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in county workshops in close association
with other interested people.
"It's too bad we don't see the benefits
of students working and learning in more
realistic settings," Evans said. It would
give the student a chance to apply what
he has spent his time learning.
He said Nebraska Opportunities for
Volunteers in Action (NOVA) is the type
of program in which students can apply
their knowledge in low income and
poverty areas.
"This should be applied to many other
fields of study besides poverty," he said.
Under the provisions of the Hatch Act,
which established agricultural experiment
stations, funds may not be used for
research and education when an
agriculture experiment station employee
teaches a course where credit is given,
Ottoson said.
However, students would be able to
receive credit for courses in which
research has been done on an experiment
station project, he explained. Having
departments from city campus get
involved in various projects would be
good, but so far there has been no effort
to recruit help, he said.
One of the problems that Evans found
in community education was that farmers
generally lack the motivation needed to
get involved in the learning and
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decision-making process in the
community.
"Bushels are easy to measure and the
farm operator has a clear economic
motive. We as educators have not yet
learned how to build motivation in
people to learn about social change that is
so vital to the educational process," he
said.
However, Evans said, there would be
many benefits to the re-orientation of the
education thrust:
-Students would be able to work in
the field applying what they have been
learning in class. They would also be
getting more than just a grade out of the
work they do.
-Emphasis of research would be on
regional needs of Nebraska and the great
plains.
-The gap between outstate Nebraska
and the University could be closed. Each
regards the other with a bit of contempt
which would be lost if they worked
together on state and community
problems
- Higher budgets would be easier to
get il the state s.'iw what the University
was doing in this area and there was less
opposition to appropriations.
Evans said the need for cornmuinty
education will last as long as "we
continue to generate knowledge that
citizens need in community alfairs."
Howard Ottoson