PSL SYLLABUS
SYLLABUS
Course Rationale
The rationale for service learning was articulated over 2,000 years ago by the Chinese philosopher Confucius who said,
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
Confucius recognized that deep learning occurs when interest is aroused by involvement. Unlike traditional classes that depend on teaching and telling in hopes that students recall information, service learning engages students in real world experiences designed to cultivate empathy and understanding. In the process, students develop informed opinions about issues confronting the people they serve and take meaningful action to address unmet needs in their community.
Service will also provide you with the satisfaction that comes from using your gifts and talents to advance something other than yourself. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,
“To leave the world a bit better. This is to have succeeded.”
Each year, PSL students invest thousands of hours to improve their school and community. Since 2005, PSL students – inspired by their service experiences – initiated Shantytown, the Holiday Food Drive, the Giving Garden, the student philanthropy program, and the Pirate Power Pack program. Each year, these programs collectively grant $6,000 to nonprofits, donate 5,000 lbs. of food to local pantries, and provide over 12,000 meals to Perry students. Many other PSL students have introduced projects to tackle issues confronting the elderly, people with special needs, the poor, immigrants, and the environment. How will you and your classmates add to PSL’s legacy of improving the quality of life in Perry?
Course Description
Perry Service Learning (PSL) is a full year course that combines Social Studies and English curricula with meaningful service and thoughtful reflection to enhance student learning and promote civic responsibility. The service expectations involve students interacting with the people they serve (direct service), performing tasks without first-hand contact with the recipients (indirect service), and/or educating the public about issues/unmet needs in their community (advocacy). The classroom expectations are supported by a rigorous social issues curriculum that enables students to make connections between what they learn in class and experience at their service location.
Attendance Policies and Procedures
Face-to-Face Attendance: Students will be expected to attend class every day during their assigned block until otherwise told by the PSL instructors. Upon being matched with a PSL partner agency and establishing a volunteer schedule, students will be required to attend face-to-face sessions on Mon./Wed./Fri. Due to the college-like scheduling of the PSL program, it is imperative that students minimize absences from face-to-face sessions. When a student is absent, it is his/her responsibility to check the PSL web page and follow up with the teacher(s) for class work and notes to make up. If a student misses an excessive amount of class days, they may be exited from the program.
Service Attendance: The following policies are in effect regarding attendance at a service site:
Course Learning Modules
Units of study will include: Service Learning 101, Poverty & Homelessness, Philanthropy, Education Reform, Holiday Food Drive, Meaning & Purpose, Power of Relationships, Immigration, Inclusive Communities, Environmental Justice, Community Activism. In addition to the aforementioned units, opportunities for civic engagement and reflection will take place throughout the year.
Grading Policy*
100 = Advanced
95 = Proficient
75 = In Progress
55 = Not Met
Service, evaluations, reflections, and assessment fall under academic achievement scores and represent 90% of your PSL grade. Homework and in-class assignments are considered academic practice and constitute 10% of your grade. Grades will be updated regularly under PSL English in Infinite Campus. The PSL Social Studies and Community Service grades will be entered at the end of each term and be exactly the same at your PSL English grade.
Re-Assessment Policy: Within 7 calendar days of the student’s receipt of feedback on a summative:
Notebook
All students are required to have a PSL notebook that they bring to class each day. It is imperative that each entry is dated, thorough, and well-organized. Do NOT take notes for other classes in your PSL notebook. The notebook should be divided into two sections:
Midterm Reflection
For your midterm assessment, you will be facilitating a conference with both PSL instructors reflecting on your service experience as it relates to course content. Within this conference you will be expected to engage in an academic conversation and respond to questions in order to connect the dots between your learning in class and the larger world. You will also be asked to share evidence demonstrating progress towards the goals established at the outset of your service experience.
Final Exam
The PSL final exam consists of two parts: a final service project and final assessment that demonstrates your mastery of course objectives. The service project affords individuals or small groups the opportunity to engage in a service opportunity that addresses a community need. Service projects should address an issue affecting the organization and/or people that you serve. Details regarding the final assessment will be provided during the second semester.
