How can we enlighten millennial students?
Posted by Mark Winegar on August 20, 2008
Today was the annual kick-off meeting on my campus. We began with a plea to touch our students hearts with the pain of the world. Our speaker proposed pain as the essential ingredient necessary in producing caring adults ready to meet earth’s challenges. He challenged us all to honor our Catholic heritage by teaching our students to care for the lives of others. This lead to a lively discussion of how we might be able to reach this new generation of college students. I sat back and wondered, “why not use podcasts?” I waited for just one of my colleagues to mention it but no one did. I obviously have more work to do.
This podcast uses the song We Are The World and still photographs to call attention to the genicide happening today in Darfur. You see a child dying of starvation, refugees in camp, the wounded and murdered, and the desperation of mothers with no where to turn for help and justice. This podcast will touch many hearts yet it falls far short of showing the true horror and pain of Darfur.
This sample shows us stark contrast between the life of a typical American student and the youth of Darfur. There are action video clips and a hip hop theme song. It shows the same sort of stills of victims. It calls for specific action. Personally I think it is more compelling than the previous podcast.
This final video is a lengthy (0:45:50) documentary on the crisis in Darfur. It tells the stories of the people. You can see them and hear them. You sense the humanity of the victims. They become more real to us than a still photograph. Its hard to ignore their pain. Most importantly it offers hope for the future as well as a call to action.
Yes, I believe podcasts can bring the world into your students’ lives. It can put them in touch with the pain of others and light the lamp of understanding.
There is no shortage of human issues and tragedies to bring to the awareness of our students. Pick any one and then search for podcasts about it. I found all three of these on youtube.com by searching on Darfur. There are many more.
