Laurence Myers K-12 Service Learning Coordinator American School of Dubai If your school experience was like most of us it would have come to a near-complete stop at some point on the previous academic year. As the wave of COVID cases made its way westward and we all drew in a collective breath of awestruck pre-panic we all, at some point. rode the wave into the unknown. Over the next few months the world - and the international schools scattered around it - tried their best to recreate what education looked like as teachers learned how to juggle being parents while simultaneously being educators. The professional-personal juggling act was intensified by the feelings of isolation, fear and, for many loss. And to grieve while stuck in one's living room half the world away (potentially) is certainly a tall order for anyone. It's no surprise, then, that strategies like service learning were put 'on hold' by many as we tried to mange a new and "almost out of control" situation. The literal isolation of our teaching/learning/family spaces brought with it a figurative isolation which, thankfully, was partly counterbalanced by the benefits of connection through technology. And in there, as we all moved down those Maslow levels with astonishing speed, we found ourselves fighting for our lives, both literally (in some cases) and as a description of our living arrangements and choices.
It seemed strange that in a time when there was so much need to be together, to unit, to join as a community, that often we became, as teachers, focused on the content of our work. It seemed like a big juxtaposition - at least to me and in my context - that when we needed a community-minded approach to our life's experience we focused further on academics. Which came first? The need for community or the lack of togetherness? It seemed like, suddenly, and perhaps for the first time in our lives, we were the focus of our own concern to the extent that we became the subject of the 'need' to be addressed. And, in so doing, some of us forgot to focus on the fact that providing support for others actually benefits of our life experience as well. What do they say in elementary school? Be a bucket filler. Not only for the person whose bucket you fill, but also because in filling their bucket you also benefit. And so, though COVID brought with it a sudden clamoring to isolate and focus on what learning might look like, we found that actually utilizing service learning allowed for people to generate a higher level of perceives self worth. Suddenly you didn't need to look too hard to find someone who was having a difficult time of things. Whether than was someone in the community who lost their job or someone having a difficult time dealing with the stress of life under COVID. Those teachers who continued to support service learning (and admittedly, there were only a few) found that doing so provided authentic conversations which not only offered themselves as ways to 'cleanse' and feel better, but also as ways to find value in what students were doing. It allowed the students a chance to reconnect as they worked to focus on immediate needs of those around them and gave them a chance to be valuable contributors in their communities, even from the safety of their home. Its hard to know if any research has been done on the causal relationship between teacher use of service learning during COVID and student level of efficacy as changemakers and civically engaged members of their communities. But anecdotally the evidence was quite present. Despite the sudden added level of difficulty that physical distance presented, and the added pressure of social emotional stress, the conversations, growth, learning and actual community support is what being a good citizen is all about, and service learning certainly doesn't need a COVID situation to do that. So what worked? It's tough to say what the answer might be around the world, but in Dubai, and specifically at our school, COVID brought with it a total home lockdown right about March, leading to an end-of-year from home experience. Naturally, service related issues focused often on wellness and mental balance. But it also moved many of our student leaders to engage in their community online. Students who we often did not hear from before COVID were suddenly moving into view and jumping into action. Specifically they focused on issues (e.g. Earth Week activities through Instagram or sharing of ideas on things to do at home) or communities in need (e.g. drivers and/or cafeteria staff who were not without employment). In general, as one might anticipate, the level of service-minded, community engagement went up as people realized that there isn't anyone else coming to our rescue necessarily. And so, through COVID shut down our face-to-face operations it pushed is into a whole new recognition of the power of online collaboration and community building. One example of this was a joint group of students at the American School of Dubai and a similar group at the American Community School in Abu Dhabi who took it upon themselves (okay, with a little scaffolding from the teachers) to create a new inter-school group called UAE Schools Changemaker Collaborative. Another example includes a student who was involved in a service learning mentorship who, with COVID necessitating a pivot in their work, decided to create a curriculum for elementary students to teach them about sustainability. So no, COVID and service learning are not a zero sum game. Though the challenges are quite different in a more physically isolated world, thankfully we live in a time that technology can support human innovation, resilience and the continuous effort to make our mark in making the world a better place. COVID service learning. Some examples:
I'm sure you'll agree that that's pretty cool stuff considering we're all stuck in our homes worried about our future, our learning and the collective wellbeing of the planet.
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October 2020
AuthorThis blog is currently being updated by Laurence Myers, K-12 Service Learning Coordinator at the American School of Dubai. We are hoping the blog becomes a compilation of posts from a variety of people in the region and around the world. Want to add something? Send it along! Categories |