Reflective Essay On Service Learning Experience

Summer brought a conclusion to AP exams, AP and Honors classes, and Swim Team. Although I grateful for the much deserved break, I had an overwhelming urge to become an active member for my community. I knew I needed to obtain my mark in the world in a special way during the summer large-scale or not. However, I never thought I would volunteer at a food bank. As an acutely withdrawn and self-conscious person, I’d much rather prefer to assist out behind the scenes, as a dutiful background member. Volunteering at a busy food bank transformed me in a way I couldn’t even imagine. Being up front and center among people taught me confidence I had never experienced. While performing my countless roles (providing prayer for clients, setting up food

I was fortunate to be placed in Ms. Gohil’s classroom because her classroom was dedicated to students with special needs. This allowed me to experience first hand what an actual special education teacher does during a typical class day. I also was able to see paraprofessional work with the students on constant bases, not like my previous experience where the paraprofessional would only visit the child for approximately 20 - 30 mins per class period. What I also like was that I witnessed various behavioral changes from students and was able to see in real time how the teacher and paraprofessional handled these behaviors. At first, I did not understand some of the techniques that were being used, but then I would ask Ms. Gohil questions and she

Effective communication is a vital part of your role as a teaching assistant. Children learn to communicate through the responses of others: if they do not feel what they are saying is valued by others because they have not be listened to or misunderstood, they are less likely to initiate communication or contribute to class discussion. Children of all ages need to feel that they have a

For my service leaning assignment, I volunteered at the Conroe Cajun Catfish Festival in support of the Montgomery County Food Bank receiving donations at the festival entrance. In volunteering at the event, I learned the differences in service learning, volunteerism and community service and will provide details in what I learned a about each. I will also provide details and examples of teamwork, communication and networking experiences gained while at the event. A brief overview of the Montgomery County Food bank will also be provided with information on the assignment task, measurable success and interaction with fellow students and organization directors. Overall, the volunteer experience provided a great learning opportunity that

John McKnight author of the article titled “Why Servanthood is bad” describes what service means to him and his dislike on the concept of serving. In his article he talks about the dangerous actions of those who are considered “servers” of the community. One of the negative actions of serving is constantly stealing money from the poor. Half of the money that corresponds to low-income communities is stolen and given to the federal, state even county officials. A great example of this is tax money each person considered low income has to pay taxes and most of the time the government own these people money that they never will obtain back. Another problem that Mc Knight mentions is that often times the service system turns to community organizations to solve the problems of

For children and young people to develop positive relationships it is crucial for adults to model effective communication in the classroom.As a teacher or teaching assistant, you have the platform to facilitate social learning and lead by example.

I grew up in a small Texan suburb called Keller. I have lived in this area since I was in the fifth grade and, even though I now attend college in Dallas, I still come back to visit often. My family has recently relocated our residence closer to the Fort Worth area, but Keller remains a five-minute drive away and I still consider myself a Keller resident.

Foster homes were created for children who have no family members to take care of them. These children usually have been dealing with stress and a lot of bad situations in their life. They had an idea that they can live in foster homes and follow the rules to teach them how to be independent and do individual things by themselves. They are allowed to have a foster parent or family member to approved by the state they are living in. Caring for foster youth is helping a child grieve the loss of a parent.

I am Lauren Forsyth and a student of Catonsville Middle School. I feel that I should be a part of National Junior Honor Society because of my dedication towards volunteering, leadership and citizenship. The following essay will demonstrate how I have dedicated my time towards volunteering, leadership and citizenship.

There are many economic and sociologic problems that face our society today. Unemployment, health care, and a failing educational system are some challenging topics in our society today. The issues that face today’s generation are unique to the pressures of the times and the complexity of how we live. Homelessness is at an all-time high in our country today and it is a situation that effects people world-wide. Being homeless is when you do not have a permanent place to live. In Atlanta, there are over seven thousand people that are currently homeless. The homeless population in Atlanta consists of hundreds of men, women, and children. This statistic alone inspired me to use homelessness in Atlanta as a platform for my service learning project.

Julier, Livingston, and Goldblatt argue that service-learning has the potential to engage students with their community while developing rhetorical efficacy and critical thinking skills. This pedagogy embraces Dewey’s hands-on approach while connecting with Freire and bell books’ student-centered approach towards writing. Macrorie and Elbow connect the power of truth telling (own personal feelings) to “a sense of honesty and truth in the world they know,” which promotes “the desire to connect personal commitments to social and political realities (56). Julier defines community-pedagogy as “experimental learning grounded in the understanding of writing as a situated social act” and in this pedagogy “students work in relationship with a community

Module two focuses on revisiting the three lenses that we learned in CHYS1F90, the three lenses are developmental lens, exceptionalities lens, and sociocultural lens. These lenses will help us understand children and youth in a different perspective that will help prepare us for service-learning placement experience. The explanation of the lens gives us a better understanding what each lens focuses on and how it differs from the rest. Professor Zinga provides a description of each lens by going in detail what the purpose and focus for each lens. This explanation helped to remind what we learned last year in CHYS1F90 of what each lens entails.

Reflect on your Pre-Practicum/Service-Learning Journal; compare and contrast how your beliefs, assumptions, and attitudes regarding community service and/or volunteerism have evolved.

For one week every summer, the senior high youth at St. Michael’s Lutheran Church in Roseville drop everything to venture somewhere in the United States on a service learning trip. Since I happen to attend that church, and I just so happen to be a senior high youth, I have joined these trips for three years running. Usually, we help out in soup kitchens, do some yard work, or visit homeless shelters. However, our trip during the summer of my junior year was destined to be different from the very beginning.

As I began my field experience journey, I learned many roles and responsibilities as elementary teacher. My duration in the field was nine weeks. I began training at E. R. Dickson. I developed a great working relationship with the staff and parents in the community. I always knew teaching is my passion. It is my responsibility to be organized, willing to work well with others, takes initiative, and having a positive attitude. During my time in the field, I had a pleasure of working with 3rd graders. I learned to be a long life learner. Everyday, I was challenged my students to learn something new. It was important to me to make a difference. Throughout my training, I implemented various strategies for engaging students in small groups and rigorous lessons. My role as a teacher is to communicate effectively, be respectful, and have self-worth and confidence. I did fear making wrong choices throughout this field experience. I set high expectations the students to achieve high goals.