Service-learning

by Stacey Casterline, Academic Dean

This year, all of the teachers at BCS have been reading the book, Bring it to Life, by Lynn Swaner and Roger Erdvig. We began with training during inservice in August and continue to incorporate this book study during our weekly staff meetings. This book, written specifically for Christian schools, challenges us to connect what we’re doing in the classroom to service in our community. Service-learning will help students “not only master academic concepts better and learn how to apply them in real life, but also grow in their understanding of how God has uniquely fashioned them for His restorative work in the world” (Swaner and Erdvig).

Service-learning is a powerful way to engage students more in their learning and to help them learn to use their God-given gifts and talents to serve others, which is part of our BCS Mission Statement!

There are 4 key concepts in a Christian perspective to service-learning: Christ-likeness, responsive service, worldview development, and God’s eternal purpose. These 4 concepts help us to ensure that we are grounded in Scripture as well as provide a framework for planning and teaching our students about service-learning.

All of our teachers are in the process of taking this pedagogy and developing plans to put it into action. I am so excited to share more with you as we continue on this journey!