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Imagine if your chemistry class helped you improved the lives of others. What if your sociology homework was to help build houses for victims of domestic violence? How about if you could skip a final exam in Spanish in exchange for a few hours tutoring children whose first language is not English?
Service learning is a teaching strategy that combines community service with classroom learning. It relates academic curriculum to community service in ways that enhance both.
"I like seeing students who I know have so much ability get excited about school," said Dr. Kathleen Grove, a Sociology professor at Palomar College who supports service-learning elements in her classes. "Community service is a way for students to show that what you learn matters -- which is what I think we ought to be doing with college -- it should be transformative."
The term "service-learning" was coined by two educators in 1967 to describe the combination of conscious educational growth with the accomplishment of certain tasks that meet human needs. The goal of service-learning programs is reciprocity -- students learn from the community while the community benefits from student participation.
"The philosophy is that you're going to learn more if you're not just reading about something but if you're actually out in the community and the community experience will be a richer one if it's tied back to an academic aspect," Grove said.
While service-learning programs vary, common aspects of the programs include a student's service to a nonprofit organization (or public school) along with student reflection. This reflection is usually done through reading, writing, and dialogue -- inside and outside of the classroom.
The guidelines for service-learning projects are often determined by course instructors. The instructor determines the number of hours, the length of service, and the types of placements. The key is selecting placements that best fit the learning objectives of the course.
The benefits of service-learning programs apply to all involved. The college associated with the program gets name recognition and prestige. Faculty members benefit from the experience as well. "I have to think through my course in a much more conscious and deliberate way, so in the end I think that makes me a better teacher," Grove said.
For students, it can be beneficial in a variety of ways. A national study of Learn and Serve America programs suggests that effective service-learning programs help students improve academic grades, increase attendance in school and develop personal and social responsibility.
They can help students test their values, develop and recognize skills and explore or confirm possible career choices. They can also help students to write better, read more, develop more enthusiasm for a class and promote a sense of civic responsibility for students.
As an example, there was a group of students in Oceanside who tested for lead in low-income houses for a chemistry class. As it turns out, the housing tested was full of lead. The students then brought their findings to the City Council. It just so happened that the city had been appropriated funds from the Environmental Protection Agency. By utilizing federal funds, the community was able to clean up lead-ridden residences.
The students discovered a problem, were faced with an ethical issue and worked to find a solution. Service-learning introduces students to social issues that they may have otherwise never known about.
Advocacy gives voice to the need for changes in public policy and legislation to address injustices within the community as well as nationally. In college, students often become politically engaged through voting, lobbying, educating peers and participating in public events or media campaigns.
Service-learning experience also serves as a catalyst for students' future vocational and educational opportunities. Community service has the ability to strengthen a student's resume, university and/or scholarship application.
"I'm on the scholarship committee at Palomar and one of the things we give big points to is community service… It shows that you're involved in the world, it shows some sense of responsibility, it shows some social conscience, it shows character -- all of those are good things we like to see in students," Grove said.
Interfaith Community Services is a social service organization in North County that works with service-learning programs throughout the community. Their organization provides assistance to underserved populations such as at-risk youth, families, veterans, individuals with mental illness, those with drug and alcohol addictions and day laborers.
Interfaith service-learning students perform a variety of tasks to provide service to the organization. Some examples of work accomplished include helping clients in the social services department, helping serve meals to previously homeless veterans, creating crafts/playing games with a single parent family who has possibly fled from a domestic violence situation and/or visiting a senior who is homebound.
According to Nusrat Symons, volunteer coordinator for Interfaith Community Services, service-learning presents a unique opportunity for students to change their perceptions of social issues. "Come to the position with an open mind and be ready to have your ideas about homelessness, poverty, unemployment and mental illness challenged," Symons said.
Student volunteers help an organization save resources that can be directed towards core services and, consequently, help the organization assist more people in the community.
"These volunteers make a real difference to real people," said Symons, "The gift of time is something that defies a simple description. To the one who is on the receiving end, it can mean all the difference."
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