In the Service of What?

The Politics of Service Learning

Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer
Week 9

Reflection:
If we did not reflect on our service learning i do not think i would be as knowledgeable as i am now. Reflecting helps analyze occurrences we might had to deal with, maybe a child refusing to learn or always expecting candy when they do a good job as described in "5 Reasons to stop saying Good Job." Johnson's students were given an assignment to help in the community so they could learn a lesson from helping another group. The only reflection his assigned his students was to write a one to two paragraph summary. Some students spoke of new insights while others did not. When there is some form of volunteering done there should be some kind of fulfilling reflection (Kahne 4).

Speaking about this with others gives us clarity to our confusion because everyone has an opinion and ideas that might differ from ours. In my perspective reflecting helps me significantly because i love to think about all i have seen so far at R.F. Kennedy since I am exposed to education in a whole new perspective. The idea of not reflecting mystifies my train of thought. How is it a bad thing? Growing up i was always told to reflect because i was going to gain a lesson from it. This reminded me of when i was in high school during my days as a honor student. One of our requirements we had to acquire before the end senior year was to accomplish 75 hours of community service. We did not have to write about it or talk about it during our meetings, looking back to that i feel like we could have done some much with it. The whole idea of being on the honor society was because you were a good citizen with the desire to improve the community of the school. 

Educators and politicians have discovered that  90% of teenagers from ages 14 to 17 give some of their time to people in need. I find it a little hard to believe because from personal experience i have learned that it does not necessarily make you a nice person, or some teens are forced to do it because it might be a graduation requirement. For example, high schools located in Maryland require students to accumulate 75 hours of community service and even schools in Vermont and New York are in the works of making that a new rule (Kahne4). I understand that it might be a requirement but ask yourself, "how many students actually want to give up some of their free time?" I mean the young adults who jump at the opportunity to help build a house with habitat for humanity or clean up trash at a state park, not the young adults who are dragged there by their parents.

Comments:

Ernest Boyer stated that "altruism can best be appreciated as an experience rather than an abstraction."
Boyer is right because to genuinely appreciate volunteering you must experience what its like to help others instead of watching someone volunteering their time.

While reflecting helps academically it also helps emotionally throughout life. Personally i feel better when I reflect on the past it acts a therapy to control my emotions.

Week 7 Update
  Hyperlinks

"What is the underlying reason students refuse to learn from their teachers?"

Teaching is a difficult profession to do well in however learning is equally challenging because not every teacher works for every student's learning style. This brings up another important question, are there any important factors that determine a student's success? One important factor is how the teacher designs the class, such as the due dates, how tests are graded, how often homework is assigned. How piratical the projects are. The teachers also have to take into account the kind of students they have in their class, some students might read slow while others excel in reading between the lines and having to deal with the students that do not seem to care about his or her education. 

Update to Week 4: Hyperlinks

How many young children in America actually keep speaking their native language after they learn English? About one fifth of American children are bilingual. The popularity of this was far after i began school as well as the need to learn another language. Teachers pestered me to learn Spanish, i spoke to my mom about this. I was annoyed at my teachers because i have trouble the English language so how is learning Spanish going to help me? Learning a second language is something that should be done when your brain is forming with in the first 3 years of your life when you absorb information like a sponge. Some psychological studies have been done on people who are bilingual, they have discovered these people are smarter because they cognitive advantages because the are challenging their brain to recognize more words which improves your vocabulary and students score much better on standardized testing in math, reading and vocabulary compared to students who only speak one language. Some languages are easily learned through visuals that can be seen on restaurants, stores as well as other places of interest.

Week 8

Comments:

What is the point of fairytales when they only lead to disappointment when we learn their actual meaning?

It is sad when you grow up to only discover how negative fairytales can be, a place such as Disney seems like such a magical place when you are young.

Blog Post

Week 8

Hyperlinks

“Flawed Fairytales and Toys”

            What fairytales mean to young child is far different than what an adult sees behind the glitz and glam. A young girl would conclude from a fairytale that if you dream to the fullest, your desires automatically come true. Which is stating that you are destined to find your “prince” or “princess” by simply waiting around. For example the tale of Cinderella, a story we all know where she loses her mother. Her father marries a vile women, who treat Cinderella as a servant the moment her father dies. She continues to suffer from her evil stepsisters. Then appears her fairy godmother, which builds up Cinderella’s confidence to attend the ball. Cinderella is sent off in a pumpkin carriage in a beautiful blue gown. She dances with the prince but as the clock strikes midnight she must be home so her stepmother will not know she snuck out. Later she realizes that she lost her sliver shoe. 43% of marriages will not makeit to their 50th anniversary. Cinderella also shows that wearing beautiful clothing and eating just enough so you can “look” appealing to the opposite sex is suppose to make your life worthwhile.

The prince remembered her by the glass slipper. In my opinion I would rather not be remembered by a shoe because what is the likelihood that a prince would find you. Then Cinderella lives happily ever after with prince. I would much rather be remembered by my personality or my laugh, something real not superficial. This story brainwashes young girls to think that life is all about finding your true love. Many marriages barely last a year, the idea of happily ever after is rare to find. My parents are one of the few parents I know that have been married well over 20 years.

