Entry # 4

      Today, COSCA visited us to talk about the Service Learning.Service learning is actually a learning by doing experience which gives you the chance to immerse yourself in an environment you don’t get to visit/experience everyday. It hones your critical reflection on experience and at the same time it hopes to hone your compassion towards the social issues are society is facing right now.

      I found out that there are lots of factors needed in order to have a meaningful and successful service learning. I always thought that you just go there and entertain your partner organizations but careful planning must be done. SLs are there to make an impact not only on the organization but on you as well. For it to have an impact, you must think of the things you want to do carefully. Will it benefit them? Will it help them? Will it strike inspiration in them? Of course, we just can’t plan without getting advice from a person who knows how the community works. If we plan and have no idea what the community needs or lacks, then what is the point of having a service learning right? In a way, SLs give us the outlet to hone our decision-making and leadership skills. 

      I was listening carefully, but deep inside I was wondering why DLSU have lots of outreach activities embedded in their curriculum. Do we really need that much? Then, we were shown a video of students talking about their SL experience, and in a way I started to understand why. I guess the university is just trying to instill a sense of compassion in us. Today, all we strive is to achieve our goals and sometimes we forget that we have a responsibility to others as well. What is the point of having knowledge if you will not use it to help others? As early as possible, the university is trying to help us get a glimpse of what is really happening to our society and they are hoping we’ll feel like we want to do something about it instead of blaming the government all the time when we are just being bystanders. 

     And I guess that’s the point of the service learning. It strives to awaken a sense of purpose within us. In a world where social issues are still rampant, will we continue to be bystanders or will we volunteer to help bring change? To be honest, I don’t really like outreach activities because I don’t feel comfortable meeting other people, not because I don’t like being immersed in a different environment. But I am looking forward to going one now that my view of it has changed. Here is the opportunity to learn, so why not take it?