Details
1. Come to class on time and prepared every day.
2. Respect others and their opinions.
3. Do not sleep or assume the sleeping position.
4. School dress code applies in school. Agency dress code applies at volunteer placement.
5. The use of cell phones/electronic devices in the classroom is a privilege, as they can be a powerful educational tool. If they become a distraction, we reserve the right to prohibit their use.
Enjoy the course and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves to make your community a better place to live.
“But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
That’s your new definition of greatness. By giving that definition of greatness, it means
that everybody can be great. Because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace.
A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.
Course Rationale
The rationale for service learning was articulated over 2,000 years ago by the Chinese philosopher Confucius who said,
“I hear and I forget. I see and I remember. I do and I understand.”
Confucius recognized that deep learning occurs when interest is aroused by involvement. Unlike traditional classes that depend on teaching and telling in hopes that students recall information, service learning engages students in real world experiences designed to cultivate empathy and understanding. In the process, students develop informed opinions about issues confronting the people they serve and take meaningful action to address unmet needs in their community.
Service will also provide you with the satisfaction that comes from using your gifts and talents to advance something other than yourself. As Ralph Waldo Emerson once said,
“To leave the world a bit better. This is to have succeeded.”
Each year, PSL students invest thousands of hours to improve their school and community. Since 2005, PSL students – inspired by their service experiences – initiated Shantytown, the Holiday Food Drive, the Giving Garden, the student philanthropy program, and the Pirate Power Pack program. Each year, these programs collectively grant $6,000 to nonprofits, donate 5,000 lbs. of food to local pantries, and provide over 12,000 meals to Perry students. Many other PSL students have introduced projects to tackle issues confronting the elderly, people with special needs, the poor, immigrants, and the environment. How will you and your classmates add to PSL’s legacy of improving the quality of life in Perry?
Course Description
Perry Service Learning (PSL) is a full year course that combines Social Studies and English curricula with meaningful service and thoughtful reflection to enhance student learning and promote civic responsibility. The service expectations involve students interacting with the people they serve (direct service), performing tasks without first-hand contact with the recipients (indirect service), and/or educating the public about issues/unmet needs in their community (advocacy). The classroom expectations are supported by a rigorous social issues curriculum that enables students to make connections between what they learn in class and experience at their service location.
Attendance Policies and Procedures
Face-to-Face Attendance: Students will be expected to attend class every day during their assigned block until otherwise told by the PSL instructors. Upon being matched with a PSL partner agency and establishing a volunteer schedule, students will be required to attend face-to-face sessions on Mon./Wed./Fri. Due to the college-like scheduling of the PSL program, it is imperative that students minimize absences from face-to-face sessions. When a student is absent, it is his/her responsibility to check the PSL web page and follow up with the teacher(s) for class work and notes to make up. If a student misses an excessive amount of class days, they may be exited from the program.
Service Attendance: The following policies are in effect regarding attendance at a service site:
- Students will accumulate up to 4 volunteer hours per week with their agency depending on its location.
- Service hours earned outside of your volunteer placement will not count towards your grade.
- The student will notify in advance the service agency/supervisor and PSL instructors of an absence from regularly scheduled service days/times. Failure to give such prior notification constitutes an unexcused absence and will result in the student being placed on academic probation. Students will be exited from the course and receive no academic credit if they accumulate two unexcused absences.
- The student must document their service hours using InnerView at the end of each week (Friday). Service grades will be entered upon receiving electronic verification from the student's service supervisor. No credit will be given for late time sheets.
- Falsification of hours served will result in removal from the PSL program with no academic credit.
- Perry High School handbook rules apply both in the classroom and during service opportunities. Failure to follow handbook rules may result in removal from the course with no academic credit.
- Violating the confidentiality of the agency/institution or the clients they serve may result in removal from the course with no academic credit.
