Critical Reflection #1
Although at first glance Service-Learning and volunteering may seem like synonymous concepts, there are several fundamental elements of Service-Learning that differentiates it from volunteer work. Service-Learning and volunteerism both revolve around helping a community, but the intent, depth of process, and outcome of Service-Learning makes it a more worthwhile experience for both the community and the student. In chapter 7, Bob Newbrough is quoted as saying “The best learning is that which involves persons doing mutual exploration, learning together, rather than the ‘banking’ type of learning, which Freire describes as giving something to someone else.” Essentially, volunteerism is clocking in, helping some people, and clocking out. Service-Learning, on the other hand, involves a much more in-depth process that includes analyzing the coursework and how it relates to your community work, sharing the results of the analysis with the community, and critically reflecting on it.
Although I have completed several hundred hours of volunteer work in my past, this semester will be my first time participating in a Service-Learning experience. I am glad that we are taking the first two weeks of this course to dissect exactly what Service-Learning is and why it is different than volunteering. Rachel Naomi Remen opens her essay by describing “When you help, you see life as weak. When you fix, you see life as broken. When you serve, you see life as whole.” Ivan Illich begins his address with the old Irish warning that “the road to hell is paved with good intentions.” In combining these two readings, I was able to really reflect on why my previous volunteer work was so unfulfilling, and how I can better focus and strive to recognize my positionality and get back just as much, if not more, than what I give to my community. These readings reaffirmed that even if I am working with people who come from a lower socioeconomic status, have less education, have an issue with addiction, etc., that I am still their equal with whom I have the potential to experience mutual healing.
I strongly believe that you cannot truly fix a problem until you understand the problem, which is why the fourth component of the Service-Learning program rubric fascinates me the most. Understanding micro- and macro-level structures that create and perpetuate various kinds of stratification in society — whether it involves race, class, or gender — is the first step to deconstructing such structures that marginalize and oppress. I enjoy philosophizing about American value systems — such as the archetype of the rugged individualist, the myth of meritocracy, and Puritan ethics that founded this society — that can be found at the roots of so many systemic issues. We have to thoroughly understand our history if we want to create a better future, and I appreciate that Service-Learning emphasizes understanding the larger context of society in order to do so.
