"In contrast, much of the current discussion regarding service learning emphasizes charity, not change."(4)
I agree with the authors that service seen exclusively as charity is ultimately flawed. Charity can certainly be a good thing when it helps those in need. Who can argue against such actions as providing shelter, food, and clothing to those in desperate need? However, charity does very little to change the systems of inequality that are in place in our society. Creating a society of people from all backgrounds who recognize the existence of systemic inequalities and the need to fix those inequalities, has much more lasting value.
"In caring relationships, Nel Noddings asserts, we try to consider the life and disposition of those for whom we are caring. We attempt to 'apprehend the reality of the other' and then to 'struggle [for progress] together.' In so doing, we create opportunities for changing our understanding of the other and the context within which he or she lives."(5)
I believe this an important point. There is a lot of misunderstanding about the "other" in our country. I think that preconceived notions about who people are or what their lives are like have always represented the most powerful forces in maintaining systems of inequality and oppression.
The authors go on to provide an example of a group of middle class students whose families are concerned about holding a concert at a school in a poorer neighborhood. The middle class children expected the students at the school in the less affluent neighborhood to be "horrible children running around on a dirty campus."(7) After the event, these same children's attitudes changed about the reality of the kids at the school where the concert was held.
Assuming the middle class children had very little prior experience with children from a poorer, urban neighborhood, it is disconcerting that they held these preconceived notions. Unfortunately, these sorts of stereotypes which create fear and mistrust are commonplace, and many times are held on to and reinforced by the media and people who influence the minds of children.
"When I care, Noddings explains, a relationship develops in which 'the other's reality becomes a real possibility for me.'"(7)
This relates back to the previous quote, and the misperception of "others." There is a sense of humanism that is lost, when we view the reality of other people from afar and have no real perspective on individual people's lives. We can't know everybody or as Allan Johnson says, we aren't all going to "love one another in some profoundly idealistic way"(6) However, I believe that the more we are exposed to real people and not just the created myths about "others," the closer we'll come to eliminating some of the obstacles to having a truly just, democratic society.
Overall, I agreed with the premise that service learning projects can be more useful if they help students to be able to "respond in meaningful ways to a variety of social concerns"(4) rather than being seen more as disconnected acts of charity.
This gives us something to think about in relation to our own current service learning projects in the Providence schools. It served as a reminder for me to think about not only how to maximize my current volunteer position at the school itself, but also how I can integrate the lessons that I learn into my eventual role as a teacher and member of this community.
To echo what we said in class, transformative service learning by far exceeds charity based service learning. I think a point that most people missed is thats its about making STUDENTS aware of social injustices and inequalites and how they can work to effect social policies that are failing these people. I feel it is important for students to think critically about these types of things. I believe they get more academically out of transformitive service learning. They used heigher-level thinking skills and prepare essays which invole research. It seems like more of a compleate process.
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