Service Learning in the North

I teach in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. In this blog, I will explore some of my different experiences and benefits that I have encountered in service learning in the UP.

I have taught at Manistique Area Schools for 43 years, and I have always had a passion for volunteering in the community of Manistique and at Manistique Area Schools. I have served on numerous boards and nonprofit agencies in Manistique. I have always given my students numerous volunteering opportunities. I believe as a teacher, one aspect of education should be producing caring, empathetic and productive members of our society.

Twenty-five years ago, I started a service club called YETI (Youth Entertaining Teen Interests). Along the way, we picked up the endorsement of our local Kiwanis Club and became YETI or Manistique Key Club. YETI has done numerous projects and fundraisers, and, in general, made Manistique and Manistique Area Schools a better place to live and go to school.

Service learning is a win-win situation, our community and school benefit from the help, donations and projects that YETI Key Club provides but the students doing the service learning also benefit greatly from this volunteerism. It creates a ripple effect: YETI donates and volunteers, and soon others in the school and community start to donate, then others and others, creating a very positive impact in our community.

The students start to empathize more with others, and we also see the pay it forward affect, the members receiving the benefits of our volunteering start volunteering themselves. Soon you have increased community engagement. Communities and society thrive; our little corner of the world called Manistique becomes a little bit better place to live, work and go to school.

There is a never-ending list to the benefits for students on volunteering. A few benefits are: fun, a connection to others, making new friends, relationship skills, teamwork, support for each other, inclusiveness, self-confidence, job skills, fulfillment and purpose and happiness effect, and, overall, it creates relationships that last a lifetime.

The students learn great leadership and teamwork skills. These are our future leaders. These students are learning not only the need for volunteerism but the skills necessary to carry out the volunteerism. The students learn how to put on a basketball tournament, renovate a bandshell or create a continuing summer music series.

YETI is student directed; I am there to guide and mentor. From our name to our projects, students make the decisions. For example, in our basketball tournaments, there are no adults involved in the planning or implementation of the tournament.

With all these benefits to students and community, even with a win-win situation like service learning, most schools do not offer a service-learning class or even provide their students with a service-learning opportunity. This is part of my platform, to increase service learning in Michigan.

During my tenure as Region 1 Michigan Teacher of the Year, I am reaching out to other schools in my region to provide more service-learning opportunities. I would like to see service learning as a requirement or elective in every school district in Michigan.

This is the first in a series of guest blogs by the 2024-25 Michigan Regional Teachers of the Year. Michael Powers is a social studies teacher at Manistique Middle/High School in Manistique Area Schools.