Service Learning

Service Learning 9: Identity and Ethnic Studies is a six-week course designed for 9th graders to explore their identity and culture, as well as examine historical factors that shape social constructions such as race, ethnicity, nationality, gender and class. This is an introductory course to the four-year Service Learning Program at Urban. The course will provide students with foundational tools, language and concepts for thoughtful and engaged community and global citizenship, which will be explored further during their 10th-12th grade Service Learning courses. Students are expected to understand how identity factors, along with culture, help shape one’s identity and experiences. They are expected to further develop their sense of self-awareness, personal responsibility and purpose through the completion of an online journal, daily homework assignments, unit projects and a culminating final social construction media project.

(Six week course. ¼ Credit)
 

Service Learning 10: Identity and Community Partnerships is a six-week course that prepares 10th graders to become responsible and resourceful citizens who partner with non-profit agencies and organizations working to serve a range of local needs and issues. The course introduces students to frameworks for effective citizenship, community engagement, and professionalism. Students partner with organizations such as Institute on Aging, Literacy for Environmental Justice, Nature in the City, The Gubbio Project and Mariposa Kids.

There are three key course goals:
1) Introduce students to working with a community partner
2) Prepare students for independent 11th grade service learning internships
3) Review and preview how factors such as race, ethnicity, culture and socioeconomic class help shape one’s identities and experiences.

Throughout the six weeks of the course, students are expected to participate during in-class activities and discussions, as well as work in small groups to partner with a local agency or organization. Students are asked to explore connections between their independent service sites and their passions, skills and values. Students are assessed on the quality and sincerity of their participation, written reflections, project proposals and presentations.

(Six week course. ¼ Credit)

Service Learning 11: Independent Internship and Seminar: Identity at Urban and Beyond is a 12-week course where 11th graders pursue independent service learning internships in the larger community once a week and engage in a twice-weekly seminar to arrive at new understandings of identity and the influence social identity constructs have on their experiences. Through weekly journals, in-class activities and group discussions, students identify and challenge their initial assumptions and explore their identities in relation to society at large, specifically through the lens of power and privilege. Additionally, students explore mediums for positive community engagement through the inclusion of multiple perspectives. Students are evaluated on the quality and commitment of their endeavors, written reflections, an annotated bibliography coupled with a class presentation, and authentic participation in all aspects of the course.

(½ Credit)

Service Learning 12: Understanding Systems of Inequity and Resistance is a 12-week course in which 12th graders continue to pursue independent service learning internships in the larger community and engage in twice-weekly synthesis seminars to bring together their previous coursework. The purpose of the course is to serve as a stepping stone for students to become fully and independently engaged citizens beyond the walls of Urban. In these seminars, students will deepen their understanding of the social context and systems as they relate to community engagement. Students will conduct an active inquiry using a variety of research methodologies on a group-elected social issue. Students are assessed through their engagement in participation in class discussions and weekly written reflections. The final assignment consists of a letter of recommendation from their site supervisor, a personal resume, and a group presentation on their topic. (½ Credit)