- Since you receive an English, Social Studies, and community service credit for PSL, a D in this course is recorded as three D’s on your report card, and as a result would make you academically ineligible.
- Students who complete 10 extra hours of service for activities that are PSL approved (Perry Fall Festival, Shantytown, Ability Awareness Program, PWL Dodgeball Tournament, PWL Bunny Lunch, Blood Drive, PSL Plunges, etc.) by the beginning of the 4th quarter will have a reduced service requirement during the final grading period.
Course Learning Modules
Units of study will include: Service Learning 101, Poverty & Homelessness, Philanthropy, Education Reform, Holiday Food Drive, Meaning & Purpose, Power of Relationships, Immigration, Inclusive Communities, Environmental Justice, Community Activism. In addition to the aforementioned units, opportunities for civic engagement and reflection will take place throughout the year.
Grading Policy*
100 = Advanced
95 = Proficient
75 = In Progress
55 = Not Met
Service, evaluations, reflections, and assessment fall under academic achievement scores and represent 90% of your PSL grade. Homework and in-class assignments are considered academic practice and constitute 10% of your grade. Grades will be updated regularly under PSL English in Infinite Campus. The PSL Social Studies and Community Service grades will be entered at the end of each term and be exactly the same at your PSL English grade.
Re-Assessment Policy: Within 7 calendar days of the student’s receipt of feedback on a summative:
- The student will create (in writing) a unique individualized plan on the re-learning steps/practice that he/she will complete before re-taking a summative assessment.
- The student will meet with the teacher and discuss the plan the student created.
- The teacher will approve the plan with any necessary additions/changes made to the plan.
- When the student has completed the plan, the student will arrange with the teacher when/how the re-take will occur.
- Reassessment will occur outside of school hours.
Notebook
All students are required to have a PSL notebook that they bring to class each day. It is imperative that each entry is dated, thorough, and well-organized. Do NOT take notes for other classes in your PSL notebook. The notebook should be divided into two sections:
- Class notes/daily activities/reading & viewing notes: Capture all notes written on the board and main ideas from lectures and presentations. Also include active reading notes from readings/videos assigned in class and for homework.
- Service reflections: Students will be expected to reflect each grading period based on their PSL service experiences. Reflections should not only define and share details from service experiences but also show what learning occurred, how learning occurred, and how newly acquired knowledge or learning altered existing knowledge.
Midterm Reflection
For your midterm assessment, you will be facilitating a conference with both PSL instructors reflecting on your service experience as it relates to course content. Within this conference you will be expected to engage in an academic conversation and respond to questions in order to connect the dots between your learning in class and the larger world. You will also be asked to share evidence demonstrating progress towards the goals established at the outset of your service experience.
Final Exam
The PSL final exam consists of two parts: a final service project and final assessment that demonstrates your mastery of course objectives. The service project affords individuals or small groups the opportunity to engage in a service opportunity that addresses a community need. Service projects should address an issue affecting the organization and/or people that you serve. Details regarding the final assessment will be provided during the second semester.
Details
1. Come to class on time and prepared every day.
2. Respect others and their opinions.
3. Do not sleep or assume the sleeping position.
4. School dress code applies in school. Agency dress code applies at volunteer placement.
5. The use of cell phones/electronic devices in the classroom is a privilege, as they can be a powerful educational tool. If they become a distraction, we reserve the right to prohibit their use.
Enjoy the course and take advantage of the opportunities that present themselves to make your community a better place to live.
“But recognize that he who is greatest among you shall be your servant.
That’s your new definition of greatness. By giving that definition of greatness, it means
that everybody can be great. Because everybody can serve. You don’t have to have a college degree to serve. You don’t have to make your subject and your verb agree to serve. You don’t have to know about Plato and Aristotle to serve. You don’t have to know the second theory of thermodynamics in physics to serve. You only need a heart full of grace.
A soul generated by love. And you can be that servant.”
—Martin Luther King, Jr.