Re: Service and learning

Dear Colleagues,

I first want to thank you all for this discussion on what is and is not 
service-learning. And I also want to thank Andrae England for making the 
specific point below about community need.  I would like to add that successful 
projects arise out of community-identified needs.  Too often I have heard about 
faculty and college administrators come up with a great "service-learning" 
project without even consulting community agencies! And I heartily agree that 
all of us, as service-learning coordinators, directors, faculty, etc., need to 
be more conscientious about what we consider learning.  I know that when we try 
to explain sl to the uninitiated, we often compare it internships or field 
experience or community service to try to bring some aspect of familiarity into 
the discussion.  Well, maybe sometimes this contributes to muddling the 
definition.  I know that I am trying to be more deliberate about how I define 
service-learning, and whenever I make a presentation, I always have three 
points:  a community-identified need will be addressed, service will be openly 
and obviously connected to curriculum, and reflection will occur consistently 
and continuously throughout the course.  I also stress defining sl in the 
syllabus so students are very aware of what they are doing.  Thanks again for 
the discussion.

Jill Fowler

Jill-Anne Fowler
Westminster College
VISTA/Program Coordinator of CIVICUS
CIVICUS House 
501 Westminster Avenue
Fulton, MO  65251
592-6006


-----Original Message-----
From: Andrae England [mailto:andekay@zianet.com]
Sent: Tuesday, July 16, 2002 11:42 AM
To: service-learning@csf.colorado.edu; pnabti@hotmail.com
Subject: Service and learning 


Dr. Nabti and all:

I read with interest these comments regarding what i consider the primary
difference in the belief of the traditional volunteer community regarding
service-learning.  Many times I have heard from this sector, "Where there
is good service, there is always learning."  The missing component from the
example you describe that might make this good service is an identified
community need; I can imagine student concerts of many types that could
serve to enrich communities through the arts, even moreso if constructed
explicity out of examined need in collaborative community partnerships.  To
make this effective service-learning that is reciprocal, meeting the needs
of all, the youth involved would have to have participative opportunities
in the processes of identifying, deciding and choosing how these needs
might be met with youth as partners.