Service Learning: More than Community Service Essay

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.

In order to gain the necessary skills needed for social work, service learning is necessary due to the fact that it serves as an introduction to skills that may be utilized later in the field. Completing my service learning hours at Harvest Hope Food Bank provided me with the necessary experiences to ensure I am able to impact clients positively and in a more professional and ethical manner. Values and ethics, connections to generalist practice, and experiences with the organization all shared important roles in helping me comprehend the importance of interactions with others in communities, resulting in being able to better understand the various clients I may encounter.

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 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.

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

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.

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.

Service learning projects can be life changing for students. They learn empathy for others, and may even get the real life experience they need which will inspire them to find a career. Through helping others students may find that they want to go into the human services field or even go more global by joining the Peace

Critics believe that service-learning provides cheap labor to non-profit organizations and the community. On the other hand, it does not benefit the students’ participating. The Kellogg Foundation (1999) wrote, “Some do not see service-learning as having real

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,

As I read through the article, “Service Learning: The Process of Doing and Becoming an Occupational Therapist”, one of the things that stood out to me when reading the student’s reflections, was how service learning fosters greater civic awareness that one would not otherwise know about. For instance, a couple of days ago, I was speaking to a friend who participated in a Health Occupations for Positive Emotions (HOPE) program where she helped pregnant teens continue their education. My friend being raised in a loving; protective family was not aware of the high percentage of teen

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.

Service learning is important because it teaches people the value of volunteering, while helping the community grow as one. It makes young kids idol adults how are not narcissistic but rather modest. In the article, “Teaching and Learning Operant Principles in Animal Shelters: Perspectives from Faculty, Students, and Shelter Staff”, students were able to relate their wisdom on service learning by volunteering in the animal shelter. The more the students volunteered, the more knowledge they were able to present about psychological terms. This means that if students are able to relate their education to the real world, their success in school would drastically increase. Volunteering benefits the society by shaping people to be more confident

Service learning is like community service integrated with academic study in which students are actively learning about their society. There are more pros than cons in service learning. Service learning give students the opportunity to learn about the real world. So, these students can learn how to be a part of their community. This allows participants to develop connections with peers and adults outside their family. It helps students apply what they learn in class to real-life situations. Student service learning can help students with career and cognitive development. In addition, participants can feel that their work is meaningful to others and themselves. Moreover, service learning offer students the freedom to choose their own

Service-learning is a new phenomenon that many colleges, communities, and organizations are becoming deeply involved with. With this being so new there are many definitions and perceptions about service-learning. With multiple perspectives on this community-building program there is one outcome; students gain insightful experience into the workforce in building their communities up. Often this is also referred to as experiential learning. By coupling classroom instruction to the real world experiences the students gains a much better viewing point than ever before. This provides a pathway to success for the student in the community. Service-learning has helped and will continue to help students find the work that they like to build a future for themselves. This