In the Nation’s Service
February 21, 2008 by Kristina Chew, PhD
Filed under Health
To be “in the Nation’s Service and in the Service of All Nations” is the “informal motto,” of Princeton University, where I went to college. On Tuesday, Princeton announced that it hopes to create an “international ‘bridge year’ program,” in which “would allow newly admitted undergraduates [can] spend a year of public service abroad before beginning their freshman year.” The University hopes to start the program in 2009 and will not charge tuition for it, and will offer financial assistance to those who need it. In a February 19th interview with the New York Times, Princeton’s president, Shirley Tilghman, suggested that the program will be a “cleansing the palate of high school, giving [incoming freshmen] a year to regroup.’” The University hopes that the program would benefit students in these four ways:
- It would enable them to develop an international perspective;
- It would provide an opportunity to support the University’s unofficial motto of being “in the nation’s service and in the service of all nations”;
- It would give students a break from the academic pressure that now dominates the lives of successful high school students;
- It would prepare students for a more meaningful Princeton experience.
Yes, this sounds all well and good and very important.
But what about this.
What about if college students (not those from Princeton, necessarily) had the option (were encouraged) to spend a year working with, living with, kids like Charlie? And with older kids and adults with autism and/or developmental delays, who—like Gannet in the documentary The Key of G need highly trained, compassionate, creative, energetic, individuals to help them?
My son Charlie will be eleven in May. He is one inch shorter than me and very strong; doesn’t talk too much; sometimes has really difficult behaviors; still needs 1:1 teaching and care. The simple truth is, it’s not as easy getting people to work with Charlie now that he is older and as he heads into adolescence and adulthood, not as easy as when he was younger and could still be called “cute” and carried. And yet it is precisely now that he is older that he understands more and can learn more; that he can do more and that I have constant fun learning to teach and help him; that he needs people, especially other people besides Jim and me, to help guide him through the world. Some of Charlie’s earliest and best therapists were college students who found that learning to teach Charlie was an education for them in themselves; many have gone on in careers as teachers, autism consultants, speech therapists, psychologists.
I am working on a letter to President Tilghman. I wish just to point out that there are many, many individuals right here in the US—–here in New Jersey—-who would more than benefit from young persons, with the right kind of training and careful supervision, living with them in supported living environments, helping them in the work place and after school and in the community.
One does not always have to travel far to make a difference.
That is a great idea. You might mention that some kids are already doing this. My daughter, who is in the 7th grade in Maryland this year, opted to drop chorus and volunteer as a classroom assistant for a teacher of special needs students. She has also joined a “best buddies” program in which she attends activities such as movies or dances with students who have developmental disabilities. A few weeks ago our whole family got to meet her “best buddy” when he came and spent some time at our house. His mom said it was the first time he has had an actual “play date” at someone else’s house.
Besides being very proud of our daughter, my wife and I are learning about issues that we barely knew about.
BTW, what are some of the best blogs or Web sites to look at to get up to speed on autism issues?
In many ways, each individual with autism is a “mini-culture” with a unique worldview. The ASA website describes this “mini-culture” concept by saying that two individuals “with the same diagnosis can act completely different from one another and have varying capabilities.” Each of my friends with autism responds to people, words, sounds, events, music, foods, and other aspects of culture in very different ways, making each individual interesting and unique.
In my humble opinion, the fact that my two sons (in their middle-20’s) had opportunities while growing up to develop close, long-term relationships a number of individuals with autism, indeed broadened their perspectives and significantly impacted their worldviews.
If you add to the perspective-broadening factor the issue of being in the “nation’s service and in the service of all nations,” including an “Autism Buddy” component to Princeton’s “Bridge-Year” program would be golden.
Because I’ve helped individuals do this sort of thing informally, I have a few ideas about developing the framework of such a program so the logistics don’t get in the way of the learning experience. Drop me a line if I can be of help.
The Princeton idea is good, and so is yours. The idea of a “gap year” between high school & entering college is popular in Britain.
I am opposed to mandatory national service, but in favor of voluntary programs that facilitate volunteerism.
How about floating this idea with a consortium of groups, like the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the national Down Syndrome Association, and so on?
Whenever my husband hears of privileged Americans going abroad “to help”, he grumbles about our own poverty-stricken communities. We have “third worlds” within our own borders.
My personal pet peeve is nursing homes and elderly shut-ins. I worked in nursing homes for quite a few years and always believed that civil service should include 2 years working there. People would certainly get an eyeful there.
Not to say that young people helping autistic kids is a bad thing. I think there are many ways in our own country that we can help.
@KimJ—I was thinking of nursing homes for the elderly and elderly shut-ins, too, especially after living with my in-laws (who are in the latter category).
@Liz and Cathy Knoll, thanks for those suggestions—-I was hoping to hear from everyone as I work on my letter.
@Steven Roll, the program in MD that you describe sounds really great; I think NJ is trying to start something similar. There’s a selection of autism blogs (a number by autistic individuals) on Autism Hub and Autism Bulletin has thoughtful articles and analysis.
Liz said,
“How about floating this idea with a consortium of groups, like the Council for Exceptional Children (CEC), the national Down Syndrome Association, and so on?”
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I like the idea of passing the letter/concept to many advocacy groups, campuses, and boards of regents. Princeton might pick this up in the future, since reading the process suggests that this current international bridge year program is part of an institutional plan for the entire university, but someone else, esp. one with in-place training programs or in the beginning of figuring out strategic funding might pick it up sooner.
(At one point the Calif. University system was asked by the Governor to institute a community service graduation requirement; it didn’t happen, but that doesn’t mean that it wasn’t a good idea, just that there are some logistical and funding issues that might need to be considered (private universities with substantial endowments might have less red tape).
http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/senate/reports/commserv.html
Excellent idea.