Brooklyn International High School Teacher: Laura Berson (PCF ‘03) Peace Corps Service: Namibia 1999-2001 Now teaching in: Brooklyn, New York Level: High School Government and Economics In the Fall of 2010, seniors at Brooklyn International High School participated in an anti-bullying unit. Their service project was twofold. First, seniors went to classes and gave workshops to teach others the dangers of stereotyping and bullying. In conjunction, they created awareness posters that they hung in the hallways in places they identified as having the most bullying. Secondly, they took all of the information they learned, and presented it to stakeholders in the NYC Department of Education, to professors from local colleges, and to public officials in order to help them understand the problem and find strategies to fight against bullying in schools. Many other service opportunities arose from these presentations. Students were invited to present their work to the Peace Corps Fellows Program at Teachers College, Columbia University, where they engaged in conversation with new teachers about how they could do a meaningful service-learning project in their own classrooms. Students participated in a web-casted performance at the United Nations, and gave workshops at a school in New Jersey on breaking down stereotypes. Finally, students presented their work at the Social Justice Expo at New York University and were awarded 2nd place.
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Teacher Reflection by Laura Berson A few years ago, my colleague and I decided to conduct Action Research about the benefits and challenges of service-learning with immigrant youth. We started by giving our students a survey asking them if they felt they could make change in their communities. We were astounded when only 39% felt that people would listen to them. They explained that their voices didn’t matter because nobody listens to teenagers or immigrants. We quickly realized that not only did we have to give our students the tools to make their opinions heard, but we also needed to prove to them that people would listen. While the implementation of a servicelearning project challenged us in terms of time and logistics, we could not have hoped for greater success. When we asked our students the same question after completing a project, 68% of them felt they could make a difference, and, for the 21% who said they were not sure, it was because they weren’t sure they had the ability, not because they felt nobody would listen to teenagers or immigrants. This shift in thought was very powerful; our students felt that their academic work was applicable to life and that gave us fuel to continue using service-learning as a teaching model in our classrooms. As a matter of fact, we have since adopted the name “Be the Change” for our team of senior students. This year, “Be the Change” students worked on an interdisciplinary servicelearning project to fight bullying. While the project allowed students to spread their message of tolerance, as English Language Learners, it also gave them an opportunity to practice their English with audiences of native English speakers and, through repetition, it allowed them to solidify in their minds the content they learned throughout the unit. Most importantly, when my students were invited to speak at various venues, the adults sent a very clear message to the students: “What you have to say is important.” Students not only have a voice, but when they use it, it resonates! This is empowerment. This is good teaching. This challenges students to push beyond their comfort levels, rewards them with positive attention, and motivates them to continue learning and sharing their knowledge.