Houston Blog
My blog from Houston, Texas. Updated most weeks, usually on Sundays.
Community service has been an important component of international education for many decades. For example, community service has been a compulsory (but non-graded) requirement of the International Baccalaureate (IB) program ever since it began in 1968.
In parallel to these changes in the IB requirements, educational thinking about the importance of serving others has evolved dramatically. Rather than simply raising money for charities or going out of the school and doing good things for others (which, at its worst, can lead to arrogance as students perform the role of ‘great white saviors’ of the less privileged), contemporary thinking emphasizes the concept of ‘service learning’.
Put simply, ‘service learning’ is an experiential teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service and environmental service with classroom instruction and reflection to create an enriched and holistic total learning experience.
I believe the time has come for us to take this step to shift up from community service to service learning at Awty, and to that end, on Friday I announced the appointment of Mr Brian Kelley to a new position at Awty - he will be our inaugural Director of Service Learning, effective from the start of the new school year.
This is a new senior position that will have direct responsibility to me as Head of School for the development and implementation of an effective model of service learning that is experiential, which embraces both community service and environmental service (both locally and overseas), to be implemented as an integral part of the International and French Sections through the Primary, Middle and Upper Schools.
Mr Kelley's new position will include the role of CAS Coordinator for the IB Diploma Program. As CAS Coordinator, Mr Kelley will be responsible for ensuring that Awty’s IB CAS program meets external requirements, is understood by faculty, students and parents, and is implemented effectively, including reporting through tools such as our new ManageBac software.
The creation of this new role of Director of Service Learning will enable Awty to implement a true working model of service learning, which emphasizes integration of community and environmental service with classroom learning. Our goal is to make Awty's service learning program a powerful tool for developing transferable skills and knowledge that will add meaning and purpose to academic studies, while also enhancing Awty students' relationships with their environment and wider community.
Our aim is to bring service learning at Awty to line with contemporary best practice that will serve as an exemplary role model for other schools. To this end, we will be working with several other schools around the world that already have excellent service learning programs in place, building upon their experiences and enhancing them in a way that will provide a uniquely valuable learning experience for every student at Awty.
From Community Service to Service Learning
Sunday, 13 May 2012
Service Learning is an experential teaching and learning strategy that integrates meaningful community service and environmental service with classroom instruction and reflection to create an enriched and holistic total learning experience.