It’s a New Year!

Posting written by the Learn and Serve – Michigan Team

The beginning of a New Year is a great time to determine where you are going and how you are going to get there. We don’t really get many other chances throughout the year to step back and look at the vision of our service-learning program and the steps we should take to get there. But this is an important step that shouldn’t be neglected. That’s why Learn and Serve – Michigan gave our grantees time in November 2009 to take a look at their programs and decide where they wanted to see service-learning six years from now and what small step they were going to take this year to get to that vision.

Here are some of their answers:

So while you are making your New Year’s resolutions and planning on where you would like to see yourself in 2011, also take time to think about where you would like to see service-learning next year. Think about what small, but highly successful, step you can take to get there.

If you are a student, perhaps that step is making sure you participate in the 2010 Global Youth Service Day (April 23 – 25) and the 2010 Martin Luther King Jr. Day (Monday, January 18). If you are a teacher, perhaps this is the year you conduct a small service-learning project in your classroom or give a presentation to your fellow teachers on why service-learning is important. Everyone has one small step they can do this year to help service-learning efforts in Michigan’s schools and communities.

I encourage you to take time today, whether it is 10 minutes or an hour and ask yourself: Where do you want to see service-learning in five years at you school, at the state level, and nationally and what step are you going to make today in order to get there?