In The Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning by: Joeseph Kahne & Joel Westheimer

        In the article "In The Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning" the authors, Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer make the argument that many educators, legislators, business owners, and reformers maintain the same ideology around the implementation of service learning. These individuals claim that service learning opportunities improve communities while refreshing the classroom experience for students in hopes of promoting self-esteem, higher-order thinking, the use of multiple abilities, and instillation of active participants throughout the community in order to foster authentic learning experiences based upon curriculum concepts that aim to respond to the communities' needs. On the other hand, Kahne and Westheimer mention that the fundamental question: In the service of what? has been neglected to be answered by these service learning supporters. Kahne and Westheimer's goal throughout the article is not focused on replacing consensus with conflict, but to provide awareness around the numerous ideological, political, and social goals that service learning opportunities in schools can promote.  

         Many schools across the state of Rhode Island promote the implantation of service learning opportunities for their students. Towards the middle of the article, Kahne and Westheimer quote John Dewey’s (a past reformer) opinion on service learning. Dewey states how he supports the concept of service learning opportunities since it embraced the "essence of a democratic education." He wanted students to be able to engage in service learning not only to recognize their academic abilities and commitments in the process of serving others, but to also use the opportunity as way to help students respond in meaningful ways with the hopes of approaching societal concerns and implementing change. Many schools across the country, including Rhode Island have still adopted, what Khane and Westheimer call, “a new Carnegie unit” developed by the late Ernest Boyer of the Carnegie Foundation. This unit requires that all students take part in a volunteer/service learning experience within their school or community as a condition for graduation from high school. Today, this unit concept is known as a “senior project” or “service opportunity intention” depending on if you attend a public or private school.

 

-Questions/Comments/Points to Share:

     Since middle school, I have participated in numerous forms of volunteer activities and service learning opportunities as part of the requirements to be inducted into the National Junior Honor Society, National Honor Society, in order to receive the sacrament of Confirmation, as part of my religion class grades in high school, as part of my religion class junior year know as the Christian Action Program, and now continuing to partake in the opportunities in College. I have always enjoyed performing service and agree with Khane and Westheimer's argument that it can improve the community while providing a student with a rich educational experience that expands beyond the classroom. Many of my service experiences have contributed to strengthening my passion and decision making in the area of my major: an elementary/early childhood special education teacher. I have been able to teach religious education to different age levels for the past five years, assisted a preschool teacher at Monsignor Gadoury Elementary School throughout the course of my Junior year in high school, and most recently I am assisting a first grade teacher at Ella Risk Elementary School for this course. Many of these opportunities have provided me to discover what age group I am comfortable teaching, the amount of preparation that is needed to plan a lesson, how to help foster learning in children with disabilities, how to connect with the students, teachers, and sometimes parenting whom I am serving for, allows for hands on experience in my future career field while building my resume, helps me to discover the issues in our state and nation's educational system, and also makes me feel good about myself as a person and apart of my community. Even though I agree that volunteer/service experiences are important, have also been aware of the flaws that exist. Most of my service experiences and I am sure the experiences of many other young individuals is not completed out of the "goodness of our heart," but instead for the achievement of a "good grade" or in other terms, for us to receive something in return. Secondly, similar to Kristof's argument, the opportunities to participate in volunteer/service learning programs are simply not available to everyone in society. I am sure many students who attend Lincoln, Cumberland, Smithfield, North Smithfield, Johnston, Westerly, Barrington, Burrillville, North Kingston, East Greenwich, etc. had the opportunity to partake in service opportunities. In contrast, many students living in Central Falls, Woonsocket, Providence, Pawtucket, etc. do not have these programs available to them..... or sadly ARE the volunteer/service learning opportunities themselves. Lastly, the concept of senior projects in different high schools across the state I feel is becoming increasingly distorted. Instead of choosing a topic within your interest and using your intelligence to benefit the community in a positive way, it has become more of a  competition centered around "who has the bigger and better topic and can contribute the most money and gain the most publicity." I never had to complete a senior project, since I attended a Catholic high school, but when conversing with my friends at North Smithfield High School I would hear about some of the elaborate projects students were completing that I felt really missed the mark and were causing stress and anxiety on other students who felt their ideas simply were not "good enough." I guess you can go back to the question that Kahne and Westheimer proposed advocates were neglecting to answer: In the service of what are we completing these opportunities for?