ABSTRACT

As the COVID-19 pandemic threatens American lives and disrupts daily routines, we continue to see front-line public servants step forward to battle the virus with persistence. Given the increasingly polarized COVID environment, the natural inclination is to ask: what is motivating these public servants to persevere in their work despite the chaotic circumstances of this pandemic? For many public servants, the public service vocation is their reason – the collective ethos that binds public servants together in creating a purpose-driven and action-oriented life. This essay encourages public service educators to adopt vocation as a motivational lens in their classrooms to help students understand the true meaning of public service work. Vocation is not a new concept for public service that simply emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic; rather, the pandemic serves as a focusing event to remind scholars and students that the public service vocation is at the heart of our field.

摘要

由于 COVID-19 大流行威胁着美国人的生命并扰乱了日常生活，我们继续看到一线公务员挺身而出，坚持不懈地与病毒作斗争。鉴于日益两极分化的 COVID 环境，自然倾向于问：在这种大流行的混乱情况下，是什么激励这些公务员坚持工作？对于许多公务员来说，公共服务职业是他们的理由——将公务员团结在一起创造以目标为导向和以行动为导向的生活的集体精神。本文鼓励公共服务教育工作者将职业作为课堂上的激励镜头，以帮助学生理解公共服务工作的真正含义。职业并不是在 COVID-19 大流行期间出现的公共服务新概念；相当，