U of T in the community: Community Engaged Learning

New College supports a number of programs that give students the chance to take the knowledge they have acquired in class and develop it in off-campus contexts.

Community Engaged Learning, which pairs a seminar component with weekly hands-on work experience at local community organizations, is one such program. 

Jessica Shane is a student in the Community Engaged Learning program and a volunteer with the community theatre group Jumblies. Below, Shane shares her reflections on the experience.

I was really excited when I heard about the Community Engaged Learning program because I was eager to apply course material outside the classroom, as well as explore a potential career path. Toronto is such a dynamic city, but it’s easy to get caught up in the University of Toronto campus bubble. I was glad to find an opportunity to expand into the city.

As a double major in Visual Studies and Women and Gender Studies, I am always looking for places where art and social justice intersect. When I found out about Jumblies, I found a place where this connection was central.

Jumblies is a theatre company that works to create art in unexpected places. It “expands where art happens, who gets to be part of it, what forms it takes and which stories it tells” and “place[s] participants at the core of [its] projects”.

In the fall of 2013, I found myself working towards the creation of a community puppetry workshop and play in East Scarborough with a Jumblies offshoot called the Community Arts Guild. It was amazing to be involved with such a diverse group of people with so many skills and stories to share. This particular project was the third part of a triptych of projects revolving around the theme of “lost and found”. The play revolved around a story told by a Tamil senior citizen about losing and finding his son on a train in Sri Lanka. The setting of the train was intentionally ambiguous, and references to other forms of transport more familiar to various participants (such as a Toronto Transit Commission vehicle) were made, creating greater opportunity for participants to make personal connections to the narrative.

Since the Community Engaged Learning program launched in 2009, nearly 70 students have completed  placements at 22 community organizations, addressing issues including disability, social justice, progressive and alternative media and arts in community building.

Through my participation with Jumblies, I have had the opportunity to reflect on the importance of stories. I have begun to think about the voices that are not often heard in the traditional and often elitist art world, and what is made possible when they are, for both creators and audiences. Jumblies’ story-based productions work to bridge the gap between the server and the served by creating collaborative art-making spaces that are accessible and responsive to the community involved.

Next semester, I’ll be helping at Jumblies’ new space downtown, which I know will present a new set of challenges and learning possibilities. I am looking forward to learning more about the organizational side of workshops and productions, because I imagine these skills will be useful for future professional endeavours.

The Community Engaged Learning program is a class that is challenging, personal and adaptable in a way that my other classes are not. My experience has promoted valuable self-reflection and honed my leadership and interpersonal skills. I’m really grateful to have access to this program.

Jessica Shane is a third-year student who is pursuing a double major in Women and Gender Studies and Visual Studies. This story is part of a larger series on community-engaged learning opportunities at New College. (Read about other students’ experiences.)