Mike Benjamin SMP

Mike Benjamin:
He is renovating Charlestone Point; it is a work in progress; not finished yet. The program is called "Local Immersion" and it is located in historic St. Marys. He described it as almost like a study abroad program at Chancellor's Point that is 3 weeks long.
During his presentation, Mike talked about how today people can't function or pursue their goals without technology and how this is unreasonable. I don't usually think of things like that, but after he brought it up, I began to realize that he made a very valid point. What he said next made an even bigger impression on me. After talking about how people rely on technology and such, he argued that there are even bigger unreasonable things going on even WITH computers and institutions, such as people being bored in class or not being interested in their major. He called it a "lack of fascination" (in curricular activities). I have never taken the time to think about this concept until he mentioned it and after dwelling on this idea for a while, I realized that he made a great point. Even with all the technology and help in the world, some people are STILL not getting anything out of what they are doing or learning. This is tragic and I am glad that someone has finally taken note of it. After his presentation, one woman in the audience asked him: how do you reconcile the fact that this program is located on land owned by an institution? Mike responded by saying that the academic world and the outdoor world/environment need to communicate. I think this was a great answer and a good point.