Talking Point 5

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

1. "-students will have opportunities to experience what David hornbeck, former Maryland state superintendent, referred to as 'the joy of reaching out to others.'"
-I feel this quote is important because this is exactly how i feel after i leave my school each week. I am extremely joyed when i leave my students that i am helping because i feel that i am really helping the students and that they are excited to see me in class."

2. "In many service learning projects the emphasis is on giving and on countering the narcissism that is believed to be so prevalent among young people and in the society generally."
-I also liked this quote. At Service Learning projects that people take up, they focus on themselves rather than other people around them. People lose focus of what the project is all about and will simply concentrate on themselves.

3. "Rather than assume, erroneously, that all educators share the same vision, we think it is better to be explicit about the numerous and different visions that drive the creation and implementation of service learning activities in schools."
-different visions are much more important to assume rather than just assuming all of the same ones. Service learning is about everyones different visions and aslo sharing them so people can learn as well.

This article was interesting to read considering that i am currently participating in a service learning project. I liked many points that Kahne and Westheimer brought up. thoughout the reading, the idea of charity and change came up a lot. i think that charity automatically comes with every service learning project because you are taking the time to work and help other people who need it. on the other hand, change may not, but i believe should, occur during a time of someones service learning. i think that if you change as a person during the project, then the project has done its job and should considered worthwhile of someones time. For example, my service learning project is definitely considered charity and better yet is including change as well. i am learning so much at my school and it is changing my attitude and views on the students that may have some tough times at home for whatever reason it may be. This is similar to the second case that the authors talking about. however not only has my attitude changed about the students i am tutoring, but being in the diverse classroom is also such a great experience and place to be in.
I do think that all high schools shuld take part in service learning projects. For some students, this would be no problem; but i think that for many it would be a challenging, yet rewarding task. I didnt know, but learned from the article, that some schools do mandate community service projects to graduate. i think this is a great idea as long as the students dont choose a project that would be considered "busy work." Maybe assigning the projects would be a better idea. This website gives some ideas and talks about service learning projects depending on the subjects.
I liked this article because i feel that as a future teacher, service learning will be and has been so far a great "learning" experience to help me become a good and successfuk teacher. This reading was an eye-opener and reassured some of the reasons why students should take up a service learning project and what students should get out of the whole experience.