Written by Craig Bretkreutz

Where has the youth gone in our church? How could our students make a real impact in their community? Will my students ever really use the stuff I teach them?

If you’re anything like me, you’ve probably wrestled with one or more of those questions. You may serve in a place where confirmands disappear like children who know it’s time for chores. You may have students struggling with the real-world connection to what they are learning in the classroom. You may have students who spend time thinking about themselves and their friends. But what about the outside world? Hasn’t God commanded us to go out into the world?

As Lutheran teachers, we care about our youth. We want them to make an impact with their lives. We want the subject matter to . . . well . . . matter. I didn’t consider that the answer to all of these questions could very well lie in the same place: service-learning.

What is service-learning?
Service-learning is a “curriculum-based community service that integrates classroom instruction with community service activities” (Spring, Grimm, & Dietz, 2008, p. 13). Billig (2000) added that service-learning “is conducted in and meets the needs of a community, is integrated into and enhances the academic curriculum of the students, and provides structured time for the students or participants to reflect on the service experience” (p. 659).

The following are service-learning standards for quality practice developed by the National Youth Leadership Council (2008):

• Service-learning actively engages participants in meaningful and personally relevant service activities.
• Service-learning is intentionally used as an instructional strategy to meet learning goals and/or content standards.
• Service-learning incorporates multiple challenging reflection activities that are ongoing and that prompt deep thinking and analysis about oneself and one’s relationship with society.
• Service-learning promotes understanding of diversity and mutual respect among all participants.
• Service-learning provides youth with a strong voice in planning, implementing, and evaluating learning experiences with guidance from adults.
• Service-learning partnerships are collaborative, mutually beneficial, and responsive to community needs.
• Service-learning engages participants in an ongoing process to assess the quality of implementation and progress toward meeting specified goals, and uses results for improvement and sustainability.
• Service-learning has sufficient duration and intensity to address community needs and meet specified outcomes.

What are the benefits of service-learning?
Most important, service-learning reinforces faithful stewardship of God’s gifts and is a fitting response to God’s love for us in Christ. “For Christ’s love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And he died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for him who died for them and was raised again” (2 Corinthians 5:14-15).

Additionally, service-learning has been shown to benefit student learning, motivation, society activity level, and school climate, and it can fill real community needs (Astin, Vogelsang, Ikeda, & Yee, 2000; Billig, 2000; Furco, 1996; Hou, 2010; National Youth Leadership Council, 2008;RMC Research Corporation, 2007; Skinner & Chapman, 1999; Spring et al., 2008; Toncar, Reid, Burns, Anderson & Nguyen, 2006).

Service-learning has the potential to help students meet real community needs by taking their classroom learning and using it in very real ways. Think about a student using his reading skills to serve at a senior citizen community. What about that student who asks you, “Are we ever going to use this stuff we learned in math?” You could answer, “I’m glad you asked. We are going to be putting these skills to use next week when our church finance committee comes to visit our classroom.”

How can I use service-learning in my church, school, and beyond?
Service-learning reinforces our teaching of stewardship and makes it practical. Consider the following questions: Can your students learn how to use their talents ushering, counting money, or helping with the altar guild? Can your older students use their science skills to demonstrate a concept to the younger students in your school? Can real-life math skills be used in the home to help with the family budget or bill paying? The good news: You’re already teaching the skills necessary for your children to engage in service-learning.

Lutheran teachers agonize over confirmands who disappear after eighth grade. Service-learning can increase the chance they stay engaged past confirmation. It equips students to use their real-life skills in their schools, churches, homes, and communities. It can develop a sense of belonging that can keep our students connected long after confirmation.

Teachers have the opportunity to give students that sense of accomplishment and belonging and show them the joy of service. Service-learning provides the opportunity to teach good stewardship. And who knows? Maybe students will notice through these experiences that they can use the things they learn in the classroom.

Craig Breitkreutz ’04 teaches at Faith Lutheran School-Antioch WI. Craig is also enrolled in MLC’s Master of Science in Education program with a leadership emphasis.

References
Astin, A. W., Vogelgesang, L. J., Ikeda, E. K., & Yee, J. A. (2000). How service learning affects students (144). Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/slcehighered/144

Billig, S. H. (2000). Research on K-12 school-based service-learning: The evidence builds. Phi Delta Kappan, 81(9), 658-664. Retrieved from https://digitalcommons.unomaha.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1003&context=slcek12

Hou, S. (2010). Developing a faculty inventory measuring perceived service-learning benefits and barriers. Michigan Journal of Community Learning, 16(2), 78-89. Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ904636.pdf

National Youth Leadership Council. (2008). K-12 service-learning standards for quality practice. Retrieved from https://nylcweb.files.wordpress.com/2014/08/standards_oct2009-web.pdf

RMC Research Corporation. (2007). Impacts of service-learning on participating K-12 students. Retrieved from https://leduccenter.files.wordpress.com/2015/02/sl_impacts-on-k12_students.pdf

Skinner, R., & Chapman, C. (1999). Service-learning and community service in K-12 public schools (NCES-1999-043). Retrieved from National Center for Education Statistics website: https://nces.ed.gov/pubs99/1999043.pdf

Spring, K., Grimm, R., & Dietz, N. (2008). Community service and service-learning in america’s schools, 2008. Retrieved from Corporation for National and Community Service website: https://www.nationalservice.gov/pdf/08_1112_lsa_prevalence.pdf