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Thriving in Academe
Tales from Real Life

It's the first day of class and my students are giving me the "You want us to what?" look.I have seen it before; it happens almost every time I introduce service learning to a class. While I know service learning fits the course well, I also understand the students' concerns. I have been there myself. I was a new assistant professor when the volunteer coordinator from a local senior housing facility came to see me with an idea. My first thought was -you want me to do what? I had never heard of service learning and was still trying to acclimate to my new job. The coordinator's plea won me over, however, and I began researching service learning.

My first experience followed the "seat of my pants" approach. I struggled with the pedagogy as I worked with the housing coordinator to match service opportunities with the course's content. To their credit, my students were more enthusiastic than I was. In the end, service learning turned out to be a clear educational winner. I was a convert and so were the students.

Many years have passed since that first encounter, and my approach to service learning has become more refined. I have integrated service learning experiences into most of my courses, confident that it is the right thing to do. Now, if I can just convince this latest group of students.

—Rona J. Karasik
St. Cloud State University

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