Northern Kentucky is preparing for the future by following Ben Franklin's advice to "do well by doing good."
The area is embracing the concept of service learning, which, in simplest terms, is a teaching technique that fuses education with action. Students of service-learning engage in their own education, apply what they learn to solve real-world problems, and actively contribute to their community. The result? Students become life-long learners and life-long contributing citizens.
About 20,000 students at more than 60 Northern Kentucky schools participated in a service learning project this year; 254 projects have been done and 91 more are being developed, according to
Vision 2015, the local organization dedicated to regional development.
"Not only can students enhance their understanding of their study areas through hands-on work, but engaging early in service to others fosters a strong culture of contribution in Northern Kentucky and passes on that community value to a future generation," says Tara Ford, strategic initiatives manager of Vision 2015.
From kindergarten to college, from improving the local environment to helping those in need and participating with the democratic process, Vision 2015 hopes that service learners will take away a sense of responsibility for their community, long after short-term projects are complete. Service learning aligns with Vision 2015's goal of cultivating regional stewardship – one of the group's six strategic directions. (The others are a competitive economy, educational excellence, livable communities, urban renaissance and effective governance).
One of Vision 2015's chief activities is connecting people who can collaborate on projects for "systematic, sustainable change," Ford continues.
"The work that our local schools, colleges and universities are doing – through the help of organizations like Children Inc. – to make service learning a way of life for area students will pay off through student achievement now and community engagement in the future, when much of our adult population has this experience of working together, being community-minded and thinking about ways they can solve problems or make things better. Those are the characteristics of the 'regional steward' described in the Vision 2015 plan."
Children Inc. in Covington, which offers child care and early childhood education programs, is a strong proponent of service learning.
"At Children Inc., service learning is one innovation that empowers children to learn by doing and to believe in the power of their own value as dream doers," says Mary Kay Connolly, director and service learning coordinator for the
Mayerson Northern Kentucky Service Learning Initiative. "We encourage them to learn, innovate, act, collaborate and ultimately, to transform the world."
Children Inc. continues to expand its influence in the region; the number of schools in the partnership grows each year. (Currently there is a waiting list for schools interested in joining the network.) In the 2010-2011 school year, the network added an emphasis on improving business skills and financial literacy. Students in 81 service learning projects raised $23,000 in micro-enterprises and donated the revenue to charitable causes at home and across the world. Other service learning projects completed by partnership schools include:
• A school-wide recycling contest at Latonia Elementary, where students applied skills in weighing, graphing and measuring to understand consumer actions and promote good citizenship
• A quilting project at First District School, where middle school students created a quilt to illustrate the history of their community and donated it to a local library
• A wetlands restoration project at Western Hills High School, where students developed plans to restore a wetland on school property, then invited elementary school kids to learn about the importance of water in the community
Service learning opportunities don't have to end with high school. In fact, the benefits go even deeper.
"The value of service learning is that it creates a mutually beneficial partnership between a class and a community partner," says Mark Neikirk, executive director of the
Scripps Howard Center for Civic Engagement at Northern Kentucky University.
"The class gets a shot at active, engaged, applied learning -- and along the way acquires an understanding of community needs and how those are being addressed. The community partner, which very often is a nonprofit, gets a service or product that can be put to immediate use," he says.
At NKU,
50 to 70 courses each academic year have a service learning component. One group of students developed the web site for
Cinderella's Closet, which enables underprivileged girls to have formalwear and participate in the important rite-of-passage proms and related social events.
For the spring, 2011 semester, other courses with service learning elements included:
• Anthropology students working with the Boone, Campbell, and Kenton County Conservation Districts to evaluate folk knowledge of invasive plants among farmers, with the goal of developing education programs. The results of this project will be disseminated several ways, including in a report to a Kenton County commission on local governance
• History students designing an exhibit for the Ft. Thomas Military & Community History Museum
• Law students meeting with nonprofit organizations to review compliance with applicable laws, regulations, and best practices.
In addition, Neikirk says, NKU's
Mayerson Student Philanthropy Project encompasses five to ten classes per semester, and each uses service learning pedagogy. "These classes (also taught across many disciplines) promote stewardship as well, and research suggests the community connections built in these classes last long after graduation," he says.
Service learning has tremendous potential to create a significant, long-lasting and far-reaching improvement in quality of life throughout Northern Kentucky.
"It is often said that our children are the future," says Mary Kay Connolly. "Through service learning, every child is given the opportunity to give back to their community now, and the world is better because of them."