The Spirit of Service

At its core, Service-Learning is the integration of learning with service to the community.  On the one hand, we do things for the benefit of the community.  On the other, our students learn much from the experience.  Naturally, we strive to do projects with the greatest benefit to the community, and we are very proud of how our students are transformed by the experience.  The focus is on what WE do, the benefits that WE bring to the community, and how good OUR students are.

Generally, a university does not use its own resources to help other universities’ students.  It also does not put a lot of effort in helping other universities. In fact, there is much competition among universities in practically all aspects, service-learning being no exception.  Sometimes, universities do collaborate with others, e.g., in student exchange.  Here, a university generally aims to collaborate with another which has a status (ranking) on a par with, or even higher than, its own; but not one with a lower status.  Naturally, a university is expected to conduct its business with the objective to benefit itself, not to another one.  Even in service-learning.  At a cursory glance, it accords with human nature, which is to look after its own interest, to compete, to survive, to beat others - “survival of the fittest”.  

However, something is not quite right in this picture when the context is service-learning.  Isn’t it the purpose of service-learning to teach students to not be selfish?  To take the interest of the community into consideration?  If we teach our students to be altruistic, while we seek our own interest only, aren’t we being somewhat hypocritical? If we truly believe in the spirit of service, shouldn’t the university also be looking beyond its own interest?  

Perhaps the university can also share its experience with others who also aspire to implement service-learning?  To help to train the teachers from other universities?  To share its teaching material and curriculum so that others can come up to speed quicker?  To open up its service sites so that others can develop their own programs faster?  

When a university thus shares its “secrets”, it may run the risk of helping its “rivals” improve, catch up or even surpass itself.  At the same time, it is building and strengthening the community, developing and strengthening its own leadership, setting an example for our own students, promoting the cause in a much broader scope.  It is a much broader vision than simply building up an exemplary program in itself.  It aims at  improving the wider higher education community, building a better world.  

What does the spirit of service-learning teach professors, administrators and universities?