It is not uncommon for us to see our learning as something that we, alone, manifest; this one-sided point of view is strengthened by the language of our most elite institutions, where college students have a “shopping period” during which they decide which classes they want to take. Learning, rather than being an exchange, becomes an act of consumption
What are the most genuinely reciprocal ways for Americans to benefit from the unique learning that occurs in new and unfamiliar communities?
Ultimately, one of the gifts of on-the-ground experience can be a renewed commitment to finding where, within the complex systems that govern development, privileged Westerners are best positioned to use their privilege to improve conditions for those they met abroad.
best learning happens not just when you’re thrown off a bit, as Piaget posited, but when you have the context of real, complex relationships within which you can find your footing again: “The goal is to build humanizing relationships with others.
