EDUCATION
REPORT - June 26, 2003: Community Service by American Students
By Jerilyn Watson
This is the VOA Special English Education Report.
Millions of American students take part in service
programs. They help people in their communities as part of their education.
They work on projects like improving the environment and feeding homeless
people. Many school systems in the United States now require students
to do some kind of community service as part of their studies.
Students involved in service projects help themselves
as well as their communities. They learn about the needs of people and
aid organizations. Some college administrators say public service may
also help high school graduates gain acceptance to the college of their
choice.
Many schools in the United States offer courses
in what is called service-learning. These educational programs teach
methods to aid the community.
Nicholas Senn High School in Chicago, Illinois,
is one of these schools. It has received national honors for its service-learning
program. Students there were not doing well in their studies back when
the program began in1997. Teachers say doing community service has led
many students to work harder in school. School officials say mathematics
and reading skills have improved.
Teachers try to link their classroom material
with current community needs. For example, a history teacher talked
about the issue of hunger in some American communities. After that,
students helped at a food center for poor people.
Students at Nicholas Senn High School come from
seventy-five countries. They speak fifty languages. Even students who
have just arrived from other nations perform community service.
Wilkinson Junior High School in Middleburg,
Florida, also has received national honors for its service-learning
program. Its twelve- and thirteen-year-old students work on two major
projects. They are helping to find the best ways to restore trees to
an area of land that was used for mining titanium. They also test water
from the nearby Saint John's River and report the results to local water
officials.
Public schools are not the only ones that require
community service. Bishop Ireton High School is a private Roman Catholic
school in Alexandria, Virginia. In one project, students there organized
programs for people who live in a retirement center near the school.
This VOA Special English Education Report was
written by Jerilyn Watson.
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