Harvard’s classroom to table program began in September 2015. The program pays for undergraduate students to have a meal with a professor to engage in dialogue outside of the classroom.
Many of Harvard’s classes take the form of impersonal lectures. Even in small classroom discussions, there is often not enough time to engage fully with the material or to build mentoring relationships. This program serves to bridge this unfortunate divide between teachers and students.
The program has been a great success. During the 2015-2016 school year, around 1000 meals were organized through the program.
Clearly, there is huge demand for such a program. However, as of April 7th 2017, the program ran out of funding and could not support meals for the rest of the spring 2017 semester. Funding should be expanded to accommodate the huge demand for such a necessary program.
Sources:
http://www.thecrimson.com/article/2016/10/31/college-classroom-to-table-program-grows/
