Service
At Colegio Maya, we have adopted our learning ecosystem from the Common Ground Collaborative through adopting the framework of what is known as the 4D's and the 3C's. This learning ecosystem gives us the freedom to take this framework and apply it to all aspects of learning, including Service Learning. Through the well-researched approach to Service Learning, adopted from CBK Associates, students have been exploring what it means to do authentic Service Learning and taking the time to define, design, deliver, and demonstrate that learning. Through developing key Concepts (understanding), Competencies (skills), and Character (values) related to Service Learning, students have been applying their knowledge and skills in order to meet authenticated community needs.
Through the Service Learning program at Colegio Maya we are able to put our core beliefs into action by...
- Encouraging a social and environmentally-aware consciousness;
- Preparing students for a world that is constantly changing due to new technologies and innovation;
- Stimulating curiosity, creativity, and critical thinking, and affirming the students’ rights and responsibilities to explore their potential.
Our Service Learning program focuses on educating the whole child and creating responsible world citizens. We do this by applying the Five Steps of Service Learning combined with the compass and systems thinking process from Compass Education. This process really helps our students explore and understand an issue from a variety of angles; using the compass and action research as tools, they develop a deep and broad understanding of an issue and are able to take action based on that understanding. Students can become advocates for a cause, like ‘saving the turtles’ by raising awareness about the factors that contribute to their potential extinction, and partnering with the hatcheries on the Guatemalan Pacific coast to help protect the turtle eggs by raising money and buying eggs from poachers in order to keep the eggs safe until they hatch. Students become advocates for women's rights and human rights through learning and exploring topics related to gender equality and inequalities in our local communities. Students may take direct action by going to a home of one of our maintenance workers and building a clean-cook stove, or traveling to a rural village to bring solar lamps to people off the grid.
