With a satisfying "Whoompf!" the air cannon sends a tennis ball the length of the school gym. The successful launch is met with cheers from the science club members and their partners--college engineering students from a local university. This air cannon activity was one of many learning opportunities that grew out of a partnership…

Service learning, currently popular among communitarian-minded American educators, recently received a large dose of political legitimacy in "What You Can Do for Your Country," the report of the Commission on National and Community Service. This article examines the commission's proposal and explores, through a case study of urban school…