Nearly 6 months after a weeklong immersion in liberal arts learning, manual labor, and student self-governance on Penikese Island, Gull Island's inaugural cohort reflects on what they've learned.
From our first virtual cohort meeting in February 2022 (above) during a COVID surge, to the recent heatwaves striking across the globe, Gull Island students have been talking -- together, and with others - about their experiences.
“Gull Island allowed me to focus on where I am, who I am, and who I'm with.”
Students and Faculty reimagining Liberal Arts education
Gull senior Kelsey Chen, who graduated this year with high honors from Harvard College, observed:
"Gull Island was a remarkable experience--[the] program that feels like it is at the frontlines of re-imagining what education in an institutional setting could look like. The program focused on the micro-ecology of the island; prioritized local and place-based knowledge; de-hierarchichized learning; emphasized self-governance, labor, and student participation in directing learning. I was especially struck by the responsiveness of the curriculum--topics of interest and themes of discussion were allowed to emerge on their own time and as a result of student-teacher-environment discourse. Even beyond the goals of the program itself I think that this kind of responsive structure provides a strong model for any kind of institution (educational or otherwise)--the program was intentionally designed to be a structure that is flexible and capable of transformation depending on the interests and directional guidance of the instructors, the students, and the environment."
TJ Dulac, a rising senior at Harvard College and graduate of Deep Springs College ('19), said, " Gull Island offered a refreshing supplement--even correction--to my higher education experience. Instead of treating education as a stepping stone to a career, Gull Island allowed me to focus on where I am, who I am, and who I’m with - critical yet often overlooked parts of my liberal arts education."
Kommentare