In The Service Of What? Kahne & Westheimer Reflection

After reading, “In The Service Of What,” by Kahne and Westheimer, I thought about my own service learning experience at Sackett Street School. This reading talks about how service learning allows students to explore outside the classroom and see how people are different. I personally think that service learning should be a part of every middle school and high school curriculum. I say start in middle school because this is where teenagers are starting to gang up on one another, and then it just becomes worst in high school. Students need to be aware of different surroundings and life styles that others live. Not everyone is as fortunate as others, and it is important to help those who could use an extra hand or two. I grew up in a small town where everyone knows everyone, and I volunteered in my local elementary school, but wasn’t around different people from different cultures. When I first went to Sackett Street School I was a little nervous to see the differences from what I am used to. Right away I saw that these children don’t have what children in my town do, and it is sad but just makes me want to do whatever to put a smile on their faces. This experience has just opened my eyes to other surroundings, and I think this would most definitely be beneficial to high school students. The end of this article caught my attention the most, “Students in Atlanta must complete 75 hours of volunteer service to graduate.” I only had to complete 20 hours in high school and have a paper signed saying it was completed. According to this article many schools do service learning experiences as part of their volunteerism. I think for mine I helped out my field hockey coach with coaching youth girls, and then every year at the father daughter dances. It didn’t matter what we did because we weren’t guided in any direction. Students need to be more aware of different types of schools around their homes, and realize their are all different types of people. This article was good to read because it makes you see how important it is to help others, and you gain a lot from it. 

* This article shared a lot of important information, and teachers today should always encourage students to reach outside the classroom. Even though I want to be a first grade teacher I will always teach my students about different people and environments in our society.