Radio Commentary
Americans put public education high on their list of priorities, and they support learning civic responsibility through service projects along with traditional academics.
A study by the Kellogg Foundation showed that 94 percent of Americans agreed a serious problem facing the country was that people lack the skills they need to succeed.
89 percent agreed that continuing to improve the K-12 education system should be a very high priority for our nation.
Most also agreed strongly that a good education is much more than just learning to read, write, and “do math.” They included social skills, tolerance, and good citizenship as equally important skills for all students to learn.
Service-learning — a teaching method that combines service to the community with K-12 curriculum — was seen as key to reaching these goals.
Said former senator John Glenn, previous chairman of the National Commission on Service-Learning:
“Service-learning is unique because it enables teachers to improve students’ academic performance, sense of civic responsibility, self-confidence, and workplace skills with a single teaching method. It links classroom lessons with real-life learning.”
It is effective and it makes a difference.
I salute those local schools that provide community service components and service-learning projects for their students.
