Service Learning VS. Community Service

One of the slides I did for my Service Learning Project Powerpoint for my JROTC class.

What is community service? What is Service learning? How many people actually know the difference between the two? 

In my JROTC class in high school, we learned about the actual differences between the two. I didn't know about the possibilities, or that there were properties of the two. I just thought that community service was the same thing as service learning. Well, I didn't know there was such a thing as service learning.

But in ro, we also had to perform a Service Learning Project; where I tutored various grade levels at a near-by school: Fulton Elementary. My peers and I attended one class each week at the school and from there we wrote a reflection of what we did in the classes, and what we gained from our experiences from tutoring the younger ones.

From my service learning site, we learned that there are differences from Service Learning and Community Service.

What is Community Service? 

• It is a mandatory act of giving back to one's own community. In order to graduate from high school, each senior at my school was required to complete a certain amount of hours. So at most times, community service is expected to do so because someone, or an authority figure told one to do so.
• It is an act which ONLY benefits one's own community. There is no self benefit, may be minimal, but rare. 
• It is usually Quantity over Quality. Just like in high school in order to graduate, most students wanted to get their hours done right away, rather than taking in what they are doing to help their community and having fun with it. 

What is Service Learning?

• It is a voluntary act of giving back to one's own community. It is not because they are required to do so by their school, or by an authority figure, but because they want to help his/her community.
• It benefits both one's community, and the person. Unlike community service, service learning is where one actually reflects upon his/her actions, and what they are doing for his/her community, and why he/she is helping out. Just like when I tutored at Fulton Elementary; it was because I wanted to be there for the students, and help them raise their test scores higher. 
• It is always Quality over Quantity. I would rather volunteer for the experience, and not for the hours. At Fulton, I didn't even ask for volunteer hours just because I had fun being a role model to the students, that I didn't need it (also because I volunteered somewhere else). 

Those are the differences of Community Service, and Service Learning that I perceived in my eyes. I can honestly say that when I help out my community, I do it because I want to. I treat it as a lifestyle, because I like to reflect upon what I do for my community, and why I do it.

This subject also ties in with the question we had for Personal Growth about my community: What is one way in which you expect the community you are serving to nourish, nurture, or satisfy you? What are two ways you will take responsibility for that community? I don't expect anything from my community because I believe that I have the responsibility to serve for my own community. I think the only thing I will actually gain is the experience of giving back to my community, and having fun with it. Especially when I get to work with young children again by being at Rosa Parks; I will be able to serve as that role model I'd like to be to them. Just like how I said about how Service Learning is supposed to be about, is how I will take that responsibility: to know that working at Rosa Parks should be about Quality over Quantity. If working there for me will be all about getting my hours just so I could get a check, then I shouldn't even be there. I want to work because I want to gain from the experience, learn something for myself, and give back to my community.