As you all know, our blog has been about the “end” of the Iraq war. When it came to a service-learning project, we were a little lost as to what we could do. Seeing as our focus was based more on informing others than preaching a specific side, we did not want to try to sway the opinions of others. We also did not focus on veterans; so going to a veteran’s hospital did not seem appropriate. However, with the recent elections, we found a solution that we were all happy with: we would each write a letter and send it to the Massachusetts and New Hampshire senators. Ross and Katie both live in Massachusetts, while Meghan lives in New Hampshire, so it seemed like a good idea to send our letters to the senators of both states.
In our letters, we all conveyed our desire for the senators to strongly consider the well being of Iraqi citizens when deciding whether to continue the troop withdrawal. We are all on the fence when it comes to the subject – seeing both the positive and negatives of removing the rest of the troops – so we just wanted to voice the fact that we are concerned about what will happen to Iraq once the troops are gone.
As a conclusion, Katie, Ross, and I reflected on the service-learning experience.
Katie’s Reflection:
The service-learning project I think had a greater impact for people (especially in our class) because it informed them of the issues in Iraq. Many people do not even think of Iraq as a current issue. But there still are issues. I believe my group did a job of presenting our information without taking any sides and just informing. I would like to do another service learning project again. However, I would not want it to be as rushed and I would want more time to focus on it. I felt as though if we spent more time on the service learning projects they could have been more thought out all the time. I believe I would have older elementary school aged children work on a service-learning project, but I would let them choose an interest of their own. I would never force them to all help out at a soup kitchen. I would want the service learning to come from within them. Reason being, because we learn better when we are interested, and if the students are interested in their service learning project they will be more likely to want to work on it.
Meghan’s Reflection:
I am not sure what effect we had on the greater good, but our group stuck to our initial plan through to the end – we informed others. We voiced our concerns and spread the information we felt the need to spread, and I think we were pretty successful. I would absolutely do another service-learning project, but like Katie, I would like more time. I felt like we could not do anything of substance, because we could not really commit the time to it. If we had been working on the service-learning aspect for an entire semester, I would have loved to go to a veteran’s hospital or something like that, and talk to those who have fought. I would have liked to get their opinions on the matter, and hear their perspective. In the future, I would like to have students do service-learning projects. When I was in high school, we had required community service hours every semester. I remember wishing that I could have an on going community service placement instead of bouncing around, because I wanted to see a project or goal all the way through to the end. I think service learning is an opportunity for this. While I think teacher guidance is important (depending on the age), students could develop a project based on what they found important, and the teachers could assist them in executing their plans. I think service learning is a great opportunity to build citizenship and social consciousness in a child, and it can have a positive effect on the community.
Ross’s Reflection:
It remains to be seen what impact our project had on the greater good. With that being said, if all we did was remind a few of our classmates that the situation, which we (the U.S.) created, is still developing and far from over, then I believe we were successful. Additionally, I believe we have made a small, but important difference by voicing opinions to our respective representatives in Congress, and letting them know that there are citizens out there, who are concerned about the citizens in Iraq and the condition of the country upon our withdrawal from the country.
I thought this project worked for well for a learning experience. It provided us with the freedom of choice to immerse ourselves in a topic that was both of interest, and one that I might not have explored on my own. I could see myself doing this again and using it in my classroom. One of the best aspects of this project was the freedom that came along with it; each member of the group was free to explore the aspects of the Iraq War that was of interest to them, but we were also learning about additional aspects through the work of our group members. If I were to use this with my students in the classroom, I would want to find a better means of service than the letter writing campaign we participated in; I would prefer to have my students take part in an activity that would provide more tangible results.
I can see myself using this in my future classroom, although it will be a little more difficult to tie into an Ancient History. I thought the project ran smoothly and was very easy for us, as a group to collaborate on. Furthermore, the project allowed us, the students, to choose a current event issue to explore, which does not often occur in a history class. The project was a nice break from exploring the distant past; however, a service-learning topic such as our own Iraq War Blog could easily be connected to the Ancient/Modern world in a number of different ways (War, Government, Cause and Effect Relationships, Etc.). The best reason that I see for using such a project is that service learning is student centered, which I think most of us would agree is the best type of learning.
Thank you for reading!
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