What Is the Role of the Community in Service Learning - Essay Example

Role of Community in Service Learning in the Pursuit to Make the World a Better Place Role of Community in Service Learning in the Pursuit to Make the World a Better Place Abstract: Enhancing the students’ learning method and the sense of social responsibility among them is the primary motto of service learning. Social responsibility and the duties with which citizenship is endowed are meant to deepen the meaning of education. The integration of community service projects and classroom learning is targeted by service learning. Education is something, which helps a person both in the fields of personal and community growth. Humbleness is a main characteristic of a well educated person. Division and conflict are the two things which he or she can ponder over by the virtue of a positive spirit to collaborate everything and forming an effective unity. Perfection is the point where education leads a human being. By following a well planned path of education, he or she is able to serve the community for an overall benefit. All service towards the community germinates from a sense of responsibility and this sense is an outcome of appropriate learning process which one has to avail. Defining Service Learning: Although service learning calls for many interpretations, there is a core meaning which is applicable from all perspectives. Many stalwarts discussing the idea of service learning have been unanimous on a certain point and they have expressed: “Service-learning combines’ service objectives with learning objectives with the intent that the activity changes both the recipient and the provider of the service. This is accomplished by combining service tasks with structured opportunities that link the task to self-reflection, self-discovery, and the acquisition and comprehension of values, skills, and knowledge content.”(Defining Service Learning 2002) The Definition: Service learning is a learning experience enriching process which contributes in community service. Person going through a service learning process becomes responsible as a citizen and this individual gain ultimately results in empowering the community. There are many little responsibilities which can be learned by this gradual process, as for example: a person can learn how he or she should take care of the city restricting the chances of pollution. Communication skill is an integral part of the study of this subject too. Although career interest is given priority, it is guided in such a direction so that a positive impact on the concerned social milieu becomes prominent. Public policy, environment and science are the three career objectives for the people who go through a service learning process. Service learning is, in many ways, an activity aimed at national development. The subject does not have any age bar and this is why its target audience is wide. (What is Service Learning, 2002) Impact of Service Learning on Community Affairs: Change in attitude is regarded as the main benefit of service learning. But this has to be achieved by the students through a proper dedication and devotion of energy as well as time. The main idea is to do something positive for the development of communities which are lagging behind the others. Helping the organizations working for community development is one of the main tasks for the students involved in this process. NGOs are the main organizations in which the students have to attain sessions. Every student learns to increase the level of tolerance for the greater benefit of the community he or she belongs to. Better knowing of oneself and relating this knowledge with the whole scenario is the method through which service learning reaches its target. Self-realization is considered as a gateway to success. Through this realization the students come to understand the meaning of happiness by the means of providing service to his or her community. It is a well proved truth that better community cannot be established without the presence of better individuals. Throughout the process, one becomes aware of the gravity of a human being and this makes him or her feel better. As the involvement in service learning studies increases, the student starts appreciating himself and thereby appreciates people surrounding him, too. For a better understanding of how service learning has its positive impact on real life events, here are two examples cited below: Examples of Service Learning Projects: Description 1 Project Clean Stream: Here the students learned the process of making people aware of proper utilization of water. Garbage in water is one of the biggest threats to the citizens of any country in the world. Helena High School students along with the students of Project Alternative Learning High School joined this special team. Quality of water in different places in the city was judged and recorded by these students. There were Community Resource personnel who helped the students while the students were busy in the cleaning up program. The immense enthusiasm with which the students of the above mentioned organizations is really admirable. Teachers of those schools also lent their hands during the sessions. There were events to energize the students by providing them with the opportunity of enjoying the weekend float trips. They were also given stipends along with certificates and recognitions. Age of the Students Involved: 12 – 17 Issue Areas: Science and Environment Description 2 1996-97 Service Learning Project is one of the most prominent examples in this field. Students were involved in the activities which aimed at diminishing pollution