Engaging
middle school students in meaningful after school service
learning will depend greatly on the school and location.
The types of projects will need to fit the needs of the
school and community. After the initial school and community
surveys have been completed, it is important to have several
discussions with the students about possible projects
to undertake. Without the support and interest of the
students, there can be no success. Service Learning does
not mean that children are "assigned" projects
to do related to the school and community. Students must
be in on the planning from the very beginning in order
to have ownership and dedication to the projects. These
links are beginning activities done in the after school
group with which I work. They proved to be successful
and led to more and better projects during the remainder
of the year. It is important to identify the important
needs of your school and neighborhood. It will take several
weeks of surveying and discussion to pinpoint the most
pressing areas of concern.
Kenan
Fellows projects are supported in part by grants from NSF, Z Smith
Reynolds, IBM, and other partners. (Click
here for a complete list of partners.)
Design Copyright 2003 Kenan Fellows