These fairy tales such as Disney’s Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White have a much deeper significance. However we do not pick up on the “secret education” of these fairytale movies until we are past our childhood.

            The Disney Princesses continue to show young girls to think with only your heart but not with your heart and head. All of the princesses were at a very young age. Cinderella was 19 years old, Belle was 17, Aurora was only 16, and Ariel was 16 years old when they meet their prince charming. Ariel gave up her voice to Ursula because she saw a handsome man and could not control her emotions. She risked her chance of speaking simply because she wanted to marry someone she barely knew.

The only thing the handsome man knew about Ariel was that she could sing beautifully.  This could imply that you should be married young or be in a committed relationship in your teen years. Yet this implication is not true because there is not rule that states all girls should be dating or married when you are only a teenager. This is time where you figure out yourself and figure out what you want out of life.

            While movies such as Disney distort our reality, some toys have the same affect.

For example, Barbie, who was given the so called “perfect height”, perfect weight” and she always wears stylish clothes. Barbie always fashions her bright blue sparkly eye makeup. However Barbie is anything but perfect, she is made of plastic. Barbie comprised of very impractical body measurements, for example her neck is twice as long and six inches thinner than the average women as a result she would not be able to lift her head. Her waist is 16 inches, which is smaller than her head.

Barbie’s leg are 50% longer than her arms, the average women’s legs are only 20% longer than their arms. The world needs to be more realistic in the toys and movies that produced because it has such an affect on young girls. From these kind of pressures it causes so many issues for young girls. For example society believes that women are meant to look one way. Which consists of having long legs, long blonde hair and weight 125 pounds. When we do not look these way women criticize themselves  including girls as young as 10 and 11 years old and even myself.  Instead we should be seeing that there are many kinds of beauty and that it is beneath the skin as well.

Blog Post

Emma Holman

Week 8

Hyperlinks

“Flawed Fairytales and Toys”

        The definition of fairytale is a story about fairies which are told to amuse children that are interesting but highly implausible, which are told as an excuse. Children only seeing the rainbows and glitter of fairytales but what they cannot see is what adults sees  which is hidden by the glitz and glam. A young girl would conclude from a fairytale that if you dream to the fullest, your desires automatically come true. Which is stating that you are destined to find your “prince” or “princess” by simply waiting around. These fairy tales such as Disney’s Cinderella, Beauty and the Beast, Sleeping Beauty and Snow White have a much deeper significance.

 

However we do not pick up on the “secret education” of these fairytale movies until we are past our childhood. For example the tale of Cinderella, a story we all know where she loses her mother. Her father marries a vile women, who treat Cinderella as a servant the moment her father dies. She continues to suffer from her evil stepsisters. Then appears her fairy godmother, which builds up Cinderella’s confidence to attend the ball. Cinderella is sent off in a pumpkin carriage in a beautiful blue gown. She dances with the prince but as the clock strikes midnight she must be home so her stepmother will not know she snuck out. Later she realizes that she lost her sliver shoe. The prince remembered her by the glass slipper. In my opinion I would rather not be remembered by a shoe because what is the likelihood that a prince would find you. Then Cinderella lives happily ever after with prince. 

I would much rather be remembered by my personality or my laugh, something real not superficial. This story brainwashes young girls to think that life is all about finding your true love. Many marriages barely last a year, the idea of happily ever after is rare to find. My parents are one of the few parents I know that have been married well over 20 years. 43% of marriages will not makeit to their 50th anniversary. Cinderella also shows that wearing beautiful clothing and eating just enough so you can “look” appealing to the opposite sex is suppose to make your life worthwhile.

The Disney Princesses continue to show young girls to think with only your heart but not with your heart and head. All of the princesses were at a very young age. Cinderella was 19 years old, Belle was 17, Aurora was only 16, and Ariel was 16 years old when they meet their prince charming. Ariel gave up her voice toUrsula because she saw a handsome man and could not control her emotions. She risked her chance of speaking simply because she wanted to marry someone she barely knew. The only thing the handsome man knew about Ariel was that she could sing beautifully.  This could imply that you should be married young or be in a committed relationship in your teen years. Yet this implication is not true because there is not rule that states all girls should be dating or married when you are only a teenager. This is time where you figure out yourself and figure out what you want out of life.

While movies such as Disney distort our reality, some toys have the same affect. For example, Barbie, who was given the so called “perfect height”, perfect weight” and she always wears stylish clothes. Barbie always fashions her bright blue sparkly eye makeup. However Barbie is anything but perfect, she is made of plastic. Barbie comprised of very impractical body measurements, for example her neck is twice as long and six inches thinner than the average women as a result she would not be able to lift her head. Her waist is 16 inches, which is smaller than her head. Barbie’s leg are 50% longer than her arms, the average women’s legs are only 20% longer than their arms. 

The world needs to be more realistic in the toys and movies that produced because it has such an affect on young girls. From these kind of pressures it causes so many issues for young girls. For example society believes that women are meant to look one way. Which consists of having long legs, long blonde hair and weight 125 pounds. When we do not look these way women criticize themselves  including girls as young as 10 and 11 years old and even myself.  Instead we should be seeing that there are many kinds of beauty and that it is beneath the skin as well.