Alternative Education - Essay Example

1. Introduction In a field trip by American Youth Policy Forum in 2005 the outcome is that the implementation and sustainability of service learning has been termed as a teaching practice that is capable of connecting the academic skills to civic engagement opportunities. The fundamental activity of this is to engage the students in community service activities. The next step is to adopt more academically learning program. This system is awarding academic credits for community service of the students. The service learning believes in the theory that every child has the ability to learn. The service learning will be better if it determines the progress by the assessments from the needs of the students which help the policy makers to use them in tailoring the classes. The service learning focuses on students initiating the learning at individual work stations. This focuses on specialization of skills the students possess. By making the students to work in the teams the teacher can serve as a facilitator. The schools that run on a block schedule can be well suited for service learning. In general Arts and Communication, Health, Law, Public Service, Engineering and Technology and Business and Finance are the topics that are being chosen by the schools and students in service learning. There is a possibility for students to explore the academic skills in them with the help of counselors and good counselors can be appointed as teachers in this system. Else, the counselors for the young students can concentrate on service learning. Service learning cannot be termed as school to work program or extra curricular services or court ordered services. According to the participants it is much more. The service learning can be defined as the activities that are connected to service the community with learning taking place in classroom. The Learn and serve classes and the students in the service learning will be provided with an opportunity to show the skills of the children. These programs are project based and can be tied back into classroom community. (American Youth Policy Forum, 2005) 2. Service Learning and Community Service Bettina Lankard Brown found that the essence of service learning is in contextualizing the student learning. In this environment the students can acquire organizational, team, problem solving and other skills, attitudes and capabilities necessary in real life from community work or service. According to ERIC digest what and how the service learning supports the vocational career of the student is important and this should make a mark in policy making regarding community service involved in service learning. The community service should not be a forced one and in turn it should be complementary. The policies of service learning should be in such a manner to encourage the community service activities by the methods like awarding academic credits for the service rendered by student. Though this is not enough this can be termed as one of the method that can encourage the students for service learning involving community services. The formation of community groups from various types of people can help in encouraging the students to perform community service. The policy of service learning should integrate the class room learning with the community service projects thus making the service projects part of the curriculum. Instead of forcing the students it can be made as a part of curriculum that involves the practical implementation of the academic learning. The service learning should be connected with the school to work efforts and the methods should be designed in manner to enable community service learning. This has been successfully applied by Briscoe et al, in 1996. This method can be encouraged when the student learning is at its best through community service involved in service learning. (Bettina Lankard Brown, 2000) 3. Service Learning and Student Achievement This is more stressed in the case of Juvenile offenders. As a result it is designed to meet the needs of at risk students. According to Sue Foxx these are the students who do not succeed in traditional setting. For this reason the student – teacher ration can be set at 1:15. The mission should be clearly stated for a small student base and discipline code should be implemented cordially. The alternative education like service learning includes alternative class rooms also. These class rooms should cater the needs of disruptive students allowing them to achieve academic credits and practical skills. In some regions, the school community partnership model is being followed. This involves the collaboration with the larger community. In other regions the academics are combined with vocational intervention. Every model has its own success when implemented in a right manner. There is behavioral intervention model to meet the needs of the disaffected youth and as a result the service learning and community service methods are diverse in nature. The students who failed to comply academically can benefit from the above mentioned models of education to achieve academic skills. This has been possible as the service learning schools follow different methods from the traditional schools. They treat the student as an expectant parent who is unable to attend the traditional school program. The method takes into consideration the employment of the student and feels that it is necessary. The disruptiveness of the student is taken into consideration while planning programs for linking community service with the class room activities of the students. It will be better if the community service programs linked to class room programs are also linked with the employment of the student. This can be made possible by planning individual service plans where necessary. (Sue Foxx, 2007) 4. Comment on a posting 4.1 Grant Proposal for Service Learning The grant proposal should be about interdisciplinary and collaborative. As Cristina Aust is teaching language arts and world history, that can be termed as interdisciplinary. The grant proposal can be considered if there is any other collaboration like ‘learning to do by doing’. This involves the active learning through civic engagement. Funds can be requested in the proposal to develop a pilot collaborative action project that involve faculty from different disciplines. For this case apart from language arts and history Cristina should include community service program for the above two disciplines. The grant proposal should state the methods involved in spending the money sanctioned through the grants. These methods should involve the partnerships that develop academic engagement. The increase of civic responsibility in students can be a part of the outcome proposed in the grant proposal. (Timothy Fox, 2002) References 1. American Youth Policy Forum, Feb 14, 2005, Exploring Service-Learning as a Way to Increase Student Academic Performance and Civic Involvement, American Youth Policy Forum, Vol. 15, Retrieved on 2nd October 2007 from http://www.aypf.org/about/index.htm 2. Bettina Lankard Brown, 2000, Service Learning: More than Community Service, Vol. 11, Retrieved on 2nd October 2007 from http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_pric/is_199800/ai_3349343734 3. Sue Foxx, 2007, Alternative Education Programs, Vol. 3, Retrieved 2nd October 2007 from http://ideanet.doe.state.in.us/alted/altedlinkpg.html 4. Timothy Fox, 2002, Grant proposal for Itasca Community College, Vol. 3, Retrieved on 2nd October 2007 from http://www.ctl.mnscu.edu/programs/grants/pdf/CTL-GRANT-sample1.pdf Read More