Learning, Service and Work Well Done
Learning, Service, and Work Well Done
Through the leadership of the Dean of Labor, the Labor Program Council, and countless supervisors and mentors, Berea's Labor Program reflects a unified vision of labor as student and learning centered, as service to the College and broader community, and as necessary work well done.
The Labor Program, a comprehensive Work-Learning-Service program, is an integral and stated part of Berea College's educational philosophy and program and is designed to serve the following purposes:
The Labor Program is designed to serve the following purposes:
• Support the total educational program at Berea College through experiences providing the learning of skills, responsibility, habits, attitudes, and processes associated with work;
• Provide and encourage opportunities for students to pay costs of board (meals), room, and related educational expenses;
• Provide opportunities for service to the community and others through labor;
• Establish a lifestyle of doing and thinking, action, and reflection, and serving and learning that carries on beyond the college years.
Designed to serve these multiple purposes, the program reflects a unified vision of labor as a student- and-learning-centered service to the College and broader community and, as necessary, work well done. The administration of the program is the responsibility of the Dean of Labor.
Labor assignments function very much like classes. Beginning at entry levels of work, students are expected to progress to more skilled and responsible levels. Through these experiences, it is expected that student workers will:
• develop good work habits and attitudes;
• gain an understanding of personal interests, skills, and limitations; and
• exercise creativity, problem-solving, and responsibility. Students may also learn leadership qualities, standard setting, and effective supervision.
The Labor Program makes it possible for students to know each other as co-workers and classmates. More importantly, linking the Academic and Labor programs establishes a pattern of learning through work that continues long after college.