Talking Point 5

In The Service Of What?
The Politics of Service Learning
By:Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

In this article both of the authors argue that when it comes to service learning projects in school the teacher or whom ever is assigning the project need to be explicit and precise about what they are looking for. So that the people being assigned know the vision of the assignment they are about to encounter.

1.""After they returned, the students' perspectives of these elementary school children had changed."
-----This reminds me of what many people say to me when I mention volunteering in an inner city school. I always hear O well that is going to change your idea of thinking....and they are right it did, I know can not wait to have my own classroom and help these children. But people have a set idea of how children from schools like that act, they automatically think o well they are bad, impolite and rude children, when in fact they are just as polite if not better then children from suburban schools. They are all children and no one has the right to make judgments before meeting them.

2. "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."
---- I like this quote because it not only reflects directly from the text and the arguments made by the authors but it reflects what we are doing OUR own Service Learning Projects. In doing a SL project you are directly responding to the needs of a specific community, one that is in the need of help in a specific area. In our case helping out with these children who are academically behind. Not only are we just doing this because it is a requirement it is a wonder learning tool for the future, gives students a feel for their own future. The points made in this article can clearly been seen through our own projects in the classroom.

3, "In the intellectual domain , a service learning curriculum can further a number of goals."
-----In working with the community it brings people aware of their surrondings, and ususally of the surrondings that need help. In my project I have defenitly seen things around me that make me want to change them, simple things like the children being behind in reading. It made me set my goals for these children higher, I am determined that these children will learn what they need to. I am willing to try new things and help in anyways, because the project has made me aware and directly related to these problems. My goals, and I am sure many goals of others in the class have changed from this. SL is a great tool to use in classroom settings.

I liked this article and found it easy and interesting to read because we are directly involved in the assignment. It helps bring a better understand of what exactly we are doing, and got me thinking about how much it can help children. It would be a great tool to use in my own classroom one day, because it brings with it many learning oppurtunities. I think they bring up good points and logical points that I agree, and most people that are involved or were involved in a SL project would agree with.