Talking point # 5:

In the service of What? The politics of Service Learning, Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer

Quotes:

1) "Service learning activities seek to promote students' self-esteem, to develop higher-order thinking skills, to make use of multiple abilities, and to provide authentic learning experiences."
- I picked this quote because it shows how by participating in a service learning project it can open the students' eyes to what is out there. Service learning allows them too see that to give to those in need is very successful and it pays off to do so. These projects will stay with the students throughut thier lives and they'll be able to use those experiences with other things that happen in thier life.

2) "The experiental and interpersonal components of service learning activities can achieve the first crucial step toward diminishing the sense of 'otherness' that often separates students - particularly privileged students - from those in need."
- Before this quote it talks about students from an upper-class nighborhood to visit a poor neighborhood school. At first the students had all these pre-concieved notions to how the kids may act, they'd be rude, tough, noisy, unfriendly, don't listen, etc. After visiting that school, the students' preconcieved notions were no longer there. This quote shows how those preconcieved notions happen often and how if students are exposed to different experiences then thier preconcieved notions will no longer be there.

3) "To be critical thinkers, students must be able to consider arguments that justify conclusions that conflict with their own predispositions and self-interest."
- I chose this quote becuase it shows how just be doing service work students thoughts could be more in depth. The volunteers work with several different groups and when that happens their perspectives can change.

Questions/ Comments/ Points:

At first, it was hard to get into the article. It was a lot of facs and satistics, but once into the article it was good. It showed how just by doing a severice learning project you can learn so much about a person or a certain group. When others are helped it is appreciated and showed through that person being helped.