Mission and Philosophy
The Global Service Program provides students with a way to take part in purposeful, personally relevant service to the larger global community. This service can take different forms: volunteering, community service, and service learning.
It does not matter which of these three types of service the student chooses to pursue, for students need to be able to find the service that best matches their interests and passion. RHS would encourage students to try more than one type of service, for the student may find one more engaging than another.
- Volunteering is engaging in “activities where the primary emphasis is on the service being provided and the primary intended beneficiary is clearly the service recipient” (Furco, 1996, p13).
- Community service is engaging in “activities that primarily focus on the service being provided as well as the benefits the service activities have on the recipients” (Furco, 1996, p13).
- Service learning is engaging in activities that have an equal benefit to “the provider and the recipient of the services” (Furco, 1996, p14). This is real learning for the provider and service for both parties.
It does not matter which of these three types of service the student chooses to pursue, for students need to be able to find the service that best matches their interests and passion. RHS would encourage students to try more than one type of service, for the student may find one more engaging than another.
The Global Service description and expectations were influenced by the community service expectations at the International School of the Americas (San Antonio, TX) and The Academy for Global Studies (Austin, TX). Both are part of the Asia Society's International Studies School Network.
