Re: Service for McWorld

Hi all,

I agree with Porter's comments that:

"we need to be steadfast in our attempt to maintain the purity of a 
concept severely compromised when used to benefit a corporation's 
advertising and bottom line.  Service-Learning's primary motivation is 
to help students--as they interpret and apply their course curricula--
realize the potential for real social change through community problem-
solving. This foundation quickly erodes when we include 
corporations solely interested in expanding their consumer base 
<snip>."

I would also add that this model of service-learning can (and should)  
be of real benefit to the community partners with whom students are 
working (which is, of course, implied above).

I am on another email list, this one focusing on nonprofits, and just 
this morning one of the members forwarded a WSJ article about 
corporations trying to get tax breaks for helping to "ease the digital 
divide." I think that this article is useful in revealing yet another facet 
of the problem we're discussing here -- if anyone would like me to 
forward it to them, please drop me an email at 
mbgolden@mindspring.com.

In the meantime, I have a few questions for members of this list as the 
"Service for McWorld" discussion unfolds:

1. What strategies have you found effective in keeping service-
learning processes linked to critical thinking and possibilities for 
community-based social change efforts?

2. What obstacles/pressures have you encountered in implementing 
(or trying to implement) a "change" (versus a "charity") model of 
service-learning in your institution? How have you and your 
colleagues responded to these obstacles/pressures  and what was the 
outcome? (In other words: what can we learn from our own and each 
other's struggles?)

3. What do you think regional and/or national networks of service-
learning folks (like us) can do collectively to usefully address these 
issues as service-learning moves more and more into the mainstream? 

4. What lessons can we learn from the histories of other service-based 
programs like VISTA?

Thanks to everyone who has or will participate in this discussion -- it 
is a very important one IMO.

Best,

Michelle
mbgolden@mindspring.com