Service Learning Reflective Narrative
This course gives students opportunity to deepen their knowledge of Japanese language and culture through their community service and to develop communication skills through discussions, reflection essays and presentations. Taught in Japanese.
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Our service learning class consisted of two part, an in class lecture and discussion and weekly or bi-weekly hosting of a group of children in order to tech them about Japanese language and culture. In class, discussed the differences of service and volunteering. We spent a large amount of time to ensure that we would all understand that we were entering communities that have been well established. These communities are all unique and in order to both learn from and assist these communities we must be open minded when entering these institutions. These articles included the possible negativity regarding "volunteerism," which generally involves a "savior complex" that separates civilians from those whom they're attempting to help. As someone who has been through a less then prestigious primary schooling I can say that the students in these kinds of positions understand that there is a difference in how they are seen but they are never sure as to why they are seen that way until they get a chance to be more educated on the subject. The students at Walter Colton truly surprised me by not only being attentive in class but also actively participating in most of our activities. We had many good and bad things happen during our class, which is to be expected. I believe our students were open to other cultures because they themselves also came from a multi-cultural background. It was an interesting experience to see how the students became more responsive when we connected Japanese and Spanish culture in our lessons. Because our students were a bit older than other students at different service sites they are more open to legitimate conversations about culture, and being able to connect these cultures has really helped to push our discussions forward. As service learning students I believe that the best way for changing this system is working directly with students to provide new and alternative experiences to the students. That being said I understand that it takes more to make true change. We service learners must strive to, in our short time within the community, both make a connection to the community that goes deeper than the surface level, and have learned enough from the community to truly understand the value of what the community has to offer. It is a step in the right direction to change our entire societal view in that if we work at an individual level enough those individuals we serve will one day become active members of the community. They will, in turn, carry the ideals of social equality higher into larger aspects of the community to create lasting change. A prime example of this is our site director Miss Sabi. She is in this program working with the dozens of students at Walter Colton because she herself was in the program years ago. She is working alongside the other CPY staff to ensure the continuous growth of the program because she knows first had what it means to the students, even if they may not seem entirely appreciative right now Statistically, CPY has many students of Hispanic dissent or students that fall under the umbrella term of a minority background. Many of these students are already at a huge disadvantage in their academic career due to the fact that they may not have basic resources that most Walter Colton students have such as having a native English speaker at home to assist them with school work. In some cases students from the CPY program do not have somewhere to do work after school, as their parents are busy working such long hours that they cannot make it home to be there with their children after school. CPY strives to balance the scales of inequality but are they themselves also limited in just how much they can do for the students because of financial barriers. |