Blog Archives: August 2012
Youth Membership Now Available on the GSN!
The dog days are over, the school year is nigh, and we have an exciting announcement for the Generator School Network — Youth are now welcome! By introducing the unique perspective of our future leaders to the GSN, we hope users will gain valuable expertise and continue to create partnerships between educators, service-learning practitioners, and students across the country.
To make this transition possible, we’ve beefed up our security. The GSN has for years been a safe place for our users to convene, share resources, and partake in professional development. We want our youth to enjoy that same environment. Our security updates include:
- A revamped Report Abuse function. It is now easier for users to flag inappropriate content.
- An age requirement: you must be at least 13 years old to join.
- An updated user agreement with clear privacy policies for youth members.
For existing members of the GSN, there’s nothing to fear with these changes. We will continue the same strong focus on providing professional development, and not one resource previously provided in the network is going away. In fact, bringing youth into the site will only expand its utility for users.
How can youth utilize the GSN?
Do you work on projects in an afterschool or extracurricular setting (like a youth advisory board or service club)? You can now use the GSN as remote meeting place. The online format allows the flexibility to juggle mismatched schedules and still keep your group connected. Teachers may also now integrate youth voice into the planning aspect of service-learning by hosting a safe, creative space for your students in the GSN.
The GSN already serves as an ongoing learning community for youth who attended this year’s National Youth Leadership Training. These young leaders formed teams that aim to address the achievement gap through a service-learning action plan. The Plan section of the GSN is the virtual home for their projects, where they can upload their action plans and monthly progress updates. The NYLT group they created in the Connect section will allow NYLC staff to guide these youth through regular activities and reflections focused on particular skills or topics. These 44 trainees formed 16 teams which, together with their home groups, will give the GSN its own youth voice like never before. NYLC’s Project Ignition grantees also have a GSN presence, where they utilize those same groups and project features to report on the progress of their teen driver safety campaigns.
We encourage our existing members to involve their youth, get students in the network, and use it as a creative extension of the classroom. We’ll be glad to have them, and you’ll be glad you did.
Questions? Email gsn@nylc.org.
Join Sen. Hagan, Rep. Coble, and NYLC on Capitol Hill to Showcase Successes in Education
Much of the national conversation today is about what is wrong with our educational systems. We are flooded with negative images of our public schools. Isn’t it time we hear from those that are making great strides in educating our youth?
NYLC has secured the support of Senator Kay Hagan and Representative Howard Coble, both of North Carolina, to host a Capitol Hill Briefing. The briefing will focus on what is working to drive excellence and achievement at K-12 public schools, highlighting Guilford County Schools in North Carolina. The briefing will analyze components that helped lead to the success of students, teachers, schools, and communities, with service-learning as a key strategy. We will hear from Maurice “Mo” Green, Guilford County Superintendent, students and staff from the Greensboro-area district, and from partners at Communities in Schools. NYLC will also provide perspective on the panel as we expand our systematic work in service-learning across school districts.
The Hill briefing is open to the public, please join us to show your support for young leaders and educators:
Thursday, September 13, 2012
10:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m.
SVC 203-02, U.S. Capitol Visitor Center
Washington, D.C.
RSVP to: dparker@nylc.org
NYLC believes that all young people should have the opportunity to contribute to society as part of their K-12 education. Guilford County Schools is proving every day that this empowering youth in this way also creates an environment of academic excellence and school improvement. With their passion, creativity, and innovation, young people can address world issues while strengthening academic and learning outcomes through service-learning.
I look forward to seeing you on the Hill next month.
Blog Reflection: My Summer as a Marketing Intern at NYLC!
This summer, my friends all thought I was crazy. They were out on the lake, playing golf, and enjoying their last summer before college and could not imagine why I would want to wake up at 6:30 in the morning, put on a tie, and work in an office all day. Except for the whole 6:30 a.m. part, I would not have it any other way.
My job was one that I would look forward to when I rolled out of bed every morning. I was a marketing intern here at NYLC this summer and was immersed in the best hands-on learning marketing course I could have received. I had heard of the amazing things NYLC has done for several years and had the opportunity to work with them during the National Service-Learning Conference in Minneapolis, MN this past spring. I was so impressed by the organization — the people, the impact, and energy the organization has are unmatchable. I decided during that conference that I wanted to be a part of that culture.
As the only youth in the office, I was not sure what to expect. However, everyone went out of their way to give me something I can take away to college and the rest of my career. I learned how much more there is to marketing behind the scenes than I ever could have imagined. The books I’ve read kindly left those out of the text. That is one reason why I truly value what I learned this summer — I learned so much more about marketing than I ever could have in a book.
