According to Raffaniello, one of the biggest benefits of the project was the teamwork. She echoes Susan Eggleston's comment about program results. This little piece of land, a wooded area, had been badly damaged and trampled, with plants uprooted and dead. The kids restored it. At a third pilot site, the Groveport Madison School District in Groveport, Ohio, Skills for Action was introduced as part of a course for ninth grade students in the home economics department called Youth in Action.
Borders is a noted expert and national leader in the service-learning field.
Reflection is important because it provides opportunities for young people to talk about or express what the nature of the service is, what's happening, what it might mean for future action, how they would tell others about their experiences, and what they might do as a follow-up. From the vantage point of many years implementing service-learning programs, Borders regards curricula such as Skills for Action as being particularly helpful for teachers new to service learning. Service-learning opportunities are endless. When you understand the concepts and you've practiced them and you have a notion of how students respond, it becomes part of your whole approach to teaching. You see opportunities and act on them.