Kaitlyn's Service Learning Reflection

For the service learning project Kristen and I completed, I thought it ended up going really well and being a great idea. Originally, we were both pretty lost as to what we could do, and what would be the best idea for our service learning. We both wanted to learn something and actually DO something (so thanks to our teacher, Professor Worcester), we came up with the idea of actually working and helping at a local farm.

Our service-learning project was going to Tendercrop Farm in Newbury, MA. This farm was a great choice because they do a little (or a lot) of everything. They are open year-round and offer their own meats, prepared foods, farm fresh produce, seasonal plants, and even dried flowers. Kristen and I went to Tendercrop Farms for about 4 hours and were able to get a tour, learn about the greenhouse and how they plan/utilize every season to help their business, and we mainly helped plant hundreds and hundreds of seeds which will either be sold in the spring, or used to grow crops at the farm. There was so much to learn about!!

It felt really good to be able to help a farm in our own community and get to talk to people who work there. While we were there we were able to ask questions about how these people felt about organic foods, natural foods, local foods, and genetically modified foods as well.  It was great to be able to hear about this from someone who is currently in the business. On top of being able to serve our own community on the North Shore, Kristen and I were able to learn about this stud hands-on. I think that it would have a been a totally different outcome for us if we had chosen to collect information instead of actually going out and being part of what we have been interested in throughout this semester (and discussing on this blog).

I am definitely a proponent of hands on activities and work in regards to education. It helps us make a multitude of connections and learn things that are unexpected and simply impossible to learn by browsing the Internet or looking at pictures. The service-learning project really helped drive home how hard it is to BE a farmer, farm, upkeep, and maintain a farm while simultaneously trying to make money off a business.

I would love to incorporate service learning into my own classroom. As an emerging teacher, I will most likely spend about one year getting a grasp on the units, lesson, and skills I need to give the best teaching instruction inside the classroom setting. After my first year or two however, I can see myself very much wanting to incorporate service learning into my own classroom—whatever age it may be. I would love to do a project like the one Kristen and I did because I think going to a farm to help can not only be a really exciting thing for kids, but offer a huge variety of learning opportunities for students, even in just one day of being there!  I think the best way to implement service learning into our own classrooms is to not be afraid of it, and to try it as soon as possible once we become teachers on our own.

In my own opinion, I think that this service-learning project is a really great idea to actually complete and do on our own for the Social Studies junior block experience at Salem State University. The only thing I might change is making students actually go out and do something with their topics. I know that if I hadn’t gone out with Kristen and we just compiled a worksheet of contacts, it would not have yielded the same outcome in terms of really getting why service learning is so important.  Figuring out and then carrying out our idea by working at the farm for a day really helped me see why this semester long project is so important. By forcing students to carry out a service learning project, it forces them to be active in our own learning, helps us create more connections, and forces us to be creative and innovative with real ideas that can promote learning.

I am really glad we were able to do this and loved working/exploring Tendercrop Farm. I now want to go back and have learned so much more about eating local foods, whether I can afford organic or not. It was also great to talk to people who were really knowledgeable about this stuff and active in the industry. 

Kristen's Service Learning Reflection

For our service learning project we volunteered at Tendercrop Farm in Newbury, Massachusetts. This farm is open all year long and offers a variety of foods. They sell their own meats, fresh produce, prepared meals, flowers and much more. They are known for their great dedication to being organic and providing the community with fresh, healthy foods. Kaitlyn and I went in the early morning and we helped out for about three and half or four hours. We assisted with whatever they need us to do that day. We started with a tour of most parts of the farm. During this tour we were provided with a lot of information on the farm’s goals, how they function and what it takes to keep up a farm. Then we planted many, many seedlings to grow crops or to be sold this spring.

It felt awesome to help out at Tendercrop Farm. I have never done anything like that before and it was actually really fun. It felt good to get dirty and really put my hard work into a cause that I believe in, and a place that was truly thankful for our help. I would definitely recommend this to others to simply see where their food comes from and actually take part in growing what they eat. Also, I never really thought about how much hard work it is to run a farm. After just a half day of work I was exhausted. I can only imagine running a successful farm for many years.

I definitely think service learning projects are a useful teaching strategy because they are a first-hand experience with a cause and get students really involved. If it weren’t for this project there is no way that I would be volunteering at a farm that early in the morning, so it really pushes students to take action on something they wouldn’t normally. It can also show that even something as small as a few volunteer hours can go a long way and really make a difference.

 I would definitely do something like this with my future students. I probably wouldn’t do it my first year but I would hope to work up to it within the first three years. It can be really effective and I would hope to get into it as soon as I was settled in my new teaching position. Elementary students would be really excited about taking part in a cause they believed in.

I thought this was nicely integrated into our methods course. I enjoyed it much more than I thought I was going to at the beginning of the semester. I would maybe give students more time to choose their topic at the beginning of the semester. I remember being in sort of a whirlwind at the beginning and kind of picking any topic I saw, not realizing it was going to be a semester long project. It worked out in the end because I loved my topic and learned a lot!