Community Involvement

Well, this is finally my last blog for this class. Unlike others, I actually have kept up with this blog but like others, I'm glad I don't have to write anymore blogs about class or my volunteering. This week I will not be volunteering at JSV, instead I will be at Minitex working many hours so I will have a starting fund for summer. I will be living an hour and a half north of my hometown in Wisconsin with my best friend Calynn in her cottage. I'm so excited!

Class today was somewhat enjoyable. It was interesting to hear about all the different types of community work that people have been doing over the past semester. I was surprised to hear that so many people had difficulties with starting their service learning. I was planning on working at Children's hospital but decided against it since I knew that the application process would be long. I volunteered at the hospital in Wausau during high school in the pharmacy, since that's what I would like to do as a professional career. I'm glad that I tutored at JSV instead. The experienced that I gained was enjoyable and worthwhile. I might even do it next fall because I've been debating whether or not I want to join the Civics Engagement program here at the university. It really interests me and I might as well get recognized for my hard work.

Anyways, I enjoyed hearing stories about the other places and how diverse things were from place to place. The twin cities is such a great place to view diversity in a whole new light. I am glad that I took this class because it may have started something that I never would have done before.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 8:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (26)

I worked it out with Adam and today is my last day at Jackson Street Village, at least for the semester. Since I will have many things to do next week considering it's "dead" week (the week before exams), I figured it would be good to leave on good terms. I have enjoyed volunteering at JSV and I have really taken to tutoring the children. Although, there have been a few who makes things difficult, all in all I've enjoyed it. I'm considering doing it next year too depending on what my schedule looks like this Fall. I even might do the service-learning program here at the university. Why not get recognized for doing good work in the community? Today, I saw a few kids but didn't really help many. I got to study my chemistry and I finished my book that I was reading. Since it was pretty dead, I went home an hour early, again. I just realized that I'm going to be so busy with school next fall. I'm taking physics, o-chem, analytical chem, analytical chem lab, and spanish. Along with trying to find time to work as well I hope I can squeeze in a few hours here and there to help tutor at JSV too.

I'm ecstatic that we only have 4 more classes left for english comp. I'm so ready for school to be over with. Bring on the summer!

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 11:30 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

Well, today was another one of those lonely days at JSV. I stayed for an hour and a half until I was finally able to go after not seeing a single soul come in. Instead, I helped Chenille with her project that she had to do for Saturday. She was making a poster about nutrition for the kids. There were others that were supposed to come in to help as well but due to the fantastic whether outside no one came in and I don’t blame them. I wish I was outside playing on the swings and not stressing about the numerous projects and papers that I have to write. Anyhow, I helped her put together the poster and then left. I really want to go to the event on Saturday but I have my spring formal for my sorority this weekend. We’re spending it on the Mississippi River and I can’t wait!

Tomorrow we have our rough drafts due for our reflection papers. I’ve been really worried about this paper because I really do hate writing about myself. Namely, I don’t like to be narcissistic and also for the fact that I’m not too keen about sharing personal information with my group. This paper is very personal but on the other hand, maybe it will help clear up some stereotypes. I finally decided to write it on money versus education. We started up a debate in class the other week and it’s an important topic. I just want others to know that despite financial hardships, one can still achieve success in today’s world and I’m a strong advocate for this type of thinking. I hope that the kids I tutor understand this as well.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 11:29 PM | Permalink

Well, since it's the week after spring break there were not many students coming in for help today. I was even able to go home an hour early because there was barely anyone there. Since I really have nothing to say about JSV today, I'm going to rant about other things.

So tomorrow our research papers are finally due and I’m a bit scared. I’m having so many problems finishing it; meaning my conclusion sucks and I really don’t have one. For once in my life, I’m having such writers block. In high school, it was a lot easier to just ramble about a topic and get an A on it. Now, I’m just not able to B.S. a paper because I get so stuck in certain places and I dwell on it, preventing me from moving on. It’s become such an issue with me and it drives me crazy. I don’t think it’s suppose to take an hour or two just to write a conclusion but I didn’t know how I wanted to end my paper. The topic of cochlear implants is very important to me and I want to prove my point; rather my mother’s point. I hope I do well on the paper since the last paper wasn’t written to par. I really thought I did well too but I guess not. I really didn’t understand how to integrate community into a comparison and contrasting paper. Plus, I don’t think the directions were really comprehensible. Our upcoming reflection paper should be easier to write, I hope!

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 11:01 PM | Permalink

Well, this Monday I went in to Jackson Street Village to found out that the kids are on Spring Break. That kind of sucked so I went back home to do homework, which of course I didn’t do; my nap was too important.

