Course Reflective Narrative
To be frank, I never knew nor cared about what "service learning" was. And while the following recounted experience may have done me some form of moral good, I can't say can forgive the immense time it took to complete. Nonetheless, I do understand the importance of its existence not just to my graduation, but to CSUMB's neighboring community and society as a whole:
From October 2nd, 2020 to December 18th, 2020 I partook in a program with CPY (Community Partnership for Youth) to teach elementary school students about Japanese language and its culture. With fellow classmates Jerron and Beatriz, I conducted various lessons in which we spread cultural awareness through colorful PowerPoint presentations. Despite the subject matter generally requiring a lot of critical thinking, we made the lessons simple enough for the children to comprehend at their age. Speaking of which, because the student demographic was so young, there were occasions in which they (specifically the class that took up the Monday and Friday slots) were a tad unruly and it was apparent that they weren't paying attention. Additionally, there cases in which the staff that were assigned to assist us were somewhat incompetent in the technology required for the new form of teaching modality. In spite of this, the interactive quiz games we did with them yielded favorable results. Their high scores demonstrated a decent amount of lesson retention, proving that our efforts to instill in them a sense of understanding and appreciation for foreign peoples.
Occurring adjacent to these activities were also a series of discussions between my other classmates who had their own separate sessions to conduct. Within the online classroom setting, we discussed readings that reflected various aspects of global competency and the benefits of service learning and the factors surrounding them (bilingualism, social justice, etc.). Throughout these meetings I came across readings that both resonated with me and reasonably established the importance of the service learning I was conducting. Passages such as "To Hell with Good Intentions" by Ican Illich taught me that people can be self-righteous in the act "servicing" foreign people when in truth, their cultural immersions are mere excuses for vacations during their adult schooling. This in term led me to reflect on what I was doing with the classes I taught, realizing that unlike those who'd go abroad to teach, I was making a difference locally by actively addressing oppression in lessons. Additionally, readings such as "Cycle of Socialization" made me acutely aware of what position I'm in within said cycle, granting me the opportunity to make a difference with the CPY students while I still could.
All in all, while I still wish I had not been required too, I definitely see the value in this required course. Finally being given an answer to the question "why should I care?" through my own discovery via readings and the act of spreading cultural awareness made this heavy time investment worth while.
From October 2nd, 2020 to December 18th, 2020 I partook in a program with CPY (Community Partnership for Youth) to teach elementary school students about Japanese language and its culture. With fellow classmates Jerron and Beatriz, I conducted various lessons in which we spread cultural awareness through colorful PowerPoint presentations. Despite the subject matter generally requiring a lot of critical thinking, we made the lessons simple enough for the children to comprehend at their age. Speaking of which, because the student demographic was so young, there were occasions in which they (specifically the class that took up the Monday and Friday slots) were a tad unruly and it was apparent that they weren't paying attention. Additionally, there cases in which the staff that were assigned to assist us were somewhat incompetent in the technology required for the new form of teaching modality. In spite of this, the interactive quiz games we did with them yielded favorable results. Their high scores demonstrated a decent amount of lesson retention, proving that our efforts to instill in them a sense of understanding and appreciation for foreign peoples.
Occurring adjacent to these activities were also a series of discussions between my other classmates who had their own separate sessions to conduct. Within the online classroom setting, we discussed readings that reflected various aspects of global competency and the benefits of service learning and the factors surrounding them (bilingualism, social justice, etc.). Throughout these meetings I came across readings that both resonated with me and reasonably established the importance of the service learning I was conducting. Passages such as "To Hell with Good Intentions" by Ican Illich taught me that people can be self-righteous in the act "servicing" foreign people when in truth, their cultural immersions are mere excuses for vacations during their adult schooling. This in term led me to reflect on what I was doing with the classes I taught, realizing that unlike those who'd go abroad to teach, I was making a difference locally by actively addressing oppression in lessons. Additionally, readings such as "Cycle of Socialization" made me acutely aware of what position I'm in within said cycle, granting me the opportunity to make a difference with the CPY students while I still could.
All in all, while I still wish I had not been required too, I definitely see the value in this required course. Finally being given an answer to the question "why should I care?" through my own discovery via readings and the act of spreading cultural awareness made this heavy time investment worth while.
Coursework Samples:
colors_for_cpy.pdf | |
File Size: | 1336 kb |
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restaurants_in_japan.pdf | |
File Size: | 1401 kb |
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weather/seasons.pdf | |
File Size: | 1087 kb |
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Photo used under Creative Commons from quinn.anya