This exciting opportunity (yes, I do think marketing is exciting) provided me with marketing knowledge and the chance to work with an amazing staff. Those are two wonderful things, but my favorite aspect of this job goes beyond those two. Every day when I walked out of the office, I could reflect on the work I did and think about the possible impact it could have on service-learning and those who benefit from it. I knew it before, but now without hesitation I can say that service-learning is truly the most impactful way to make a difference in the community.
Thank you to NYLC for providing me this opportunity and continue the wonderful work!
Community Partners Rally, Brainstorm New Ideas for Without Limits
With local community partners in the room, there was high energy at the community kick-off event for the 24th Annual National Service-Learning Conference, Without Limits, which is headed to Denver next March. NYLC staff met with an array of individuals in Denver to kick off the planning for the 2013 conference.
During the meeting, NYLC staff presented conference information and discussed the importance of getting members of the Denver community involved in the planning. From submitting workshop proposals, promoting the conference, and serving on committees, NYLC holds a high value on having a strong community presence in the host city. Special Olympics Ambassador and upcoming 2013 plenary speaker, Kaitlyn Smith, addressed the group and explained the importance of youth involvement in the conference. Education Commission of the States, State Farm Insurance, Special Olympics: Project UNIFY, People to People, and Colorado Campus Compact were just a few of the organizations represented.
The conference relies on five main committees to assist in the planning: Entertainment Committee, Youth Committee, On-Site Service-Learning Projects Committee, Conference Service Corps Committee, and the Social Media Team. While there are typically committee members from all across the country, there is a definite value in having some “on the ground” committee support. Kick-off attendees learned more about these committees and spent much of their time brainstorming exceptional ideas for tasks that they can be doing. Some entertainment suggestions included Slam Nuba, Flobots, and the Project UNIFY/R-Word Campaign, while some great off-site service project suggestions included working in the Denver Botanical Gardens, the Denver Rescue Mission, or the Denver Children’s Hospital.
At the conclusion of the event, NYLC did a drawing for a free registration to the 2013 conference. We are pleased to announce that Ana-Maria from Metropolitan State was the winner!
If you are interested in joining a conference planning committee, please contact Conference and Events Coordinator, Jason Stewart (jstewart@nylc.org). The 24th Annual National Service-Learning Conference will be held on March 13-15, 2013 at the Hyatt Regency Denver and Denver Convention Center in Denver, Colorado.
On behalf of NYLC, thank you to all who attended this year’s community kick-off event. We are looking forward to a fantastic conference!
Service-Learning as a Strategy to Improve STEM Education
A regular theme in STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) education is that students are not prepared to succeed in these fields. While children are naturally curious about the world and how things work, science education is often delivered with the intent that the student will arrive at the answer the teacher has in mind, without room for innovation or growth. This dilemma surfaced as a common theme at the 2012 Colloquium in STEM Education Research at the University of Minnesota earlier this month, including in the keynote address given by Dr. David Hammer of Tufts University.
Science and engineering education specifically are supposed to be focused on the process of inquiry, but instead often focus on the test. “A lot of good arguments are around the wrong answer,“ Dr. Hammer asserted in his address. But the question remains: how do you assess the quality of those ideas? Hammer argues that teachers should design situations that allow students to use inquiry, and therefore encourage their curiosity.
Some classrooms have adapted new methods.
Hammer gave an example of an elementary school classroom that was reading Shiloh by Phyllis Reynolds Naylor, a book about a young boy who hides a dog who has been mistreated by his owner. Students in this class were asked to design a physical structure to hide Shiloh from his owner. They began by designing it on paper, and then created a model to put their design to the test. This project allowed students to use the design process to analyze a dilemma in the book. It also introduced engineering concepts in a reading class, a teaching method that was address by Dr. Maura Borrego from the National Science Foundation in her keynote address at the Colloquium. She asserted that engineering should not stand alone and needs to be in integrated into other subjects, especially literacy.
Service-learning as a strategy for STEM education.
Recent findings from NYLC’s Generator Go Green Initiative surveys show that service-learning increases teacher’s feelings of competence using inquiry-oriented teaching methods in their science classrooms. Inquiry-oriented learning is vital for teaching STEM subjects, and it allows students to use their natural curiosity to figure out how the world works and how to solve problems.
For students, the findings show that service-learning instills a stronger connection to their community and shows them that they have the power to make a difference. This is vital to get more students academically engaged and involved in STEM careers by proving that what they’re learning is applicable to their lives outside the classroom.
Learn more about NYLC’s work with service-learning and STEM education at www.nylc.org/stem