and preserving the wealth of nature. Among the main activities the mentionable ones are outdoor classrooms, gardens, fitness trails, historical trees planting and many others. Science and mathematics were also made inseparable parts of the whole program. Developing small parks was one of the tasks for the students and this was where the application of mathematics was also brought into service. In this way the students also learned how they can use mathematics and science for the betterment of their surroundings. There was in-class as well as outdoor activities in which the students participated with much gusto. Age of the Students Involved: 15-17 Issue Areas: Human Needs, Environment and Mathematics Service Learning Characteristics: National Commission on Service Learning has put up some of the main characteristics of the subject. They are as follows: Relation of Service Learning with the world of academics. This is a chance for the young generation to know about the real time requirements of the communities. Service learning is reciprocal in nature as it involves the development of both the person as well as community. It has no limitation as far as choice of subject is concerned, and therefore is applicable in any sector of knowledge. Service learning does not involve the students of any particular group of age. Therefore even the children can go through the learning process. However, service learning does not have the following characteristics: Volunteer program in an episodic method The subject is not an add-on process of any school or college curriculum. This is not a program that is meant for any student to complete graduation. This is not related in any way with the compensatory services which are given to a student as a punishment. A learning course where only the students of school and college can take part. A one sided service which effects only the student or the community. (Learning in Deed, 2002) As Eyler and Giles point out, both the student and the community is helped through the process of service learning. This is, according to them, an experimental subject which involves a series of events. A student becomes able to judge himself as well as his society going through the process. Reflecting upon the students’ own experience is the only way to approach a cognitive development. Personal experiences are very often associated with the community aspects for the better understanding of the subject. This is a feature that distinguishes service learning from all the other subjects involved in the school and college curriculum. The better the understanding among the student is, the more effective the process becomes. (Eyler and Giles, 1999) The most important thing about the whole process is the fact that examples, which appear on the path of studying the subject, are always real time. This is why the students of service learning can be very confident about the outcomes of various applications of theory which they execute. Competition is never involved in this learning process. Promoting skills cooperating with team is the main directive of all the activities involved. Knowledge is not abstract for the students of service learning as they go through practical experiences throughout the process. Going through reality the students get habituated in the application of critical thinking methods. They become experts as far as decision making is concerned. This also creates powerful opportunities for the students in terms of their career. They can stay always open for the career options in future and ready to accept any challenge. Therefore, service learning is a subject which helps a student to grow as a complete person who is dutiful to his or her community. This subject also prepares the students to face emotional challenges, too. The Relation between Service Learning and Community Academic and civic learning are associated with social service in the pedagogical model of academic service learning. The service which is aimed at by this subject is entirely organized and well planned. Here, the community is the main area where the student is supposed to act. Therefore he or she is free to execute the applications in elementary, secondary or higher level institutions. There are actually three steps which are involved in the whole process of service learning. At the very outset, the student has to chalk out an outline on the purpose and objective of the action that is needed. The second step involves direct activities. This is where the student gets various opportunities to learn about the different aspects of the subject. And, finally in the third step, the student becomes able to reach an effective conclusion, which he or she is able to explain in a crystal clear manner. The students of service learning are also able to analyze the condition of their communities as they go through first hand experiences and connections. There are some common works which are included in the task of learning by the students. Among them the mentionable ones are like helping out the homeless women, preservation of local plants, planning for a local playground or a park, carrying out a reading session in an elementary school and so on. Students of higher education are needed to be more responsible as citizens than their juniors. This is why the importance of going through service learning courses is much more necessary in their educational curriculum. Service learning is a subject which itself is maintained by disciplines and therefore students of this subject learn how to abide by the rules and regulations that are expected to be followed by the citizens. Students become aware of the importance of all the norms