Kahne and Westheimer "In the Service of What"

Reflection:

“Currently, the most broadly supported (and therefore most politically tenable) goal for service learning acitivities is to convey to students the importance of charity.” This line is the one that stood out to me while I read “In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning” by Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer. It is so important to give back to your community and I love that some high schools make service learning a graduation requirement because there are so many positive outcomes.

In my high school the closest thing we had to a service learning project was Capstone. Some projects were fundraisers and some job shadowing. My Capstone project was on becoming a teacher and I shadowed a third grade teacher in Coventry where I sometimes taught my own lessons. I learned so much while I was there , only from my teacher, but also from my students. I would always get so excited when I was about to see them because I loved working with them, and it was a great way to learn what it would be like to be a teacher. In the text Kahne and Westheimer talk about Mr. Johnson’s class and their service learning projects. “Their grade depended primarily on the number of hours they volunteered. Thirty hours for an A, 20 for a B and 10 for a C.” I did not agree with his grading method for their projects. I don’t think the amount of hours spent volunteering should dictate the grade they receive. A student could complete 20 hours of volunteer work and learn nothing from it.

Backpacks donated for Bags of Dignity

A boy in my school, whose family took in foster children, created Bags of Dignity for children who were abruptly taken from their families and moved into a new home. He described stories of children who were brought carrying a garbage bag with their belonging and he said it was so sad and degrading. He put together a fundraiser to collect backpacks with toothbrushes, toothpaste and other items that children would need so that they could show up to houses with a backpack that was theirs rather than a garbage bag. To me that is service learning. He not only was charitable but he created a change to help the children that needed a positive identity.  

When I student taught at Tiogue Elementary School, the student population was not diverse. My class was all white students and I rarely saw any students of a different race or color. Volunteering at Kennedy Elementary School has been a different experience but still has been a great experience for me. Most of my students are Black or Hispanic and I have never worked with a diverse group before. My classroom could perfectly be described by Lisa Delpit, in which the codes of power are seen in my classroom. “The upper and middle classes send their children to school with all the accoutrements of the culture of power; children from other kinds of families operate within perfectly wonderful and viable cultures but not cultures that carry the codes at rules of power“ (Delpit 25). The children I work with are always be taught the rules of power, some were aware others were not. One student does not know how to write, but she is being frequently taught so that she can be a part of the culture of power.

Point to Share: I think all students should be a part of service learning. It is such an enthralling experience working with others to help them, and it offers a sense of purpose for everyone involved. Volunteering may seem like a job to some people but if you find a place where you truly feel comfortable and at home, volunteering can be the best experience of your life.

Here's the link to the Facebook page for Bags of Dignity in case you want to learn more!