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The Community Service Link: A
Response to the Ten Principles of Learning |
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The Community Service Link: A
Response to the Ten Principles of Learning |
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© Copyright 1999 by Ruth Overman Fischer (rfischer@gmu.edu). The right to make additional exact copies, including this notice, for personal and classroom use, is hereby granted. All other forms of distribution and copying require permission of the author. |
Section 8: The Principle of a
Compelling Situation
Learning is enhanced by taking place in the context of a compelling situation that balances challenge and opportunity, stimulating and utilizing the brain's ability to conceptualize quickly and its capacity for contemplation and reflection upon experiences. For many of our CSL students, nothing was more compelling than their work with "their" students at Clara Barton Magnet School. Actually, I had counted on this attitude. Setting up this field work for the students each year was time/labor intensive. In addition, I had to initially persuade the CSL students to expend their time and energy in making a weekly trip to a school some 20 miles from campus. But I trusted my intuition about the potentially powerful interactions between the Clara Barton students and the CSL students and trusted that once I got the two groups together they would work their own magic. (I was not disappointed.) For many of the CSL students, going back to elementary school in the role not of student but of paraprofessional was eye-opening; they began to see themselves as the adult in the situation and took on this responsibility seriously. For several students over the four years, their commitment to "their" students at Clara Barton was the only thing keeping them connected with Mason at all. They might have been able to ignore their responsibilities to their other course (and even their responsibility to record their experiences at Clara Barton in their field notes), but they made it to Clara Barton to work with "their kids" each week. Because of this sustained sense of responsibility, they were able to see the rewards in their work with their students. Tyler realized the impact he had had on his students in his field notes on the last day of his community service: I was overcome with joy when all the [kindergarten] children gave me a huge hug. It made me realize that these kids were really going to miss my presence in the classroom. One child might miss me helping him with his handwriting, or another child might miss me being a friend to them, but no matter what, each child takes from the experience, I hope, that I was a role model and someday they might think back and remember me. Derrick, one of the two CSL students who helped set up Clara Barton's computer lab, noted the students' expectation of him to be a knowledgeable adult: I like the feeling of answering a question the kids have. It makes me feel kind of adultish. It's so neat to see a kid not understand something and help him or her out and watch her understand all of a sudden. I am so proud of them because they are proud of themselves. Kristin not only expressed her joy at being considered a guide to the students, she realized that teaching is challenging work: I love these kids. I love being asked the same questions and being hugged all the time. I think I enjoy having these kids depend on me for guidance in some respect. I mean, I am acting as a teacher figure and I like it, although this experience has taught me that I could never ever teach small children all the time. It is way too tiring—I'm usually exhausted after two hours. I can't imagine eight hours a day, five days a week! Dana, a courageous young woman who had survived a challenging upbringing, found evidence of her worth in interacting with her students: My self esteem has gone up every Wednesday when I have to leave. Going [to Clara Barton] has made me feel important to somebody. Next Section: "The Principle of an Active Search for Meaning" Previous Section: "The Principle of Connectedness" |