Friendship and Learning

Editor’s Note: One rationale for the use of CL is the importance of supportive interpersonal relationships to success in learning. Some research suggests that the two most important factors in academic success at university are not textbooks or the quality of lectures, but the student-faculty and student-student relationships. Probably the best-known of this research is presented in Alexander W. Astin’s book “What matters in college? Four critical years revisited.” San Francisco: Jossey-Bass, 1993. Richard Felder summarizes Astin’s work at http://www.ncsu.edu/felder-public/Columns/Astin.html.

Here's my favorite paragraph of Richard’s summary:

Astin concludes, however, that as important as the student-faculty relationship may be, "...the student's peer group is the single most potent source of influence on growth and development during the undergraduate years."[p. 398] Frequency of student-student interactions (including discussing course content with other students, working on group projects, tutoring other students, and participating in intramural sports) correlates with improvement in GPA, graduating with honors, analytical and problem-solving skills, leadership ability, public speaking skills, interpersonal skills, preparation for graduate and professional school, and general knowledge, and correlates negatively with feeling depressed [p. 385].

These thoughts were very nicely expressed by a community college student, Philip Flaming, in a speech at his college’s December 2005 graduation ceremony. His speech is reprinted, with permission, below.

Good evening everyone. To those of you who don’t know me, my name is Phil, and it has been a great pleasure to serve as the vice president of the student body over the course of the last semester. The only regrettable instance of serving in this position seems to be that, when we were deciding who to get to do these speeches, I was close by; so here I am.

I wasn’t really sure what to talk about when I accepted, and over the last week or so I have spent quite a bit of time thinking about what BCC (Broward Community College – Singapore campus) means to me. No matter what road my mind wandered down, there always seemed to be one central aspect that it always gravitated back to: friendship.

When I first came to BCC, I didn’t really plan on making a lot of friends. I mainly just wanted to do well in my studies and keep my social life outside of school. However, within just a couple weeks, the warm and friendly student body of BCC had drawn me out of my little shell as I forged strong friendships which I hope will last for many years to come. 

To me, coming to Broward became something to look forward to, and I often found myself coming to school early or staying late, either to hang out in the student lounge, enjoy a refreshing beverage in the canteen (a.k.a. food court), or to shoot some hoops on the court. No matter what day it was or what classes were going on, there always seemed to be someone around to do these things with. After class we would all head out to a movie, or grab a cold one, or dinner, or whatever. One of the things that has amazed me most about relationships at BCC is that you don’t have to know someone well to be friends with them; I have gone out with people who were strangers in the afternoon and close friends by midnight. It is rare to find a place where the people are so welcoming, and I am thankful to have spent what time I could here at Broward.

But it wasn’t just the students who I found myself becoming friends with. At first, I attended class in the hopes of actually learning something. At some point, however, this reason turned into me wanting to attend class because I liked the teachers and actually enjoyed spending time in the classroom. School became more of a place where I went to hang out with friends and learn from friends than a place of rigorous studies. I have done better academically over the last year than I ever have in the past, and I feel that this is because I wasn’t just trying to please a teacher; I was trying not to disappoint a friend.

Unfortunately, all good things must come to an end, and so too must my time at Broward. I hope that the friendships that I have formed over the last year will last many, many more, and I thank God for the time that I have spent here.

And so I would like to raise my glass in a toast;
Though years will pass, and much will change
Through times of tears and laughter
May memories last and love remain
And friendship ever after.                                                    Thank you very much.