Essay on Service Learning Opportunity for Youth

Service Learning is an educational strategy set in place to enlighten students with instruction and experience, in addition to improve learning , teach responsibility, and support the community. Service learning is vital to the development of the student, given that it intertwines academic and personal development together. It is aimed to enhance a student’s learning in all aspects of life.

The benefit of service learning for the student and community is again a better inform civic minded individual who may use his experience from service learning as a launching pad for career opportunities to better serve within that community. In an article published in the College Student Journal its author noted that with service learning “students gain further understanding of course content, a broader appreciation of the discipline, and an enhanced sense of civic responsibility" (Strange,

I did not know what service-learning was until I read the articles assigned for class. The articles along with going to the Harpers Ferry Job Corps orientation really showed me what it was all about. The reading and the class presentation have challenged my first thoughts by giving me a better understanding of what service learning is. Service-learning goes a couple of miles further than community service. Service-learning allows students to help the community, as well as learn about something. For example, my Education class is going to be tutoring students at Job Corps. Our class is providing the Harpers Ferry community a free service of tutoring to those who need it while hopefully my peers and I will gain a solid understanding of what it would be like to teach one-on-one. Service-learning has three main components: community service, instruction, and reflection. Those components work well together and make service-learning seem like the perfect answer to helping education grow into a more progressive way. However, students need to have a high responsibility, they have to take the initiative, as well as make choices. If students do not do that, the success of service-learning will be lacking.

To begin, I believe that Service-Learning helps one develop and hone their leadership skills. This world does and will always need leaders, and the young generation is next in line as the head of our society. These people need to be prepared to grab the baton from the previous generation and help fix and prevent many of the problems that previous generations have produced. If planned and executed properly, Service-Learning can

“Service-learning is a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities” (Learn and Serve America National Service-Learning Clearinghouse). This assignment gave students the opportunity to go outside of their comfort zone, which is typically the classroom and see what the “real world” is like. As Gandhi would say “The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others” (Gandhi). I believe that this project really allowed us to appreciate what we have because many people are not as fortunate. During this service learning project I had certain expectations going into the project, but in the end, my results were not exactly as I expected.

It is important to help give back to the community you’re able to learn through a different experience that helps enhance your knowledge. Service learning allows students to make a connection from the course and apply it in the classroom making their experience more engaging. I think is important to take what you learn in class and apply it. I am looking forward to starting placement to help enhance my learning and improve my skills. This type of experience gives you a whole different meaning when you can apply what you learn in a real life setting.

I believe the general purpose of service learning is to give back, to provide to others while being the change you want to see in others. It is also a teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience. Sometimes service learning isn’t always about doing things you like or that interests you but it’s about giving back to the community in a meaningful way. Those who participate in service learning are definitely over achievers because service learning has to come from the heart.

And I do agree that service learning is time consuming but that is what makes service learning a distinctive and constructive experience. Through academic and personal improvements that the experience provides, service learners end up building stronger and improved characteristics. The study, done by Daniel A. Bureau, James S. Cole, and Alexander C. McCormick, for example, describes the differences between students taking and not taking service-learning courses. Students who are engaged in service learning show “improvements in their grades, increased civic engagement, enhanced job skills, and greater appreciation for diversity” (Blouin and Evelyn, 120). Additionally as Damron-Rodriguez says in Lim Andra’s article on “Daily Bruin”, service learners start to “see themselves as citizens, as residents that have a meaningful role in the community” (Andra). Through findings and experiences that students have, the personal growth that service learning manages to reach is

Service learning helps me prepare for college with developing the traits of social involvement with others, organization, a consistently good behavior, and global awareness. These themes are commonly shown throughout 6 different articles involving service learning.

In regards to my future professional career, I can be more aware of what it is like to be a teacher. This service learning opportunity will prepared me in the future by letting me know what I need to do to in a classroom. For example, learning how to be organized, setting up goals for myself, and learning different methods of teaching is what makes a great teacher. From experiences, my teachers usually have all their lesson plans ready. In order to do this, they spend most of their summer making their lesson plans ready for the fall semester. This method can help teachers feel ready to teach and less stressed in

The article addresses the significance and true meaning of service learning and how it should apply to your educational experience. Service learning is a complicated concept because it is closely related to volunteering and general community service activities. The main difference appears to be a direct application of education in the service experience. A volunteer contributes for the betterment of the group they are supporting and maybe for the benefit of their human experience. Service learners should be contributing to the group for which the service is provided while benefitting and complimenting their academic process and evaluating the impact of the service on the learning experience.

All in all, service learning is an effective type of learning. My service-learning experience elaborated what I learned in class. It was a good opportunity for me to interact

Service-Learning is a combination of doing community service and having an opportunity to learn things out of the service done (www.thestamp.umd.edu). It is a strategy of teaching and learning in which meaningful community service with instruction and reflection to enrich the learning experience and strengthen communities is incorporated.

I personally believe that service learning is a great thing for many reasons. One of the biggest reasons is that service learning can give you great exposure to having face to face interaction which I think millennials try to avoid. Another reason that service learning is a great thing is that it can teach some people about how to be more compassionate as well as helping students understand their civic responsibilities as young adults. As stated by Flecky & Gitlow (2011), “a unique aspect of service-learning is that it incorporates structured opportunities for students, faculty and community partners to reflect on their interactions and activities in light of both educational and community objectives.” (p. 1-2). My interpretation of this quote is that the authors view service learning in a positive light. My understanding is that the authors believe by students reflecting on their interactions with the community, it can help further their

One concern of universities that are considering adding service learning is that not enough students will be interested in participating. There are several ways to get students interested in service learning. One way to get their attention is to give students who participate extra benefits. Some examples of extra benefits would be extra credit in their courses or even offering free credit hours. Another thing that would appeal to students is that the class would meet less often because one on the classes meeting times would be their service learning project. Another benefit of service learning is