Growing Through Serving Others
“The best way to find yourself is to lose
yourself in the service of others.”
–Mahatma Gandhi
When many of us think of service to others, especially in a school setting, we often immediately think of fundraising, planting trees, collecting sports equipment or completing the Relay for Life race for cancer awareness. These examples, in and of themselves, are excellent illustrations of supporting others and raising awareness for worthy causes. At Scots, however, we want to continue to develop
this concept further through the explicit teaching of ‘service learning’ within the taught curriculum. Glenn Bowen stated, “Community service connected to the curriculum is what we refer to as service learning. Service learning enriches coursework by providing opportunities for students to use their academic knowledge and skills in ‘real life’ situations.”
During the recent IBO college-wide evaluation, Scots performed outstandingly well across all areas. With all thorough reviews however, it is always positive to have areas where continual development needs to take place. Within the Middle School and specifically the MYP curriculum, we want to continue the excellent service learning skills taught within the ‘Year 10 Community Project,’ by strengthening and widening the learning across all curriculum areas and levels over the next five years.
We have now embarked on a service learning action plan which will see all students over the next two years (from Year 7 through to Year 10) undertake planned and targeted service learning. As part of this plan, students will also evaluate and track their service learning through the Middle School. International service learning expert Catherine Berger Kaye writes, “Although it may seem like a lot of time and effort, International research has proven the educational and personal growth service learning has on the individual. A recent study by the American Association of Community Colleges (AACC) found that 69 percent of students who were involved in service learning believed that it helped them to better understand that course’s materials.” Similarly, a study by the National Youth Leadership Council in the USA found that children who participated in such service learning projects performed better in reading, mathematics, history and science. “service learning creates an environment where students are diving deeper into inquiry,” says Kaye. “They’re becoming more engaged in their own learning process.”
A recent example of the amazing power, effect and learning that a service initiative can bring about is the Year 10 MYP Community Project undertaken by Locky Stinson, Liam Frampton and Ben Trolove. These Year 10 students have taken their passion for innovation and creativity alongside
the service learning platform of the Community Project to investigate, design and produce a 3-D printed prosthetic arm for a 3-year-old local girl named Avery. The students have produced a basic 3-D printed bionic prosthetic arm which has been successfully trialled on Avery. They are continuing to raise funds and advocacy, whilst developing their personal growth to ensure they continue their learning and at the same time, providing greater personal life outcomes for Avery and her family. This is service learning in action at the highest level and demonstrates what can be achieved when the learning, support and structures are successfully in place.
To continue to enhance the growth in service learning at Scots, we have created a new teaching position within the College to focus on the development of service learning throughout the Middle School and the wider College community.
“Service learning is a particularly fertile way
of involving young people in community
service, because it ties helping others to
what they are learning in the classroom. It
enables them to apply academic disciplines
to practical, everyday problems. In the
process, it provides a compelling answer to
the adolescent’s perennial question, ‘Why do I
need to learn this stuff?’”
-Colin Powell
