Mike, you make some very astute comments.  I believe you are right on regarding the programmed behaviors of many students - grade-centeredness and self-serivng behaviors that ensure job procurement down the road can often lead to a sacrifice in true learning and the dedicated pursuit of knowledge and truth.  People, especially our youth need to understand the larger picture- the system-focused view rather than the self-serving one.

 
    The paradigm shift from destructive competition (such as that for limited internships in top grad schools) to synergistic collaboration (such as pooling job contacts to create interships for all) is critical and necessary.  I also liked your comment on experiential teaching and learning opportunities - i hope these become an inculcated standard in school cirricula so students can engage in transformational learning opportunities that connect them directly with problems and issues.  Learning by doing has a unique power and impact.

One of the key promotional efforts we need to pursue is raising awareness of all the great opportunities to make a difference locally.  As an active member of Net Impact for some time now I embrace the motto 'Think Globally, Act Locally'.  Our city chapter is now focusing efforts on this community.

What else could help effect the paradigm shift we need?  Technology can certainly help - and it is our hope at REALNEO that models for open-source virtual interaction that help build and engage communities around positive change efforts will play a key role in making the necessary shift happen. At the very core, I believe, is the need to transcend self-centeredness and self-interest to find a perspective whch places priority on the service of others and that higher than the self.  In the end this will generate reciprocative benefits which far outweigh the initial investment.  As people realize the benefits of connectedness and community development we just might see the paradigm shift we long for.

I completely agree that the issues raised are not new - and that it is a matter of time that the paradigm shift will occur.

Yet, I always wonder where certain mentalities stem from . . . I feel as though once America rid itself of omnipresent social turmoil, everyone just settled into the passenger seat of social action. Few stick out their necks for the greater good, because they realize that they will be left to fight for themselves. Standing up for the greater good is not a priority that blends well with standing up for thyself. That, I feel, is at the heart of the matter - a true lack of consolidation, with a true yearning for self-preservation (in the form of material wealth).

As for technology: on one hand, technology is bringing people from all over the world closer and closer. On the other hand, it is driving them apart. I haven't been alive that long (22 years to be exact) but I have this romantic notion that people used to have conversations in person - that people would go out on their porches in the summer and talk to their neighbors - that people embraced a greater sense of community. While it is wonderful that I can talk to a friend in China, I find it sad that I am so busy and wrapped up (much like all of us) in establishing a career, that I make conversation with friends down the street  via Instant Messenger, E-mail, or online posting. Additionally, the internet is an overload of information - for better or for worse. For me, it's like going to a restaurant that has so many choices that I just order a salad because that's what I know and am used to.

In that regard, how can technology be used to attract the many versus the niche-interested few?