Students not earning service learning

Student Service Learning (SSL) hours, or logged hours of volunteer work, allow students to grow outside the traditional realm of academics and develop respect for their community. While it is commendable that Maryland is the only state requiring SSL hours for graduation, the system for acquiring the first 30 hours must be improved, because it does not actively involve students or encourage community ownership.

The MCPS SSL program is structured so that students receive 30 SSL hours through their middle school courses—10 hours each year in grade six science, grade seven English and grade eight social studies. These hours are "embedded into the curriculum," according to Robert Hopkins, Blair's SSL coordinator.

The "three required elements of service learning," as described on the MCPS website, include preparation, action and reflection, all of which would require students to be aware of the work they have accomplished. But according to an informal Silver Chips poll of 100 students taken during the week of Sept 8, 71 percent thought they had not earned the 30 hours they received and an additional 17 percent thought they had earned only a portion of the 30 hours. "Students complete the hours—they just don't realize it," Hopkins says. If students are unaware that they have earned hours, the SSL program is not meeting its stated goals.

Service learning allows students to gain important problem-solving skills, to explore a variety of interests and to be "more of a stakeholder in the community," says Hopkins. But it is difficult to develop a feeling of community ownership inside the walls of a classroom and without interacting with the surrounding community.

Pam Meador, SSL coordinator for MCPS, says the curriculum is sometimes paired with a project outside school, such as painting a Chesapeake Bay storm drain in sixth grade science. Activities such as this are a good way to introduce students to SSL and relate service learning to the curriculum. But according to student experience, such projects are a rare gem.

MCPS should make the first 30 SSL hours a meaningful experience by requiring middle school teachers to involve students in hands-on and community–oriented experiences instead of automatically granting hours for attending class.