7/8 Social Studies

 

  The concept of service learning goes back many years and has its roots in the philosophy of progressive education.  The goal of service learning is to participate in activities beneficial to your community while at the same time gaining knowledge.  In our case, we spent time at the Pyne Arts Magnet School in Lowell with an 8th Grade History class.  Our task was to help the students learn to analyze historical documents, pictures and artifacts.  Then we would help the students put together historical memory boxes to represent different aspects and viewpoints from the American Revolution.  About halfway through the semester we also accompanied the students on a field trip to Boston's Freedom Trail.

  We could not have found a nicer, more well-behaved and hard working class.  The students were receptive to our lessons and participated well.  It was very rewarding to work with a group of students who seemed to really appreciate us being there.  It was also very valuable to be able to debrief and discuss the lessons we presented back in our graduate class.  The tips, tricks and advice from our professor and fellow students helped a great deal as we prepare for our own classrooms.

  Moving forward, I plan to incorporate some sort service learning into my life.  I know I will participate in more service learning activities as a graduate student.  I also hope to implement a service learning component into my classroom routine when I become a full time teacher.  The value and lessons service learning can provide will be a powerful tool for my classroom.