Service-Learning and Community Engagement
Despite the hardships every community around the world faces, there is a unique beauty that shines through. Service-Learning is different from volunteering because while one is serving their community they are also getting a deeper understanding of the disparities and issues one community may face. In my eyes volunteering your time is a wonderful thing to do but some volunteer their time because they have a traffic ticket they have to pay off so in exchange for their fines they volunteer it off at a local non-profit organization.
The Service Learning: A Movements Pioneers Reflects on its Origins, Practice, and Future, highlights on the influence impact service learning has on a student. Rob Shumer observed with his practice that students become successful when they have an importance role to them. He says that some students that don’t like school enjoy going out in their community and making an impact in the world while learning about the social issues at the same time. Service Learning in my opinion is beneficial for the students and the community. Students get the opportunity to be leaders and learn new things about their environment around them. Even though serving and volunteering are positive things, the author of the Service Learning reading prefers the term civic engagement instead of service learning or volunteering and I agree. He prefers civic engagement because he says by definition civic engagement is a act of volunteering but the people are living in a culture/community where they have a voice which gives them power, and with that power they are aware and able to transform the social issues and make an impact in their community and others lives.
I understand my own role in my community this semester as an positive influence. I will be the ESL teacher for the parents at the local elementary school Bayside MLK who are trying to learn more English so they can help their children with their homework. I realize that my community is a very diverse community and like Illich’s article To Hell With Good Intentions mentions that we must as a people be all on the same page and the cultural shock for the Latin Americans should be eliminated. So, by me doing my part by serving the parents with the English fundamentals I know will fulfill my mission this semester as a community service and learning student.
Last semester I’ve also taken a SL-designated course. I got the opportunity to learn the importance of serving, it was a honor being the ESL teacher last year the parents were so grateful to have me help them better their English so they can communicate and be apart of their children academic careers.
