Abstract
The Banneker History Project (BHP) used service-learning to reconstruct the history of a once-segregated school in a college town. High school students spent two years gathering information about Banneker School; interviewing elder alumni and probing primary documents for information about its teachers, curriculum, students, and neighborhood. Based on their research, students created an historical exhibit and presented it to the public. The project aimed to raise students’ consciousness of local segregation, to foster their social critique, and to help them practice citizen action. It also aimed to engage students in worthy historical investigation and to assist their construction of knowledge from primary sources. In this case study, we describe and analyze the meanings students made from their service work. Students’ perceptions offer insights into the potential of service-learning to teach about social justice and to offer an authentic, engaging, pedagogical experience.
Find something worthwhile in your community that hasn’t been researched before. It is hard because no one has stepped there before, but it is rewarding in the end. Hopefully, it will have a high impact on the community.
Y.E., 5/12/04
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© 2005 Dan W. Butin
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Boyle-Baise, M., Binford, P. (2005). “No One Has Stepped There Before”: Learning About Racism in Our Town. In: Service-Learning in Higher Education. Palgrave Macmillan, New York. https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403981042_9
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1057/9781403981042_9
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