Chapter 3: From Global to Local: Using Service Learning to Connect to a Common Read

Students participate in common reads at colleges and universities across the country. At our university, the common read is typically a memoir and is always set in a foreign country; it is required reading for all first-time freshmen. Although instructors extensively discuss global issues presented in the book, students have difficulty relating to the issues on a personal level. In an effort to help students make connections between global and local issues, we implemented a service-learning project in selected sections of the freshman seminar course. During the course of the semester, students researched human rights and worked with a local children’s home on a literacy project focused on human rights. Through the research and service-learning project, students learned that knowledge of international human rights is essential in an ever-changing global landscape.