"Teaching Service Learning has been a culmination of my discovery of fresh ways to teach ideas through experiences."
		I include such "laboratory examples" in all my courses, and this class gives an opportunity to apply those insights even more fully: with field work along with reflections on the history and theory of service activities. The course has also been a reminder of a root motive for a liberal arts education, which not only prepares young adults for the rest of life, but also connects them to the problems that their education will help to manage. The direct encounter with social issues and the direct experience with struggles to work at solutions bring out the moral dimensions of learning and introduce students to the ethical elements that saturate life in general." -Paul Croce, American Studies Department Instructor, Honors 6: Service Learning Experience

With the support of the University’s Community Service Office and in consultation with the instructor of this class, students develop service projects that address local community needs.  Prior to going into the field, students spend the first part of the semester in classroom preparation for these experiences. At least ten weeks ареspent in the service project, during which the students work in the project a minimum of 5 hours per week.  Near the end of the semester, the students return to the classroom for a discussion of their projects and present a public report on their experience at a campus University Honors Program Forum.

Recent projects include…

• Ryan Hutson and Kevin Winchell, We♥Bikes: The Honors Bike Program at Stetson
• Sierra Stowell, Volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club: A Study of Literacy in Elementary Schools
• Cat Plazas, Plaza Comunitaria [the Community Plaza]: Helping Adult Literacy in Pierson
• Melissa Pancoast, Students Taking Action for Darfur: Acivism Lite at Stetson
• Kaya Wertz and Liz Erlenbach, Making Stetson Happy: Applying Positive Psychology
• Christiana Henkel, Why Do Service? A Look at Relay for Life