"In Service of What?" Kahne and Westheimer

This article talks a lot about the difference between charity and change. Teachers and educators who have their students participate in service learning projects take two different approaches. There are the teachers like, Mr. Johnson who was an example given in the reading, who take the approach of charity. His goal for his students was to help those in need. On the other hand, there was Ms. Adams who advocated change. Mr. Johnson's students were required to do things like volunteer work, and help those who were less fortunate. Ms. Adam's students did a lot more analyzing of the issue. They chose to focus on homelessness and they had class discussions, and really focused on the issue rather than focusing on just helping the issue. There is a table in the article that describes the difference in the two. It is shown here.

 

 

 

 

I completely agree with the over all idea that service goes hand in hand with learning. I think a lot of times students just get put in a classroom and are expected to learn the material by sitting and listening to a teacher talk. I don't think that's a realistic way to learn because we all need to do hands on activities and have a better understanding of life outside of the classroom. I've definitely taken a lot more out of a class when there was something that was required in the means of service outside of the classroom. I felt like I learned more about things of importance than I would have just sitting and listening to a teacher.