followed in a community. This forms a sense of respect in their mind for those norms. They can even evaluate the norms according to their understanding for the betterment of situations. Motivation is the main thing which generates the much required enthusiasm among the students of service learning. Sometimes the students also work in lots of adversities and this strengthens up their characters even more. They have to deal with people of various ages starting from children to the bed-ridden. On the other hand, they also need to handle some of the most sensitive problems in the modern world. Among them one can mention the problems of immigration. According to the researches, service learning did never have any kind of negative impact on the students. In most of the cases, the experiences had a long lasting impact on the students’ mind and this enabled them to apply the knowledge learned from experience whenever problematic situations have come up in their lives. Students’ gradual progress is, however, should be properly monitored by the community leaders. A survey shows those who participate in the service learning studies vote much later than those who do not take part in it. Learning leadership is also one of the integral parts of the study of service learning. (Youniss, et al, 1997; Yates and Youniss, 1998) A proper leader cannot be made out of a student unless he or she has a background of community service and other civic engagements. Another survey has shown that about 80% of the students of service learning have been able to participate in many of the social activities following proper rules and regulations. Their contributions in their communities are also admirable. (Melchior, 1999; Billig and Conrad, 1997; Scales and Blyth, 1997) Service Learning and Traditional Education: The Conflict Service learning is the subject where teamwork is given the most priority above everything else. This is an aspect which is not present in traditional method of learning. Community concerns are taken into consideration in this subject, whereas traditional method of learning is more directed to individual development. The principles which are laid before the students in service learning are different from that of traditional learning methods in the sense that, here, everything is judged from a wholesome point of view. ‘Teacher’, ‘Student’, ‘Faculty’ – these are the terms which are associated with the traditional methods of learning whereas in case of service learning, these designations do not bear clear meanings. Here, the roles keep on changing according the interests of the persons involved. Moreover, health and environment – these issues are always given priority for the betterment of the community in service learning. But traditional learning processes do not focus on any specific subjects as its motive is not so much concerned with any particular community. This is why most of the students coming out of the field of service learning have become successful health professionals and environmentalists. (Seifer SD, 1998) Conclusion: Service learning has now become almost an alternative method of studying. Knowledge is not the main target of this education. Service learning is a process of education which aims at building of a new generation. The main idea of this process is to make something different going against the traditional methods. Yet full respect to the already established norms is shown from every aspect. Students of a same community have a common issue in their mind. This is why service learning is said to be very effective as far as reformation and development of the communities are concerned. This process of study not only strengthens the relation of the student with his or her community but also the relation between a community as a whole and individuals who belong to it. (Freire, 1970; Giroux, 1988) There is no particular school or college where this study can be availed by the students, yet the impact and outcome of this learning procedure has proved to be very positive for the betterment of this world. When all the other streams of education are coming to a stage of stagnancy, educationalists are trying to find alternative ways to build the future perfect citizens. This is where the importance of service learning has come to the forefront. With the sincerity and responsibility of the students been enhanced, service learning is truly one of the best methods to make the world a better living place. References Eyler, J., & D. E. Giles, J. (1999). Wheres the Learning in Service-Learning? San Francisco: Jossey-Bass. Learn and Serve America’s National Service-Learning Clearinghouse. (1994). Defining Service-Learning.NCSL (National Commission on Service Learning), Learning in Deed. (2002). Retrieved 3rd November 2008 from http://www.servicelearning.org/what_is_service-learning/service-learning_is/index.php. Yates, M. & Youniss, J. (1997). Community Service and Political Identity Development in Adolescence. Journal of Social Issues, 54(3), 495-512. Seifer SD. (1998). Service-learning: Community-campus partnerships for health professions education. Academic Medicine, 73(3):273-277. H. Giroux & P. McLaren. Teachers as intellectuals: towards a critical pedagogy of learning (1988) Scales, P. & Blyth, D.(1997). Effects of Service-Learning on Youth: What We Know and What We Need to Know. Generator, Winter, 6-9. Melchior, A. (1999). Summary Report: National Evaluation of Learn and Serve America. Waltham, MA: Center for Human Resources, Brandeis University. Billig, S. & Conrad, J. (1997). An Evaluation of the New Hampshire Service-Learning and Educational Reform Project. Denver, CO: RMC Research. Read More