"The Politics of Service Learning" Kahne and Westheimer

"In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning" by Kahne and Westheimer made me question my attitudes and reasons for the service learning project and previous community service that I have done. I always believed that community service was primarily about charity and contributing to one's community, but I failed to realize that more could come from one's service learning experience. Kahne and Westheimer speak to change through service learning. This change stems from caring, reconstructs social injustices, and leads to transformations in the volunteers lives. To expand on this topic, I am doing a connections post to some of our former readings.

This article shows connections to Johnson's article, "Privilege, Power, and Difference."As I said, many people just see community service as a school requirement or charity work. Even though this is a piece of service learning, Kahne and Westheimer say that we must challenge these ideals and "risk creating some opposition to service learning projects" (12). By doing this, people may be transformed through their experiences rather than just feeling positive or appreciated. Johnson says "But always the purpose is to change how we think so that we can change how we act, and by changing how we participate in the world, become part of the complex dynamic through which the world itself would change" (viii). Johnson says that we have to say the words in order to change the world. Once people read Kahne and Westheimer, they see that through their service learning project, they do have the ability to change the world by changing their mindset, actions, and participation.

I also connected this article to Ullucci's article, "Pathologizing the Poor: Implications for Preparing Teachers to Work in High Poverty Schools." In this article, Ullucci spoke about myths of those in poverty. She explains that we should not pity impoverished students and their families, but challenge the belief that those in poverty are in poverty because they don't work hard enough, are lazy, or are not smart. I personally saw a connection in the story about the music class performing at an impoverished elementary school. The parents complained and instilled fear in their children that the people in that community were bad and the students were undisciplined, rude and dirty. (Truthfully, when I started my service learning project, I was scared and nervous because I had heard to make sure to lock my car because the area was unsafe, etc, etc. and I feel connected to these student's fears.)When the class did go to perform, they found that beliefs were not true. The students were respectful, welcoming, and attentive. (I also found this to be true.) Kahne and Westheimer said, "The experiential and interpersonal components of service learning activities can achieve the first crucial step toward diminishing the sense of 'otherness' that often separates students - particularly privileged students - from those in need" (8). By participating in a service learning activity, these students (and myself) learned that their beliefs were just common myths that need to be challenged.

I also connected this piece to Delpit's article, "The Silenced Dialogue." Delpit speaks of a "culture of power," where those in power set the rules and standards for society. I believe that this connects because the culture of power tells us that we must participate in community service in order to fulfill our requirements and help those in need. The culture of power does not speak of the transformative power of community service and service learning projects. The people in power have set these beliefs and instilled them in the rest of society to see service learning as solely charity, and not change.

Talking point: Have people viewed their service learning project as charity or as a chance to change the world?