Today we didn’t have class for English because we had our conferences instead. I was really excited to be able to talk about my research paper. I think the topic I picked was very controversial and one that many don’t realize or know about. Cochlear implants are a big problem within the deaf community. People who are hearing assume that everyone who is deaf wants these implants but the fact is they don’t. Most believe they are a hazard to the deaf community and will one day replace the deaf; which is a big problem. This topic is actually very near and dear to my heart (so cliché) because my mother is deaf. I grew up living within the deaf community and it was hard, I’m not going to lie. But now that I’m older, I value it so much more. One of my mom’s friends has a cochlear implant because his parents made him get it when he was a teenager. He hates it and never wears it. He wants to be deaf because he doesn’t feel apart of the hearing community. The two cultures are completely different. Although I am part of the hearing community, I still feel intertwined with the deaf community. If you were to see the relationship between my mother and I, you would find it very strange but it works for us. The paper is kind of a tribute to her and the troubles she had to deal with growing up in a hearing society.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 11:50 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Last Monday wasn’t that entertaining at JSV. I helped many students with their reading assignments and also with some math. I find it hard to help many of the students with their reading because I just want every one of them to be able to read well. The thing is patience is key when dealing with children and their reading skills. You can’t just tell them every word that they make a mistake on. I believe making them sound out the word and trying to read it on their own first is important. Some students though don’t even look at the word and just start rambling. A lot of children even try to avoid it. I don’t try to push too hard because I don’t want them to feel inferior or stupid by any means. So I patiently wait while they try hard to perfect their reading. I got to help a new girl today with her reading and I was amazed at how well she could sound out the words with consonant and vowel sounds. I don’t think I was ever that good at knowing the sounds but I was fairly proficient at reading. Her brother, however, kept interrupting and telling her what the words were. He just wanted to be able to read to me too.

A lot of the kids try to cheat with their reading logs and read books that are too easy for them. Adam, the director at JSV, makes me laugh so hard sometimes because he knows when the kids are playing him. So he lays down the law.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 11:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Last week I was not able to volunteer on Monday due to midterms. So instead I left work early on Thursday and volunteered at Jackson Street Village. Due to a computer class for adults, we were not able to use the tutoring room so instead we used the conference room. The kids didn’t have school on Friday so many did not come in to use the program. I did help with reading and other types of homework. Also, there were many students from the University there as well. A lot of them brought games that they had designed in their architecture classes. The prototypes needed to be tested on children in elementary school. I was able to watch the children interact with the Minnesota students and play the games. It was entertaining to watch because the kids were so eager to play. One game had a fairytale theme to it. The point of the game was to get across the "mote" (which was a paper mat with stepping stones painted on it) before the other players. In order to do this they had to complete various math equations as they stepped from stone to stone. The math equations were fairly simple and whatever the answer was on the card, that's the amount of spaces they moved on the board. There were cards that made them lose a turn or move back a certain number of spaces as well. Halfway throught the game, when they reached a certain point, they were able to dress up with various costumes provided by the makers of the game. It was hilarious but it did cause some fighting between the girls because they all wanted to be fairy princesses'. I definitely remember being a game hog as well when I was younger. It was a reminder of my younger days...

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 9:44 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday I tutored quite the rambunctious group of kids. None of them seemed to want to do their homework; which I can fully understand because that’s how I’ve felt lately. What’s great is that I’m starting to already learn some of their names which makes things much easier. I mostly helped the kids with reading. Many of them were relying on me to just tell them a word that they were stuck on but I tried not to do that. How are they supposed to learn if they don’t try to figure it out on their own first? I concentrated on helping them sound out the word first or splitting it up into different words. I feel that encouragement is really important when it comes to reading because a lot of children are discouraged to read or embarrassed to make mistakes. Reading is such an important aspect in learning. The type of books they chose to read were great! I haven’t read The Cat in the Hat since I was in elementary school. I really love that book.
After a child does their homework or reads, they get a snack. Many of the kids were trying to “con� me, in their own way, by saying they were done with their homework even if they weren’t. Food was definitely on their mind, but the only way I let them get their snack is if they read to me or showed me the progress on their homework.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 1:57 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Yesterday was a slow day for tutoring. I tutor on Mondays usually with one other girl from the University who is taking a service-learning class as well. Only three girls came in for help and they kept putting off their homework. Every time I tried to direct them back to their homework they would change the subject. It was very hard to get them to focus on their science project.
Today I had my meeting with Zach about the paper from two weeks ago, the research paper, and volunteering. I do have to say that I didn’t understand the nature of the paper at all and now I’m going to have to redo it or at least fix it a little bit. For my research paper, I plan to write it on the deaf culture and integrate cochlear implants somehow. I want to be able to discuss the views that many deaf people have on what cochlear implants do to their community. My mother is deaf and has been all her life. I already know the answer to the issue on cochlear implants but I want to expose others to it as well. Also, there is a big debate at Gallaudet University in Wisconsin (school for the deaf) about letting people who have cochlear implants and other devices enrolled in the school. It really is a big argument. I know I’ll have plenty of input from my mother and hopefully I can gather a few papers on the subject itself. I am a little worried about the research aspect but this issue has been around for decades. It’s definitely going to be a hard paper to write but I’m ready for it.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 2:29 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

