By Kristy Verdi, PhD, NYLC Board Member
After settling into my seat for the flight back to Florida, there was a little “alone” time away from students and a temporary reprieve from chaperon duties. One could not be lost while in the air. A group of eighteen students and parents were returning from the 2012 National Youth Service Leadership Conference in Washington, D.C.. The students hosted a tech-savvy presentation at the conference about their service-learning class, and it further prevailed upon me the power of service-learning, especially at the middle grades level.
“The middle grades are incredibly important in terms of psycho-social development and it is imperative that we take advantage of the idealistic and impassioned stage, as well as the boundless energy, to build positive character and a strong appeal for civic engagement. Middle school is a window of opportunity. Adolescents feel a direct and personal connection to everything they experience, so we must give them the civic encounters that will mold them into active and engaged citizens.”
Now, in 2024, the need for social and emotional learning is even greater for young adolescents. The middle schoolers of today were the 2nd, 3rd, and 4th graders of 2020, and many missed important phases of socialization and academic development due to COVID closures and restricted activities. This age group certainly has the same energy as those in 2012 but with less self-discipline and academic preparation, in many cases. The window of opportunity is still there, but it is caught up in a maelstrom.
Over the years, those of us in the field have tried to pitch service-learning as an instructional strategy, a tool not unlike others teachers have in their toolbox. But the nation’s K-12 public school educators in some states are far less likely to use service-learning as a strategy than they may have been in 2012. This might be because of the administrative micromanaging required for school-wide benchmark testing three times a year, stringent curriculum and pacing guides with frequent accountability checks, a monumental number of unfunded mandates, combined with low pay, a lack of parental support, and living in constant crisis mode.
Introducing service-learning to students is low on the list of teacher priorities, but schools would greatly benefit in terms of culture and climate. First, let’s tie service-learning to other up-and-coming educational innovations currently in the funding spotlight. Consider riding on the coat-tails of Decision Education, or even Project-Based and Experiential Learning. Second, we need to search for exemplary service-learning projects and programs and do a little Appreciative Inquiry. The goal would be to demonstrate what kids can do when provided the adequate adult facilitation, physical space, technology, and time to plan and do personally meaningful service that is intentionally connected to the real-world academic knowledge and skills youth will need to survive when they reach adulthood.
We also need to look to the future. The 12-year-old of today will be 24 in 2036. According to ChatGPT (yes, I did.), when asked to describe the world in 2036, humanity will be very busy balancing technological advancements with ethics and sustainability. Technology is changing our world, but teaching youth how to be ethical and environmentally conscious will be rudimentary to preserving that world, at least with humans in it. Technology exists because we make it. We apply scientific knowledge to the practical functions of life, or to change our environment to better serve our needs. But, “advancing” technology doesn’t always better serve our needs. Oppenheimer said, “It is a profound and necessary truth that the deep things in science are not found because they are useful; they were found because it was possible to find them.” The technology we have now and that which comes in the future is going to happen. Humans will design, test, build, and explore because they are able to do so. We also have a habit of learning the hard way. Consider that in 2012, many teachers loved the idea of students having phones in class for Kahoot! and Nearpods. In 2024, teachers are fighting a losing battle against smartphones and a social media addiction that parallels vaping.
Enter service-learning. While learning through service, youth will experience ethical decision making as they seek to meet compelling community needs. Ethical behavior (honesty, integrity, charity, responsibility, self-discipline, etc.) cannot be taught independent of ethical actions, and ethical actions taken to benefit a community are service-oriented.
According to ChatGPT, education in 2036 is predicted to be predominantly virtual and on-demand, especially in secondary education. The youth of today can run circles around most adults when using technology. The focus of our efforts should not be on the fundamentals of using technology, but when, where, and why. How can we balance advances in technology with ethics and sustainability? We make ethics and sustainability a core value in service-learning, and embed service-learning in K-12 education as a pedagogical lynchpin. Another ChatGPT highlight sees professionals in 2036 will need “creativity and interpersonal skills, especially those espousing human touch, empathy, and adaptability, will be highly valued in a world driven by AI”. Working together to solve problems and issues in creative ways. Hmm. Service-learning.
The best way we can rejuvenate a spirit of service leadership, something we are in great need of today, is to give our young people the space and structured time to work together in both a virtual and face-to-face setting, teach them how to ethically use academic knowledge and skills to solve issues they deem critical, and help them understand the responsibility we have to protect our environment.
Want to take this conversation further? Join us for our free Thought Leader Panel on Cultivating Changemakers: A Panel Discussion on Youth Leadership in February. Learn more and register here!
