How can we avoid the perpetuation of privilege in integrated service learning?**

My mind is spinning from my first full day at the NAIS Teachers of the Future program at Episcopal High School in Alexandria, VA.  I am honored to be a part of this year’s cohort.  Instead of trying to make sense of my copious notes, I will flesh out a challenge we discussed in small groups today.  Thank you to Shannon Montague for the protocol we used for this.  This is something on which I am particularly focused at my school, as a result of my close work with Elizabeth Ricketts and Branson Skinner of The OR Network.

There are numerous ways to begin to chip away at the “helping others” aspect to most service learning programs.  Here are some suggestions.  Please feel free to comment with questions if there are points which need additional clarification.

• Be VERY intentional with language, think through all potential discussions ahead of time and start with inclusive and person first language and be consistent.  Students will follow your lead.
• Deemphasize differences and highlight commonalities.  Find shared ground so that different groups can come together as one community.
• Educate on the topic prior to the personal interactions to avoid oversimplification and decrease assumptions.  Know the groups with whom you are working and their circumstances.  Try to avoid surprises with your students (not all can be avoided, but planning can decrease their number).
• Discuss assumptions with both groups.   What assumptions of privilege or lack thereof are there? What is the root of the assumptions?  Why might they be true or false?  What complexities are overlooked by making assumptions?  What is the history behind the assumptions?
• Provide similar (educational) experiences for both groups so there is common ground to discuss and explore together.  Shared experiences, be they shared as a large group, or shared at different times in different places, provide an easy entry point for peer conversations.
• Work towards a common goal that helps all involved in addition to something that helps the other group involved.  Tackle a global issue impacting everyone participating from all groups so that you are all working together.
• Provide opportunities for students to learn something new that they wouldn't otherwise from the group with which you are working.  We all have gifts to share, how can your students grow n unexpected ways from this experience?
• Make it something that can engage students beyond their time with you.  Have an immediate project, but ensure it is within a larger structure so students can continue with their passion in the future after they have (sniff) left your classroom.

Potential challenges you will likely encounter along the way include, but are not limited to that …

• Service is inherently viewed as being for others (or the environment).  See above for suggestions about how to expand the overall experience so that the service is in a broader framework.
• Students are not aware of their own privilege and so there is a lot of unpacking involved.  Addressing assumptions ahead of time may involve helping students understand how many assumptions they make about their peers or their neighbors.  Simply discussing what a family vacation may look like to different families can highlight how we assume common backgrounds when they often are not present.
• Students can feel like they have less riding on the successful outcome of the experience than the other group involved.  You must find ways for your students to feel invested in the program, invested in the relationship, invested in the broader issues, and invested in the success.  This can be challenging and will vary widely based on individual circumstances and programs.

Some takeaways from bumps along the road and ways I have grown from them:

• You can’t force relationships, sometimes the interpersonal relationships do not develop beyond the superficial connection.  However, if you find ways to highlight personal commonalities early on, this can help avoid a disconnect and facilitate relationship building.
• Students can choose to not engage.  Unfortunately, this can make the experience less rich for others beyond the ones choosing not to engage.  By more closely monitoring the process, interactions, and keeping an eye to consistent engagement, if you catch disengagement early enough you can find ways to pull students back in.

What successes and challenges have you faced in re-framing service learning in your community?  Let me know in the comments or on Twitter @MrsC_Teach !

**This could also be titled “An effective summary of everything I have learned through collaboration with Elizabeth Ricketts and J Branson Skinner of The OR Network.”

ps. Check out our #NAISToF tweets from the program!