April 1, 2026 Forum

An alternative way of measuring quality and success is using something called a “value-added” model. You measure the improvement of graduation prospects for all students based on their experiences in this educational institution. When a value-added measure is taken, the local community college and private college that primarily serve minority populations will often rank higher than prestigious, very expensive universities (such as Harvard or Stanford). Similarly, we might find that the ranking of healthcare in communities throughout America could be based on a value-added criterion. Given the average socio-economic level of those living in a community and the presence or absence of specific social deprivation factors, how good is the healthcare being delivered. Once again, we might find that the national order of counties to be quite different!

Jack, it is also so important what you’re saying as it relates to discovering and cultivating assets. Rather than applying a deficit model, which is saying you’re the worst, you’re 495, you apply an appreciative model and begin to say, what are the things that are going well? The phrase I use is ”Catch them when they’re doing it right!” How do you build on the assets that are already there? An appreciative model also says: Where do you catch people finding meaning in their life? How do you build on? So, what Jo is talking about is part of what we know about service learning. You got some kid who’s 20 years old and wondering what the hell’s going on in their life and why can’t I do anything, I’m not worth anything. Suddenly in the service learning project , they’re out there. They’re finding meaning in their life and purpose at that age, which really helps them. Two quick examples. One of the things I love mentioning is when the great earthquake occurred in San Francisco and over in Oakland, the freeway there collapsed and you had all these cars crushed under the freeway.

And there are all these heroes. Brave men climbed up the side of the freeway and rescued all these people from their cars. These men were celebrated on TV. What was not mentioned is who these men were. This part of the freeway ran through a blighted part of Oakland. There was a bar and the men in that bar were all absolute drunks. These were the heroes were who stumbled out of the bar and were sober enough to climb up on the freeway and rescue people from their cars. So for these men, there was a moment of purpose for them that made a huge difference.

Here in Maine, who are those men who were saving that home from all the mildew? These are men who are retired and had been saying, where the hell do I find meaning and purpose in my life.  I don’t have a good job anymore. So, these men suddenly were picking up, saws and hammers. They were going out to do something that was meaningful. I know these are individual solutions; however, how do we help people find what is meaningful for them and recruit them into those volunteer areas to do important work? It’s not just 20 year old students engaged in a service learning project. It’s people who are 85 years old or people who are 45 and drunk in an Oakland bar.