We Must Be Willing to Acknowledge Social Problems to Address Them

When I was completing my dissertation in the late 1990s, I referenced a research study on the glass ceiling as an example of denial of existence.

Women in one organization were shown proof that they were paid lower wages than men in the same jobs.  Without any objections, these women still would not admit that there was any form of discrimination in their workplace.

Theories explain this phenomenon as cognitive dissonance.

Remove” glass ceiling” from the above example and add climate change, racism child abuse, homelessness, poor education, elder neglect, food desert, etc.

The listed problems have proven time and time again to be destructive. And we will now see disasters from the actions of those who do not want to understand. On a personal level, I do not know what to tell my daughter who will certainly be affected by what will seem to be the new LGBTQ perspective.

Before we can redress significant social problems, we must be willing to acknowledge their existence.

Collaboratively, we must be willing to take action together to achieve sustainable change.

I have heard people say: I want to be part of making a change in the world but I don’t know how.

The Masters of Social Impact answers that dilemma, by providing the students with tools of change, various methods of achieving and assessing impact, and leads the student toward an entrepreneurial mindset: a willingness to step up and the knowledge on how to make a difference.

Our current world and what lies ahead place an urgent demand on education to provide every learner with a set of skills not traditionally addressed in schools, colleges, and universities. These skills are empathy, collaborative decision-making, critical thinking, to name a few.

At Claremont Lincoln University, we place these soft skills at the core of what we do.

As the Dean of the M.A. Social Impact program, I am often asked, “How do graduate students like learning these ‘soft’ skills?”  I reply that these are no longer soft skills but skills of a change maker.

This is what we are doing at Claremont Lincoln University: preparing competent change makers to positively impact society and the environment.