The Importance Of Service Learning

In the assigned article entitled “Why Service Learning” by Bruce W. Speck, it provides great insight as to why we need to engage in service learning. This article focused on the questions that were like the reasoning behind service learning and how does it benefit the student. One definition in the article that stood out to me was service learning being defined as a pedagogy that fosters the development of skills and knowledge needed for participation in public life. This was prevalent because it allows the student to network with others outside of the community while giving back. Service learning was created to get away from the traditional way of learning while implementing a new learning system.

It is also a “boundary spanning” activity in that it requires active involvement from people both within and outside of the classroom context, often resulting in participant contributors who represent a variety of generations, ethnicities, social groups, and experience levels (Billig and Furco, 2002, p.vii). Service-learning is designed to reduce the boundaries between an institutional campus environment and the community around it. It is designed to connect learning to real experience through service and reflection (Ball and Schilling, 2006; Becker, 2000). As a baseline to facilitate this development, service-learning is distinct from other types of community service and civic engagement experiences in that the service-learning experience must not only have a service and reflective component but also be clearly tied to the curriculum through learning objectives and theoretical underpinnings (Bloomquist, 2015; Pritchard, 2001). As Barbara Holland, former Director of the U.S. National Service-Learning Clearinghouse, shared, “Service-learning is all in the hyphen. It is the enrichment of specific learning goals through structured community service opportunities that respond to community-identified needs and opportunities.” (Kenworthy-U’Ren, Taylor, and Petri, 2006: 121).

The critical difference of service learning and the traditional learning style is that students are learning and addressing real needs in the community. Which connect students to the community through meaningful interactions with others, safety, and educational needs. This specific course includes readings, discussions, and activities to support

Before deciding where I wanted to do my service learning, I knew I wanted to do something that had some relevance to my degree that I will be receiving in healthcare management. I was eager to gain more experience and become more knowledgeable of how an organization operates as it relates to healthcare management. I was able to secure an opportunity to volunteer at the Dallas Veterans Affairs (VA) Hospital. After completing the required VA forms, I got partnered with Mr. Alonzo Price Jr. who is a Management Analyst in Ambulatory Care, which is the department that oversees the Primary Care Providers.

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,

In the summer of 2014, I started as a volunteer tutor for the Youth Tutoring Program

Before commencing service learning, I had a number of misconceptions towards people with disabilities. Before volunteering, I had a lack of understanding, viewing people with disabilities as dependent and in need of constant help. Another misconception towards people with disabilities was focusing on the person’s lack of ability rather than the individual which consequently resulted in a one-dimensional outlook towards people with disabilities. Reflecting upon these views, I am appalled with these naive and prejudice

Assistant Professor of Education, Dan Butin, asserts in his essay " Service- Learning is Dangerous" that service-learning is dangerous because it forces the focus of education outside of the classroom and challenges pre-existing notions of what higher education entails and how it is structured. He suggests that it should be more than just a course, but should be the course itself. He also contends that service-learning is able to provoke the student to question who they are and what they believe. It is able to combine conventional education with life experience for a more rounded approach to educating.

After some research and deliberation, I chose Habitat for Humanity (HFH, 2016) for my service project. There were several reasons that Habitat for Humanity appealed to me. The first reason is that I consider HFH to be a worthy cause is that I appreciate that it’s for a lower income family that would not otherwise be able to afford a home. The facts that the beneficiaries are expected to help build their home or other HFH homes with sweat equity, they’ll pay a mortgage, combined with the way it’s set up so they won’t be able to just sell as a short term flip, gives me the impression that it’s not a freebie entitlement program, but a program that promotes responsibility with some life changing results.

The purpose of this service-learning project was to educate and provide evidence based knowledge to associates that work at ShopRite in Flemington, N.J. on easy ways to identify, selected foods, which are beneficial to a similar looking body part. For example, the kidney beans are beneficial to the kidneys except if someone has kidney disease. My aim was to increase the knowledge of ShopRite associates so that they will be able to identify and more importantly recall quickly while shopping what foods are good for what parts of the body. The importance of associating foods that looks like body parts help keep learning simple, fun and informative. The best way to learn is to engage in an activity where learning does not appear to be the objective. Accidental learning can ‘stick’ so that when individuals are trying to incorporate healthy eating options into their diet recalling it will be simple.

I was assigned to work for America Learns at an elementary school in Roxbury for my service learning placement. America Learns works with students from kindergarten to third grade, the program is structured to offer both tutoring and an additional activity each session. The activity is intended to teach the children critical thinking skills, diversity and cultural awareness, and experiential learning, as well as help to improve basic reading skills. Twice a week each tutor works with a student through the entire program, both homework help, and the activity. The goal is that throughout the weeks of the program the tutor and student will build a relationship that benefits both parties involved.

College students need a practical environment to apply theories they learn in classes to real life experiences. Service-learning courses that have increased dramatically, as Kathy O’Byrne, the director of the UCLA Center for Community Learning said, created this engaging opportunity for the UCLA students. Cited in their website, “the Center supports courses and programs that stress the importance of global citizenship, diversity, leadership and social justice” (uei.ucla.edu). Based on my experiences in Santa Monica Boys and Girls Club (SMBGC), service learning is a valuable and fruitful commitment that provides benefits to each party that gets involved within the site. More precisely,

If I could do a service learning project I would do an adoption event for cats and dogs, I chose this because a lot of people love animals and I think a lot of people would love to help with this sort of event. Also there are a lot of animals out there that need homes and they absolutely do not deserve to be put down so it’s really important. I think personally talking to people would be the best way to get them involved, possibly having a presentation so more people can focus on you and listen to what you have to say would also work.

According to Kathleen Flecky and Lynn Gitlow, service-learning is defined as, “learning that occurs in experiences, reflection, and civic engagement” (Flecky & Gitlow, 2011). In recent years more universities are implementing service learning into their curriculum. A key concept of service learning is civic responsibility. Civic responsibility can simply be defined as your responsibilities as a citizen. As will be shown later in this paper, service learning can have many benefits not only to a student, but also to the community members

The Society for Experiential Education defines service learning as, “any carefully monitored service experience in which a student has intentional learning goals and reflects actively on what he or she is learning throughout the experience” (Staton 1). Service learning is a great opportunity to get extra learning experiences while also experiencing the community around the universities campus. “Service learning allows students to apply what they are learning from their instructors, peers, and readings to genuine tasks that occur outside the four walls of the classroom while simultaneously helping others” (Staton 1). Universities are using service learning to expand beyond the classroom and provide students with experiences that will