A-B Tech Instructors Teach The Art Of Giving Back
Ask a random selection of people what the word community means to them and the responses are as diverse as those who give them. Many attribute it to a specific place - a neighborhood or area where they live, eat, and shop. Still others say it means feeling like you belong, through common interests you have connections with people. For many, it is a concept they are aware of, but cannot pinpoint what it really means to them.
Sociology instructors Leesa Young and Kelly McEnany are committed to integrating the classroom with the community through an innovative teaching method called Service-Learning.
Service-Learning falls under a category of learning methods called Community-Based Learning that involves interactions between students and community organizations. As part of the class assignment, students earn course credit by contributing a minimum of eight hours a semester to a local non-profit organization. Instead of being given an assignment, they choose where they would like to participate. "I want it to be something that interests them," says McEnany, "and to use me as an excuse to pursue it." At the end of the semester, they write a paper and share with the class how their experience affected them. "It's a way to tie in what we're learning in the classroom with what is really going on in the world," says McEnany. Young agrees, adding, "Service-learning enhances the depth of students' learning. It helps to develop civic and social responsibility."
Young has incorporated community-based learning in her curriculum since teaching high school in 1977. She, McEnany, Development Studies Instructor Deanna LeMonde and Developmental Studies Chairperson Gigi Derballa are participating in a two-semester professional project, A Service-Learning Teaching Circle. Along with 10 instructors from UNCA, they meet regularly to read and discuss a leading text on the subject. They also are sharing the various aspects of service-learning at the community college and university level and forming an A-B Tech/UNC-A service-learning "think tank."
Service-learning is not the same as volunteering. The primary difference is that volunteerism focuses on providing any kind of service or activities needed by an agency. Service-learning is an educational pursuit with a service slant. It is built upon mutuality, reciprocity and student reflection. "It's collaborative," says Young. "The partnership with the agency has to be mutually beneficial to the student and the organization." The student approaches this assignment with learning objectives, and with the site supervisor, determines the service objectives. Also, students receive "payment" in the form of a grade for their efforts, Young said. They must reflect on their overall experience and tie this in with course theory and content.
Over the past four years, Young and McEnany's students have experienced more than 12,000 service-learning hours in local agencies. Many of the students stay on as volunteers after the assignment is over. Some have gotten jobs as a result of successful experiences. In this semester alone, students participated in projects as varied as being a court advocate, sharing personal experiences with at-risk teens, working with Alzheimer's patients, and assisting clients at the Department of Social Services.
Some Examples Of Students' Service Learning Projects:
Stephanie Lail is a second-year student in Human Services. She chose to do her service
learning at the Mary Benson House, a residential treatment facility for women who suffer
from substance abuse and are pregnant or have children under the age of five. "I'd rather be out in the trenches than behind a desk," Lail says. While there, she hopes to provide a shoulder for the women to lean on, assist in childcare, and model socially responsible behavior. She has even created and is in the process of implementing a children's program. She believes service learning is valuable because "the concepts in the classroom are very cut and dry. Once you apply them in the field, you realize that solutions aren't always black or white."
Melissa Wooley, an Associate in Arts student, has extended her service learning time from the required one semester to two semesters plus summer break as a volunteer at The Health Adventure, a children's science and health museum. Working there since February, Wooley has the added distinction of being named the museum's Volunteer of the Year. "We were extremely impressed by her interest and willingness to serve her community," says the Health Adventure's Director of Volunteers, Morgen Yeakley.
Larry Williams, a student in Human Services, spent his time at Trinity Place, a shelter
for runaways and children waiting to be placed in alternative care. Williams counseled the kids, took them shopping, planned and cooked meals, and basically gave them his time and interest. His compensation was a drawing by an eight-year-old boy that he carries with him. "It hit right here," he says, pounding his chest.
Tykes On Bikes at Children's Holiday Party
Eighty-five children were the recipients of Big Wheels, assorted stocking stuffers, and a chat with Santa at the 2003 Annual Children's Holiday Party hosted by the Student Government Association. The party was the brain child of retired Director of Counseling Mary Louise Carpenter, who started it over 30 years ago. Looking back over her career, Carpenter states that the party "was one of the most worthwhile things that I've done."