Every component of a reflective learning process must include a reflective phase that gives students the opportunity to be engaged in the reflection (Furco, 2007). This phase gives the project a serine opportunity to reflect back on the progress that has been realized so far. Prior to its commencement, this particular project consisted of two collaborative pieces. The administrator of this particular project had a meeting with two administrators and one parent who was also the president of the Parents Teachers Association.
The planning phase of the project was discussed during the meeting. It focused on the components of the project with regards to the summer school programme, how it will be linked to the schools language arts curriculum, the aim and purpose of the project and how it would involve and empower the community. Other factors, such as materials that will be required and the mode of transportation were also discussed.
This project focused on gang violence; a tragedy that has caused a lot of chaos in Hartford, CT. It has been on the rise and during that process many youths have become its victims. Some of them have been hurt while others have been killed. This project will therefore give the young people of this community a chance to learn about various aspects of their society through the creation of awareness. The project thus involved six 3rd grade students in each class. To be more interesting to the students, the administrator divided the community into different quadrants. The regions that were selected had rich history and community pride (Ammon and Middaugh, 2001). Each quadrant was assigned students from a different region so that they can experience and appreciate the difference in culture.
The students were asked questions about the opposite quadrant to increase their knowledge about Harford, CT and raise their curiosity. Furthermore, they will proceed with the expository component that is linked to the school curriculum where they are expected to keep in touch with a pen pal through writing. This will increase their social and interaction skills. In the end, they are expected to share the knowledge which they have learned with their class members.
Establishing the foundation of the project was difficult during the initial phase due to its sensitive nature (Morgan, 2001). To ensure that the project is successful, it commenced during summer; a period where there are minimal school activities and the size of the classes are small and manageable. Including the president of the PTO was a political move rather than a recommendation. This is because she already has the support of other community members and fellow parents. Having this huge support is healthy for the project since it will increase the chances of it being successful (Westheimer and Kahne, 2000). Having a central location for the office was a brilliant idea since it can be accessed easily from any part of the city by parents and students. This will increase the participation of parents in the project during the final gathering.
Despite all this, the project is expected to face several risks and setbacks which have to be planned for. First, the fact that students have different writing skills and capabilities has to be considered. This may prevent them from communicating clearly and efficiently to their pen pals while writing letters. Teachers’ participation within the classroom is encouraged to alleviate this problem (Morgan and Streb, 2001). Transportation of parents is also another problem. There are those parents who cannot travel via public means, therefore alternatives from friends, volunteers and other sources should be explored.
References
Ammon, F., & Middaugh, C. (2001). Impacts of service-learning on participating students. Denver, CO: RMC Research.
Furco, A. (2007). Advancing Youth Academic Success: School Engagement and International Leadership through Service-Learning: Growing to Greatness 2007. St. Paul: National :Youth Leadership Council.
Morgan, W. (2001). Building citizenship: How student voice in service-learning develops civic values. Social Science Quarterly, 82, 154-169.
Morgan, W., & Streb, M. (2001). Building citizenship: How student voice in service-learning develops civic values. Social Science Quarterly, 82(1), 155-169.
Westheimer, J., & Kahne, J. (2000). Report to the Surdna Board.–D.V.I. New York: Surdna Foundation.