Education Not Incarceration: Impact of Academic Service-Learning on a Pre-service Teacher

Abstract

I am a student at Florida Atlantic University, double-majoring in Psychology and Secondary English Education. One of the required courses for the education major track is Introduction to Diversity for Educators. An essential component of the course is participation in 15 Academic Service-Learning (A S-L) hours, which allows students to use the material taught in the classroom in a real-life setting. Because of her personal connections, my professor offered the class the opportunity to conduct A S-L at the local jail with incarcerated juvenile males. Seeing the setting and population as a unique opportunity, I quickly expressed interest. The experience I gained opened my eyes to the social injustices that are prevalent in our educationsystem, especially with marginalized youth; it has exposed me to an incredibly diverse facet of the education system, and it allowed me to have the chance to experience the life of an educator in the rawest form possible.