"Serving for a Better World": Selected Proceedings of the 2012 Michigan Teachers of English to Speakers of Other Languages Conference

摘要: Times are tough. Recovery from the worst recession in 80 years is too slow. While a coalescence of political, social, and economic pressures can push people institutions to consider disengaging their communities, this talk I will argue for opposite: Service should be part solution most pressing problems society today. Presenting snapshots service projects involving English Language Learners, also suggest that TESOL educators students gain critical civic literacy skills by inverting term service-learning considering what it means learn service. Recession as Context Service-Learning The drum roll bad news on economy discouraging many. Americans have suffered record decline wealth recent home values tumbled, according Federal Reserve. Between 2007 2010, median family’s net worth dropped 38.8%, biggest drop since Fed started tracking metric 1989. national unemployment rate 8.1%, down over 1% last year, but still high. Here Michigan 9.4%. California, Rhode Island, Nevada double digit rates. And these figures do not include million or so “discouraged workers” who looked job recently gave up because they couldn’t find one. Most us know someone has been negatively affected downturn. Some you may seen confusing list institutional affiliations my biography conference Web site. This unexpectedly lost too; personal social trauma create. If weren’t enough, other around world looms horizon: global warming, war, endemic hunger poverty, deteriorating health care costs more reaches fewer. issues need immediate attention keeps growing seem overwhelming at times. Without knowing how help, lead apathy despair individuals, cause disengage communities meant serve. Cutbacks government assistance programs might optional, an extra-curricular activity undertaken when time resources allow. However, opposite actually true, community needs only increased downturn, making services our provide much valuable (Fitzgerald, Bruns, Sonka, Furco, & Swanson, 2012). Service-learning Students today remarkably high levels agency (Wurr, 2011). They want tools act good intentions. helps turn into empowerment students. teachers important non-native speakers (NNS) now form majority To paraphrase Paulo Freire’s notion pedagogy, he suggests powerful see themselves be. By way, many coined phrase quoted top screen, “If you’re solution, problem”? Eldrige Cleaver