Youth Leadership
Youth Representatives Involved in Service-Learning EducationWhy does service-learning need youth leaders?
Service-learning is a teaching method designed to help students learn. And, who knows better how to effectively engage students than a student? It is therefore critical that youth leaders are involved in the design, implementation, and evaluation of a school or school district's service-learning program. Hearing students' views about how to connect academic learning to meet community needs through service activities helps teachers and administrators know what will make a service-learning project successful. Youth can provide creative and innovative ideas that can help teachers attempt new teaching strategies, rather than rely on habit or more traditional classroom techniques.How can youth contribute to student service-learning?
Youth can and should be the voice and face of service-learning in Maryland and beyond. Students can speak to the public, write letters and articles for newspapers and newsletters, testify before the state legislature, train educators, assist with curriculum revisions, present workshops at conferences, help school-based service-learning coordinators, collaborate with Volunteer Maryland (AmeriCorps) volunteers, and organize local service-learning projects. In addition, students can design their own service-learning projects and then seek funding from local resources.What student organization is committed to service-learning?
To promote student involvement and leadership in service-learning, the Maryland State Department of Education/Maryland Student Service Alliance (MSDE/MSSA), created Youth RISE -- Youth Representatives Involved in Service-Learning Education, a unique youth program originally funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. Youth RISE includes middle and high school students who are enthusiastic about service-learning and who want to help people better understand its purpose and value. Since its inception in 1993, Youth RISE staff and members have trained hundreds of students to be ambassadors for quality service-learning in their school districts. With training on how to write and review grant proposals, many students in Maryland have turned their service project ideas into reality. By learning grantsmanship skills, students broaden their capabilities and become a strong resource for their community. The original mission of Youth RISE was to "inspire young people to become involved in service, advocate for and educate others about service-learning, and build bridges between young people and adults by opening their minds to the power of youth to make a difference." With hundreds of Youth RISE students now involved in promoting, teaching, and funding quality service-learning, this mission has become a reality.Youth RISE has evolved over the years. Now chapters are initiated, sponsored, and sustained locally rather than by MSSA.
How can I participate as a student service-learning leader?
To add your voice and assistance to those of other students who work to ensure quality service-learning in Maryland, contact your central schoolboard office and speak with your district Service-Learning Coordinator.