Huge numbers of our students are caught in storms of trauma--whether stemming from abuse, homelessness, poverty, discrimination, violent neighborhoods, or fears of school shootings or family deportations. This practical book focuses on actions that teachers can take to facilitate learning for these students. Identifying positive, connected…

This column describes a long-term service-learning project by faculty from an American university who travelled to Tanzania to consult with educators who work with and care for children with a wide range of disabilities. The project is focused on literacy education and has resulted in several books being developed and distributed in the Kiswahili…

The Corporation for National and Community Service (CNCS) supports mentoring for children and youth from disadvantaged circumstances through several of their programs. CNCS believes that caring and capable adults can make a critical difference in the lives of children and youth in need. Mentoring is a proven method to ensure students complete…

Maria Montessori understood that, innately, children feel connected to humanity, and recognized that children appreciate opportunities to serve others. This is an important connection that parents and teachers need to continue to nourish in students, providing opportunities for those meaningful connections. But what if, in addition to feeling good…

Service-learning has become a popular method for connecting the theory taught in undergraduate methods courses with real-world practice in the field while also promoting volunteerism. It exposes undergraduates to relevant learning experiences and provides them with an opportunity to apply their skills in the service of others who are in need. One…

Hidalgo County, Texas, is one of the poorest in the country. The population in the Lower Rio Grande Valley is 85% Mexican-American. Underprepared for college and juggling full time jobs, their own children, and sometimes dysfunctional extended families, students often do not expect to succeed. I recently taught a Creative Writing course which…

One challenge experienced by many educators working in pre-professional programs involves designing courses to support students as they learn how to apply subject area knowledge to professional practice. This article describes a successful collaborative community-based project that contextualizes the often abstract and predominately linear…

While library programming for children is a staple in most public libraries, it is quite rare in the academic setting. In 2006 the education librarian at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire began offering literacy programs in a library that traditionally discouraged children and community members from using its resources. Successful programs…

This action-research project focused on gathering data on awareness of lead poisoning, as well as disseminating information on lead poisoning prevention in a metropolitan midwestern city. This project reflects an action-research approach to service learning and was in collaboration with a grass-roots organization. This paper outlines the daunting…

This report presents the feelings, ideas, and recommendations of 349 individuals in Illinois who attended Circle of Helping meetings, seven regional meetings held in early 1990 to create momentum for intergenerational program development, to increase awareness of the benefits of intergenerational programs, and to emphasize the interdependence of…

In a service-learning course, nursing students developed, implemented, and evaluated interventions to reduce risk factors and increase resilience of children and adolescents in impoverished communities. They collaborated with community agencies as well as with students from other disciplines. (Contains 24 references.) (SK)

Five days in East Timor visiting orphanages changed the lives of five young men from Youth Off The Streets. The children in these orphanages run by the Salesian order of the Catholic church are products of the Indonesian invasion, which began in 1975 and continued until 1999. Massive destruction occurred throughout the country. Buildings at the…

Prompted by a concern regarding the large numbers of unsupervised children playing on the streets of Dublin in the 1920s and 1930s, the Civics Institute of Ireland (referred to subsequently as the Civics Institute) established 10 playgrounds where children aged between four and 14 years could play after school hours and during school holidays.…

Discusses the link between political socialization scholarship and service learning. States that information gleaned from socialization research on adolescents' political identities and beliefs can inform service learning, asserting that the relationship between political socialization and service learning needs to be encouraged. (CMK)

This paper examines the definition and practice of intergenerational learning programs, and attempts to determine the characteristics of successful and meaningful programs of this type. The first section defines intergenerational learning and states its purpose: to bring young and old together for the purpose of learning from one another, under…