Service-Learning Spreads to Every Undergraduate College

According to the University of Delaware's UDaily:

"Service-learning courses, sprouting on campuses across the country, combine academic study with service. Students study an issue, volunteer in a related area, and a faculty member leads them through a review of what they've learned on site and on campus. This year, every undergraduate college sponsored at least one such course."

In addition, Susan Serra, service-learning coordinator, explains:

“If you help out at Emmaus House two days a week, that's volunteering. If you study homelessness in your course, that's learning. Faculty-directed reflection on your experience in the community through your course work is service learning.”

The fact that service-learning is in every undergraduate college is a great sign of progress. But educators like Susan and others spotlighted in the article show that they truly "get it."

Those involved in service-learning consistently report feeling more involved in both their studies and their local communities and are more likely to become aware, civic-minded, and active members of society.

It is my hope that the service-learning community and its supporters can continue to show the merits of service-learning, realize how far we've come in making it a part of every college undergraduate's educational experience, and work towards making service-learning a part of EVERY young person's experience.

http://www.udel.edu/PR/UDaily/2006/may/service052606.html

- Susan Wong, National Service-Learning Partnership