"Learning in Deed -  the Power of Service-Learning for American Schools"

Meeting John Glenn at the 2002 ASCD Annual Conference and Exhibit Show was a thrill for Anne Shaw, Director of 21st Century Schools.  Photo by Jerry Self. (Click on photo for enlargement.) March 11, 2002

"Academics in Action", said John Glenn, is a more accurate term than "service-learning", defined in the report as "a teaching and learning approach that integrates community service with academic study to enrich learning, teach civic responsibility, and strengthen communities".  By its very definition, civic responsibility means taking a healthy role in the life of one’s community, state, and nation. That means that classroom lessons should be complemented by work outside the classroom. Service-Learning does just that, tying community service to academic lessons.  -Senator John Glenn   (from the Executive Summary of "Learning in Deed") Senator Glenn presented the results of a year-long research study conducted by the National Commission on Service-Learning, which is chaired by John Glenn and is co-funded by the W. K. Kellogg Foundation and the John Glenn Institute for Public Service and Public Policy. John Glenn describes his vision of what he prefers to term "Academics in Action".  ASCD Annual Conference, San Antonio, Texas.  Photo by Jerry Self.  March 11, 2002. (Click on photo to go to enlargement.) John Glenn's "Academics in Action" project is closely aligned to the vision and goals of 21st Century Schools.  The National Committee for Service-Learning conducted their one-year study and determined that students are not engaged in learning or school;  students are not engaged because the current structure of schooling and current delivery and design of the curriculum is out of touch with society and life in the new millennium.  Public education today is largely out of touch with the lived experiences of the students, and is therefore meaningless to them.  The committee also determined that connecting teaching and learning - academics - to life, creating meaningful ways of learning, is how to motivate students once again. This is the same principle which 21st Century Schools adopts when designing units of curriculum.  We prefer to use the term "frameworks" and opposed to "units" to emphasize the flexibility of the curriculum design.  They are flexible enough to be used as a resource and planning tool for a meaningful interdisciplinary, thematic unit of learning geared to the unique needs and interests of the particular community, school, students and teachers. Curriculum cannot be "one size fits all";  just as individuals are unique, with various life experiences, so communities are unique.  Students are not lifeless pieces of plastic on an assembly line waiting to be formed by a teacher "technician".  Teachers are individuals;  students are individuals;  educational policy cannot ignore that and expect education to be successful. All frameworks designed by 21st Century Schools have connections to the community built into them - and these connections include not only the immediate, local community, but extend to the state, national and global levels.  These connections, which make up the "global classroom", are possible thanks to rapidly developing technologies, accessibility to inexpensive tools for creating multiple forms of media, particularly the Internet. Curriculum frameworks always include avenues for meaningful student participation in those communities as they study the needs of the community and then plan and implement actions for creating change.  This way, students can learn at an early age - as early as Kindergarten - that they can make a difference in the world.   These are the same principles which the report, "Learning in Deed - the Power of Service-Learning in American Schools" promotes.  21st Century Schools is proud to support the National Committee for Service-Learning by helping to spread their message. Again, it was a thrill to hear John Glenn present the findings of his research committee and to have the opportunity to meet him personally.  I vividly recall watching the television as he made his first flight into space in 1962, and watching again in 1998 when he made his second trip to space.  It was very exciting for me, and I never dreamed that I would actually meet him.  For those of you who are equally excited about those moments in history, we recommend a visit to the John Glenn Archives at The John Glenn Institute.