Why I Teach

I haven’t posted anything recently, until today when I had to brag about Sheila Kennedy’s shout-out in her blog. I’ve been busy. I teach “Business Ethics and Corporate Social Responsibility” (oxymoron 101) at UC San Diego, and this quarter I tried something new. I asked students to sign up to play the role of a stakeholder in a particular industry – the options included employee, manager, stockholder, outside activist, or government regulator; the industries were big tech, energy, agriculture, fashion, aviation, banking, and pharmaceuticals. Their task was to identify the key issues in their industry from their stakeholder perspective, and see if they could reach consensus within their panel, on recommendation to the Biden Administration about how to address those issues.

There were a few glitches, and with 85 students, there was not enough time for everyone to say all they wanted to say about their area. But when I asked them to evaluate their experience on the panel, the feedback I got was fascinating. Unlike pre-COVID in-person classes, where team projects are universally disdained, today’s students were excited and grateful for a chance to connect informally with other students. Several said this was unlike any experience they’d had so far in college, and they were really excited to have this challenge. They liked that the topic was relevant to their lives and what is happening around them. They liked being asked to think about the perspective of different stakeholders. They loved hearing all the other perspectives in a non-threatening environment, as they met online outside of class to prepare for their presentations.

There were a few creative suggestions, and some well-written papers submitted. More important, though, and most satisfying to me, they had an experience that represents the best of what education can do. They had a chance to stretch, to consider multiple perspectives, and to interact respectfully with people holding different viewpoints. I can only hope that they carry that experience with them into the broader world. This is why I teach.