REFLECTION
I think that Service Learning is very important and I am pleased that there are so many advocates of Service Learning. In the beginning of the article a very important statement is made and that is the statement about the true goal of Service Learning. It talks about the goals to find a common ground between Democratic and Republican parties. The main point of Service Learning is to get people involved in the community and more aware of their surroundings and what they can do to help! My favorite quote was when Mr. Johnson said "...learning while using the community as a classroom". That is such a great way to look at it and that is how it should be looked at. If children work with others that are less fortunate than they are, it opens their eyes to the world and shows them that not everyone has the same privileges that they have!
I made a connection to Ms. Adams story right away. In one of my other classes we talk about children in poverty and we recently watched a documentary on America's homeless children. Watching that documentary made me want to reach out to the homeless, so reading about what Ms. Adams and her class did made me very happy. As the article says the project stresses the importance of compassion. As I was reading this part of the article I kept thinking back to the documentary I watched and if those families had the community reach out to them it could have helped them a great deal! Especially the children of these families, they were born into that life, they are helpless in the situation of homelessness, so I feel that it would be very important to reach out to those homeless children.
When it comes to the difference between Mr. Johnson and Ms. Adams approach to Service Learning, I personally like Ms. Adams approach a little bit more. I think it is very smart for the students to get educated. By the students gaining all of this background information on homelessness I think it makes it a lot easier for them to empathize and understand the Service Learning! I think if children are given the opportunity to do Service Learning they will be more likely to volunteer and help in their community! I think by having children participate in Service Learning we are improving our schools, students and communities.
Comments: I think that schools should require Service Learning for students. When I was in high school I volunteered in a soup kitchen for community service. My friend that had done it before told me that the people were very mean, so at first I was a little nervous for it. But when I did it the people didn't seem mean at all. Some of them kept to themselves, but that didn't mean they were mean. I think if my friend had a background on homelessness she might have known some homeless don't like having to get food at shelters, so they may come off as abrasive or unappreciative when in reality they are very appreciative.
Hyperlink: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vK4PvcVAbes
About a family that was facing getting split up, started living in a van and now live in a motel. People should be educated and aware that this happens to people and families everyday.
I chose this cartoon to give a glimpse of some of the ignorance today's children face. They are growing up in such a disconnect world with so much technology and distractions I feel that it is extra important to get them into Service Learning and connected to the community!
No comments:
Post a Comment