions of personal sacrifice with a social justice vision?

Dr. King’s “Letter from a Birmingham Jail” is not moving and timeless because it is unprecedented. It is moving and timeless because it drew on personal truth telling – a particular strength of Gandhi’s – and on an unwavering commitment to social justice as a priority of today rather than tomorrow – a lesson he pulls from Jesus’ life. Though he didn’t know his mentors personally, the lessons they conveyed empowered him to provide exceptional leadership at a moment when the struggle for social justice was at risk.

Tempering idealism is not about tamping it down. It’s about strengthening it, fortifying it against the professional and personal challenges that drive us toward accepting the status quo. Thinking Beyond Borders was founded on the vision of offering educational and personal growth opportunities to do just this. Our gap year programs develop in students the intellectual and emotional skills necessary to protect their idealistic vision of a global society committed to pursuing social justice. They examine the dynamic complexities of critical global issues, learn to wield questions rather than answers as tools of change, and examine their own capacity and limitations as aspiring change agents. Perhaps the most influential aspect of the program on TBB gap year students is the time they spend working with local NGOs in developing communities. Our alumni often cite the example these change agents provide of commitment to social justice in their professional and personal lives as not only a source of strength, but also of personal reflection. Emulating the success of their heroes becomes not just about trying to replicate the scope of change created, but in aspiring to the integrity of our change agent heroes.

The great gift of iOnPoverty is the access it provides to the mentorship of some of today’s most highly effective agents of change. While the site is targeted at the Millennial generation, of which I am not a part, I can’t stop watching and absorbing the exceptional lessons this free resource provides. For all you aspiring change agents out there, take the time to watch and listen carefully. You just might see a future rooted in idealism opening before your eyes, to the benefit of all.

 

In full disclosure, this blogger served as an advisor to iOnPoverty in its visioning stage. I can’t claim to have made any contributions worth a damn, but it has been inspiring to witness the idealistic vision of Jonathan Lewis sprout once again (check out Microcredit Enterprises and the Opportunity Collaboration to see some of his other work). While that cheap-skate never paid me a dime for my worthless advice, it’s an honor to claim him as a friend. (Maybe he’ll buy me a hot dog…)

GiveDirectly Does Just That – But Is It Development?

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A friend’s post on Facebook alerted me to an essay by Chris Hughes about his newest effort to support meaningful social change: GiveDirectly.

I follow the adventures of Chris Hughes (co-founder of Facebook, Director of Online Organizing for the Obama 2008 campaign, and current publisher and editor-in-chief of The New Republic) because he has been a prolific source of social change. It’s also because I had the chance to meet him last year. He remains the only person to ever fully understand the complete mission and vision of Thinking Beyond Borders’ gap year programs inside and out before I opened my mouth.

So, I was intrigued by his decision to join the board of a non-profit with an innovative approach to international development aid called “direct giving.” As I explored their site and considered their approach I was struck by the high efficiency of their model for delivering aid funds to families in rural Kenya. But, I was also left with a critical question: Is it development?

GiveDirectly is a US based non-profit that receives donations through their website from individuals interested in reducing poverty in rural Kenya. After identifying families who meet a specific level of need — “households which do not have solid (cement or iron) walls, floors or roofs in their houses” — transfers totaling $1000 are made over 1 to 2 years directly to each recipient family via their cell phones utilizing M-Pesa. The families then spend the money as they see fit. GiveDirectly makes very clear that 90% of donated funds are received by the recipient family.

As a system for delivering aid money to those targeted for development, this system is highly efficient. GiveWell recently rated GiveDirectly as a “standout organization” because they are perceived to create the most “good” per dollar contributed. They’ve minimized administrative costs and they’ve utilized technology for direct delivery to families who are without financial services. This is an exceptional innovation.

But is it development? GiveDirectly’s approach to poverty reduction is based on extensive economic analysis, producing a rationale that they clearly describe on their site. Recipient families are identified as having a statistically high enough economic need that the carefully calculated level of aid will likely produce a significant advancement on key development indicators. Unlike loans or grants, the funds come with no strings or expectations; the family is free to spend it as they see fit. According to GiveDirectly’s research, the families have the potential to significantly increase crop yields, improve nutrition through food purchasing, generate income through micro-enterprise, and invest in education.

Improvements in these indicators are often considered to be signs of development. Both Jeffrey Sachs’ The End of Poverty and William Easterly’s The White Man’s Burden (two development theorists who have a bitter rivalry in their respective efforts to define “international development” in mainstream thought) cite these indicators as development successes. These beliefs are built on the assumption that measured economic improvement (the acquisition of tools for economic growth like education) means people are developing. By this logic, GiveDirectly is contributing to development in rural Kenya.

Amartya Sen won the Nobel Prize in Economics by presenting a different definition of development. In Development as Freedom, Sen makes the point that one can improve a wide variety of economic indicators for a family or community without actually increasing happiness. He contends that while economic improvements can increase happiness — aka “development” – the ultimate indicator is whether individuals and communities have a sense of agency with regard to pursuing happiness. He then provides a set of indicators that correlate directly with increased agency including democratic systems, justice, and security. By this account, it is unclear whether GiveDirectly is contributing to development in rural Kenya, as they are neither measuring these indicators nor attempting to directly impact them.

Paulo Freire was a Brazilian educator best known for his research regarding education’s capacity to fight oppression. In his seminal 1968 book Pedagogy of the Oppressed, Freire makes the case that charity is ultimately oppressive. The act of giving someone a resource can create a sense of dependency; the recipient is acknowledging the perception that the donor has the power to bestow happiness. Were this power dynamic to happen only once at the time of the gift, perhaps the recipient could shake the sense of dependency. But, Freire argues the recipient is bombarded throughout life with messages both explicit and implicit that they are inferior and incapable of advancement without the generosity and will of the powerful. Thus, the charitable donation contributes to robbing the recipient of a sense of agency and contributing to oppression. By this account, GiveDirectly is not contributing to development.

I have no doubt that Chris Hughes and the rest of the team at GiveDirectly have good intentions, are exceptionally intelligent, and believe they are contributing positively to international development. A number of members of their board worked with Jeffrey Sachs in pursuit of the Millennium Development Goals. But, as the argument above illustrates, what “development” is and how it should be measured is far from clear. While GiveDirectly is continuing to assess the outcomes of their work, it is unclear whether they will be able to demonstrate change in agency and happiness among recipients. Their effort clearly represents a successful innovation in the technology of development aid delivery. But is it an innovation in development?

The above referenced texts are all components of the curriculum for the Thinking Beyond Borders gap year programs. TBB believes the solutions to the challenges of our world will be innovated by a new generation of leaders determined to identify the right questions, not just the right answers.