NYLC National Service Learning Conference Atlanta 2011
I thought this might be a good place to record ideas and resources that we got from this year's national conference. I'll start with a few of my notes from some of the sessions I attended. Feel free to add your own or add to mine.
Moving from Service to Social Justice
This workshop was presented by folks from the Civic Education Project at Northwestern University. You can learn more about their programs from gifted youth at their website, http://www.ctd.northwestern.edu/cep/.
The workshop dealt with how to facilitate conversations about social justice issues with young people. Some of the topics under discussion can be difficult for youth to discuss. One of the first things they do in their groups is to discuss a working agreement. What will be the guidelines for interaction? The group gets to discuss and decide. Some suggestions included using a slogan like, "What's said here stays here. What's learned here, leaves here." or "Step up, step back." (meaning say what is important but do not judge others). Other norms suggested were
- Using first names
- Be a good listener
- Be honest
- Be respectful
- Ask clarifying questions
- Avoid assumptions
- Speak from one's own experience
- Involve all participants
- Include expectations for facilitator and means for accountability
- Add or revise the agreement as necessary
One idea for including everyone: Have students write comments on post-it notes and then put on wall, do a pair-share around the room
When discussing social issues, it's a good idea to define terms.
- What is diversity?
- What is injustice?
- What is privilege?
- What is power?
Transforming a School District Through Service-Learning
(Guilford County Schools)
presented by Maurice Green, Superintendent
This North Carolina school district has adopted service-learning as an instructional model in all of its schools. Through curriculum development, summer professional development for teachers, and training throughout the year, teachers are instructed in best practices and curriculum integration. The district also offers a service-learning certificate and a service-learning diploma.
“We believe that strength of character, combined with the keen analytical skills of a finely tuned mind, can overcome any obstacles and create a limitless future,” said Superintendent Maurice “Mo” Green. “Like Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. once said, we believe ‘Intelligence plus character…is the goal of true education.’ That’s why character development of our students is a critical component of this plan.”
Respectful and responsive service is one of the eight areas addressed in their district strategic plan.
What International Development Can Teach Service-Learning
In recent years NGOs have increased exponentially. What can service-learning learn from their experiences?
One of the most significant lessons lies in how to solve community problems. Look at the outliers. Collect data from the community about the problem, and then look at the few places that don't fit the data. Where does the problem not exist?
Example: How was childhood increased in Vietnam in only six months? Investigators looked at what was working rather than not working. They looked at the "positive deviants," those children from some of the poorest families who were not malnourished. What was different about their situation? They discovered some simple ways to show other communities how to increase their children's nutrition. To read the article and learn how they decreased malnutrition by 85% and reached over 2.5 million children, go to http://utminers.utep.edu/asinghal/Articles%20and%20Chapters/pd%20wisdom%20series/PD-Vietnam%2011%20July%202010.pdf
Change lies at the margins. Constraints actually lead to creativity.
Another example: Guinea worm disease--researchers looked at villagers who did not have problems with this painful parasite. They discovered women who collected water strained the water through their skirts, filtering out the larvae. They also did not allow anyone infected with the parasite to go into the water for one year.
A hospital with poor customer service ratings was able to change those ratings to excellent in one year by collecting information and identifying five key behaviors. These behaviors can be taught and modeled for kids before they interact with community partners and with service recipients.
One of the most significant lessons lies in how to solve community problems. Look at the outliers. Collect data from the community about the problem, and then look at the few places that don't fit the data. Where does the problem not exist?
Example: How was childhood increased in Vietnam in only six months? Investigators looked at what was working rather than not working. They looked at the "positive deviants," those children from some of the poorest families who were not malnourished. What was different about their situation? They discovered some simple ways to show other communities how to increase their children's nutrition. To read the article and learn how they decreased malnutrition by 85% and reached over 2.5 million children, go to http://utminers.utep.edu/asinghal/Articles%20and%20Chapters/pd%20wisdom%20series/PD-Vietnam%2011%20July%202010.pdf
Change lies at the margins. Constraints actually lead to creativity.
Another example: Guinea worm disease--researchers looked at villagers who did not have problems with this painful parasite. They discovered women who collected water strained the water through their skirts, filtering out the larvae. They also did not allow anyone infected with the parasite to go into the water for one year.
A hospital with poor customer service ratings was able to change those ratings to excellent in one year by collecting information and identifying five key behaviors. These behaviors can be taught and modeled for kids before they interact with community partners and with service recipients.
- smile
- use eye contact
- identify yourself
- let people know what you're doing and why
- ask "Is there anything else you need?"
posted by Diana K at 8:24 PM
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