The Importance Of Serving The Community

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).

Service Learning is learning through experience to gain sociological observation, concepts, and theories so I decide to do my service learning hours in one of the two high schools that is part of the Oceanside Unified School District. The name of the school is called El Camino High School. El Camino High School is a high school that is located at 400 Rancho Del Oro Drive in Oceanside, California. It has over 3,000 students currently attending. The school’s mascot is the “Wildcat” and their colors are gold and red. El Camino High School is a public school that is part of a system of free public education that is maintained at a public expense for the education of students who are part of that community or district. El Camino High School is a place is a public school where students are coming out of middle school and are

Winston Churchill’s quote "We make a living by what we get, but we make a life by what we give" embodies what community service is really about. Over the years I have had the pleasure of working for several organization and volunteering in a variety of different areas. There has been a community service experience that changed my life tremendously though. From 2009 until 2014 I had the amazing opportunity to work for the Nash-Edgecombe County Teen Court Program and doing so profoundly shaped my future.

"Service is the rent we pay for being. It is the very purpose of life and not something you do in your spare time" - Marian Wright Edelman. To serve others is to minister and help others in various ways; it is not an act to do for show or publicity, but simply to enrich and help the lives of others and your own life. Everyone can serve one another in some form or fashion without even realizing the impact. Over my high school and college career, I have volunteered for a multitude of community service projects, ranging from mission trips, to serving the local HESED house children. Although, out of all of these projects, the one that leaves a lasting impact to me was the mission trip to the Dominican Republic.

As young adults, our characters are still being molded and we believe to have an efficient environment each individual should strive to be modified to his or her full potential. An aspect of community service promotes finding individuality and purpose in life. Actually connecting with hundreds who have

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.

“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.

I have learned many things about community service. To start off, I learned that volunteering not only makes people benefiting from the service happy, but it can also be fun for the people volunteering. Volunteering at the boo bash was a fun experience and I might volunteer again next year. Also, I learned that volunteers are very important. There are many events that occur in communities that need volunteers. Volunteering is important, but it can also be fun.

Planning and directing this service project taught me to lead by example, delegate responsibility, and be a conscientious organizer preparing me for the demands required of a leader in today’s society. I plan to use this experience to continue to serve my community and nation. Service to me is not just another thing that I can add to my college application, but is a deeper commitment. Service forges an unbreakable bond between me and those I serve, and a bond that I cherish very

For my service learning, I volunteered with two different community partners. The first service learning area I volunteered in was connecting with children at shelter and help work on a beautification project at the Miami Bridge Shelter. Miami Bridge is a Miami-Dade shelter for children who are victims of human trafficking, drug dealers, runaways, and abandoned youths which delivers them a fostering and supportive environment. They reconnect the youth ages from seven to seventeen with educational, social and job-related opportunities. While at Miami Bridge, a group of us from Barry had to paint the children’s bathrooms over with a different color such as purple for the girls and a cream color for the boys. After that, we had a task with the kids to pick up rocks in the sand with shovels because the shelter plans on making a play area there.

My service learning experience opened my eyes to many new ideas and supported the information that I have been learning in class. For my service learning, I went to West Elementary school and worked in an all girls first grade classroom. West is located in a very urban neighborhood right outside of East Lansing. In the beginning of my service learning, I was in culture shock due to the size of the school, make up of the students/teachers, and the social economic status of the students. All of these components were drastically different from the school I came from. At first, I didn’t know what to think of the school or students, but I eventually realized that their goals and priorities were different from the elementary school I went to. The three main concepts that stuck out to me during my service learning experience include, the social construction of gender, special and gifted education, and funding.

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,

Imagine immigrating to a foreign country where uncertainty and unfamiliarity awaits. That was my family in October 2008 when we arrived in America as refugees, deprived of basic necessities such as food and clothing. We faced difficulties adjusting to the culture and meeting our needs. However, volunteers of all ages from different charities delivered and donated foods, clothing, and presents, and warmly welcomed us with comfort during a time of major adjustment in our lives. They guided my family in our transition as we apply for schools and jobs. Volunteering was also a rare and uncommon practice in my birth country, so the number of volunteers helping us in America made a good impression of the country to my family. As I grew up and attend high school in America, I realized the amazing and endless opportunities for young people to make a difference in other’s lives by feeding the homeless, responding to natural disasters, caring for the elderlies, cleaning the community, saving the lives of animals, and much more. Community service should be required to graduate high school because it provides essential skills, builds character, and promotes higher education for a successful life.

Remember that coat from last year? Homeless people in your local area NEED that. Vermont winters get cold, and no one should stay outside because they have nowhere to go. Last year the temperature dropped to 20 degrees below zero. That extra snow gear would really help them. It takes 20 minutes to look through your closet and find old items of clothing you don’t need anymore. Take some time to help those who need

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