Identifying Worthwhile Service Opportunities for your Students

Service as action

Research by the International Baccalaureate Organization (IBO), has found that young people who engage in service learning are more likely to volunteer in adulthood than those who only volunteer because it’s mandatory.

Whilst Service as action initiated by teachers seeking to develop caring members of the community who act to make a positive difference, providing opportunities for students to engage with communities and to positively impact others, is not always done well.

Many teachers associate service learning with the ‘feel-good events offered by mass-market student travel businesses. Typically these are the construction of toilet blocks or similar projects that local people themselves could do quickly with minimal effort. Moreover, such projects are often of no real benefit to a community – who, quite often don’t need these structures, but rather because it works with a student itinerary.

In stark contrast to these off-the-shelf activities, there do exist many worthwhile opportunities for a group of motivated teenagers when local communities are actively involved in the process of improving their lot. Indeed, the value of community participation is only truly beneficial when visiting students have the chance to work alongside a community in solidarity, and not as emissaries of salvation. These projects are most effective when a school responds to a tangible need so that the efforts of well-meaning student groups are not wasted, but contribute to making a positive impact.

Getting students involved in picking the right program helps. Considerations include:

• How many hours are they comfortable working?

• Do they prefer working with nature or with things/ structures?

• What are the energy levels of the particular cohort like and can they maintain working hard over several days?

Successful outreach programs are a result of proper consultation with local communities so local inhabitants may understand the desires of visiting students to assist in the betterment of their community. This assessment is something Student Educational Experiences has been practising for two decades and requires significant reconnaissance as well as consultation with the community and local government committees.

The reasons behind the efforts

During a community outreach activity, our tour leaders go to great lengths to explain the mechanics of students’ efforts. Equally important is for students to glean some reinforcement as to the importance of the service initiative they are undertaking.

Students interested in the environment have a variety of options to choose from. Some programs like our programs in Vietnam, India & Cambodia or Laos offer opportunities to participate in community building. Other travel experiences focus on animals. This includes programs that centre on a wide diversity of animals like conservation (marine and rainforest) in Malaysian Borneo, and Thailand, to more specific focused like a turtle conservation project in Costa Rica. Learning about these types of factors that threaten animals and plant life enables students to realize the significance of their efforts.

Another important component of the service process is encouraging students to learn more about the communities they are visiting before they go. As an example, in India, the government is unable to provide much support to schools so several service projects centre on educational projects. Program fees that the families pay to allow the communities to buy the supplies needed to make infrastructure improvements while the students supply much of the labour. Understanding this reality and where a student is travelling makes the experience more impactful.

Reinforcing the effort of students

Participation in an often-spirited service-learning effort is not for everyone. For those teens who do rise to the challenge, however, encouragement is always welcome. In a world where students are pushed to compete in an educational environment, they may not get as much attention for small service initiatives. Therefore, giving them a pat on the back and getting feedback from the community with who they engage is paramount to a meaningful service experience.