Contact: Carmen Ramos Chandler,
carmen.chandler@csun.edu,
(818) 677-2130
The course, offered through the university's Center for Community-Service Learning, will have CSUN students work with children in 13 elementary and middle school in Woodland Hills, West Hills, Tarzana and Canoga Park.
Communication Studies professor Bridget Sampson said the new class, which is offered in partnership with the West Valley Academic Mentor Program, will enhance the CSUN students' communication skills and increase their sensitivity to cultural differences.
"If you can learn to interact and communicate effectively with a child, you will increase your ability to communicate in all other settings - professionally and personally," Sampson said.
CSUN students will spend a total of 30 hours over the semester working one-on-one with elementary and middle school children two-and-a-half hours each week during lunch and after school. Though the students will be required to keep regular journals of their experiences, write essays and take part in discussions, there will be no exams.
The West Valley Academic Mentor Program, based in Woodland Hills, has been providing mentors to elementary, middle and high school students in the southwest section of the Valley since 1995.
"The mission of the program is to improve the reading skills and academic achievement of at-risk children by creating caring relationships between students and community members who want to make a positive, personal difference in the lives of our youth," said the program's director, Carole Donahue.
Maureen Rubin, director of CSUN's Center for Community-Service Learning, said the course is the first service learning class at the university that crosses all disciplines.
"Normally, classes are linked to specific majors, but this one gives students in all majors an opportunity to improve basic skills while making a difference in the community," she said.
Donahue sees the partnership as a win-win situation.
"Mentors learn important information about literacy and teaching reading through the training they receive, and they earn the satisfaction of knowing they are making a powerful contribution to our youth and community," she said. "Mentored students in our program are outperforming similar, non-mentored students by 29 percent."
Sampson said the mentoring relationship is important.
"In my experience, so many people want a mentor, or want to be a mentor, we need to increase possibilities for those relationships," she said.
Classes at the university start Aug. 28. California State University, Northridge has more than 27,000 full- and part-time students and offers 48 bachelor's and 39 master's degrees. Founded in 1958, it is the only four-year university in the San Fernando Valley.
The mission of the university's Center for Community-Service Learning is to inspire, encourage and support students and faculty in their pursuit of academic excellence through involvement in community service.
Past courses have included CSUN students teaching low-income middle school students and their parents basic computer skills, organizing health fairs that included the vaccinations of hundreds of young children and providing free state and federal income tax assistance to elderly, low-income and disabled citizens.
For more information about the center, call (818) 677-7395 or visit its web page at http://www.csun.edu/~ocls99/.
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