Service
Learning was certainly a mixed experience for me last year. The kids didn’t seem to learn all that much,
since I ended up doing most of the work on the kite, and at times, the day felt
long and dragged out. This year though,
has been a surprising success so far. I
feel like I have more control over my Service Learning experience – since
partners are designing their own lesson plans – and I hope to get a chance to
actually make a positive contribution in my kids’ lives. I love writing, but I wouldn’t enjoy it
nearly as much if not for the many amazing and inspiring English teachers that
I have been so lucky to have over the years.
I strive to be that inspiring person in my Service Learning kids’
lives. I want to help them have a great
Service Learning experience, and hopefully share a little of my love for writing
as well.
Giving
back to one’s community is very important.
I am so lucky to go to Sage Hill School, and it is the least I can do
for my community to help less privileged kids in Santa Ana. In my opinion, this is a big part of why Sage
values its Service Learning program so much.
Also, Service Learning teaches us how to interact with different kinds
of people, those that we perhaps aren’t used to being around. The kids from Santa Ana schools probably have
had very different life experiences than many of the kids at Sage, and it is
important for us to be exposed to such diversity.
In
summary, I want to approach Service Learning with a positive attitude, provide
a fun experience for my kids, and hopefully teach them to be better
writers. While last year I felt a little
detached from the goals of Service Learning, I hope to really benefit my kids
this year, and gain knowledge and experience along the way.
I can really sympathize with your experiences in Service Learning last year. My 3rd grader did not really want to do any work, and left me to complete most of the tasks by myself. Leaving me feeling very detached from the process. That seems to change this year, as students get to play a more active role in deciding what to do in Service Learning. I thought that it was very interesting that you brought up making a difference in your 4th grader's writing ability. While that seems like something that should have been obvious to me, it didn't cross my mind. I haven't really thought about being able to make an impact in our 4th graders writing ability because we meet with them so sparingly that it makes it difficult to really teach them any useful writing skill.
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