Talking Points #5

Title and Authors Name
In The Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning.

By Joseph Kahne & Joel Westheimer

Authors Argument
In this article the authors argue that students, who do service learning, should take what they have learned and use it to help things such as the community.

Quotes

1) "Service learning makes students active participants in service projects that aim to respond to the needs of the community while furthering the academic goals of students....In addition to helping those they serve, such service learning activities seek to promote students' self-esteem, to develop higher-order thinking skills, to make use of multiple abilities, and to provide authentic learning experiences-all goals of current curriculum reform efforts.”

This quote is saying that it is important for students to complete Service Learning in their community. Not only are they helping the community and others, they are furthering their own goals. I know from my own experience that doing the VIPS service learning, I felt that I was making a difference in these children’s lives.

2) "By engaging in meaningful service whether tutoring children for whom English is a second language, helping patients in a hospital, doing difficult chores for the elderly, or supervising younger children's recreational activities students will have opportunities to experience what David Hornbeck, former Maryland state superintendent referred to as "the joy of reaching out to others."

When I read this quote I immediately thought of my VIPS placement. I was helping a couple of students learn English. It was definitely not the easiest thing to do. Like I said before in the previous quote, after helping these students learn to speak English gave me joy. I felt like I was really helping them. Romario for example did not know the alphabet when I first got there in September. By today, my last day, he was reading a simple book. I know I can’t take all the credit but I felt that I helped him get where he is today.

3)."Almost all discussions of service learning practices emphasizes the importance of reflection."

I have to agree with this quote. It was very helpful towards my experience with my VIPS placement when we talked about it in class. Hearing other peoples stories it helped me think of ways that I could either help the students more, or even change things that I have done.

Comments

I liked this article. While reading it I felt that it was written just for this class because of the VIPS assignment. It was easier to read than others and it caught my attention more.