Service Learning 293 - Learning Through Comm Engmnt

This course engages students in the practice of community engagement, including consideration of what constitutes appropriate and effective community service, and how to learn deeply from this experience. Each time it is offered, it is organized around a topic of public concern that draws on a variety of perspectives, and it places students with community organizations in service that relates directly to the course topic. Students therefore integrate academic learning with experiential learning. Students are required to spend 2-3 hours per week in a community setting in addition to class time. This engagement time varies and is typically during after-school hours. In preparing for community service, students will explore the course topic, and also explore what it may mean for them in their service to cross boundaries of race, ethnicity, class, or other strands of social identity. (Gen.Ed. SB, DU)

Our two semester course, part of the Student Bridges program, examines how race, class and a variety of historical forces shape students' access to quality education. We look at issues of racism and inequality in educational systems, and explore how standardized testing, the dismantling of affirmative action, and rising costs have affected college access for many low-income, first-generation, and students of color. In the spring, students apply their understanding to an educational issue of choice to research for and develop a project or initiative. Students are required to participate in a service-learning team, where you will work with students from Holyoke or Springfield programs or schools twice a week. This class has no prerequisites; contact the instructor for more information.