Volunteer Global

Last week, I led a discussion regarding service learning and community service, how the two are similar or different, and how they relate to graduate school programs. I'll write a little bit about it here, since some good points were made during the Q&A session.

First of all, let me outline the difference between service learning and community service.

Service learning

Engaging students in socially relevant activities as part of the individual's curriculum. In other words, students hep with a community-based project, such as NGO startup, career training, home building, or landscaping, and then they discuss their activities and findings as part of their coursework.

Community Service

Take that whole definition of service learning, but take out the "as part of the curriculum" aspect.

The graduate school coordinators I spoke to all were involved in programs that placed their students in internships that were completed as well as the graduate degrees. Whether their programs focused on service learning or community service was split rather evenly.

Things I learned:

The students in these particular programs were involved in long-term volunteer service activities before they started graduate school. Because of this, there often was a power struggle between the instructor and the student, as the teachers weren't prepared to encounter what essentially were "professional volunteers" who had been in the field for roughly two years prior.

The definition of "service" as the students understood it varied greatly from person to person. Some examples included:

• Being submissive to another individual or group
• Willingly assisting another individual or group
• Engaging in public worship
• Acting as a member of the armed forces

Very few people realize how many long-term volunteers pursue graduate school because a good number of employers see their service as an indication of inability to make it in the "real world." Because I was surprised that they didn't know this, and they were surprised that I did -- I'm reprising tomorrow an old blog entry in which I found it completely unfair and somewhat ironic that employers throw away resumes from volunteers due to their "lack of experience."

Tune in tomorrow for a more eloquent way of giving the finger to people who don't give volunteers a chance!