When I arrived at JSV on Monday, I was surprised to find as many kids as I did. Adam had forgotten to tell me that since the kids didn’t have school due to President’s Day, they decided to put on an event to celebrate black history month. First of all, why didn’t we have off of school? Secondly, I was really excited to participate because I think that it’s important for the kids to know who contributed to society today.
First off I helped finish the food and started to pass out the bingo cards to the kids. We played a different kind of bingo that related to the event. Instead of calling a number, we had a stack of cards that each had a description of a famous African American. The kids had to guess who it was and if the name was on their sheet, they could mark it. The first one to black-out their cards got a gift card so of course they were very competitive. I actually learned a lot about a lot of different people like George Washington Carver and Colin Powell. Then a few kids who helped set up the event spoke in front of everyone. The first boy read a story about what life would be like without black people. It really gave a great perspective on how many black inventors created things that we use today. If there weren’t black people we wouldn’t have combs, brushes, filiaments for light bulbs and etc. Also, two girls read some very powerful poems that stick in my mind. One of them described what it would be like if “you lived on my street�. It was very descriptive and went into detail about poverty, drug, gangs, and violence. I felt very sympathetic and emotional after hearing the poem because the girl was very expressive with her words. Another girl read a Maya Angelou poem. I love her poems and I once did a speech on her.
After the speeches, we ate! It was like a Thanksgiving meal and all the kids loved it! I helped stay after to clean up. I’m really glad I got to experience it. It was a really great way to get to know some of the kids and their parents. They’re all really great people and I know that I’m going to continue to love volunteering there.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 10:06 PM | Permalink

Today was my first day volunteering at JSV. I was a little nervous when I got there but my nerves calmed down after a while. I volunteered with two other girls, one having volunteered at JSV for a really long time. It was really slow at first because of kids just getting out of school and probably the weather as well since the weather was nicer today than it has been. I was told that I could bring homework to work on at first if it is slow which is really nice. After a while, two or three kids came in to work on homework. I was very excited to help. First I helped a girl with decimals, fractions, and percentages. Surprisingly it was hard trying to remember how to complete each math problem; especially since I haven’t done such simple math since elementary school. Then, I helped a girl with some algebra. That wasn’t so bad, but it was interesting trying to explain to her how to do it without giving her the answer. Also, I know that it’s hard for the children as well because they’re under pressure trying to give you an answer to a problem. After that it became slow again. Finally, one of the girls wanted to play an educational game so we played Apples to Apples, which is a great game. It actually was educational because the girl had to sound out the words that she didn’t know and ask questions if she didn’t know what the word meant. That pretty much lasted the rest of the time I was there. Of course, the little girl won.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 9:17 PM | Permalink | Comments (3)

Monday I attended my first meeting for JSV (Jackson Street Village) where I will be doing my service-learning for this class. Although I missed the bus I was suppose to take and I was late, Adam, the advisor, was really nice about it. The orientation was short and sweet and there was another girl there with me as well. Adam and other co-workers explained more about the Wilder Foundation and also policies included with tutoring. Next week I actually start my volunteer work which I’m very excited to start doing but I’m also scared of how the kids are going to act. Hopefully I’ll be able to connect with them right away and it won’t be that awkward.

Tuesday we completed our peer reviews on the first rough draft of our papers. I really liked the process that we used in order to complete the peer reviews. Giving the author a chance to speak their mind first about the paper can really help the editors get a better insight at what to focus on when commenting on the paper and how to give better feedback. Although I found it really hard not to defend myself while others were giving feedback on my paper, it was really helpful because then I really listened to their suggestions. After listening then we were able to defend ourselves but it really wasn’t necessary because all the information I received was reasonable. After this paper, I’m not too excited to start my research paper even though it will be a lot easier for me to write.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 8:23 PM | Permalink

Thursday, we discussed the film “Our Song� in class. It was a pretty intense discussion because everyone is very opinionated. I was starting to get irritated by some of the strong opinions being voiced but I decided to keep my mouth shut, until a certain point. I don’t necessarily believe that “Our Song� is based completely on stereotypes because to be honest, the things that were displayed in the film do happen. Maybe these things, pregnancy, suicide, destitution, may not happen all at once but they can happen. Stereotypes are based on fact and on things that have happened, however, they are conveyed to the entire group based on one person. The movie was a way to show that these things happen. I know about these problems first hand because I use to live upstairs in a duplex with African-Americans living downstairs. They had problems like everyone else.
“Our Song� brought things into light and I really appreciated seeing this movie. My favorite character would probably have to be Lanesha. Despite the separation of her parents, she still made it work. She seemed very mature for her age, having already had an abortion herself, but staying strong for Maria who is going through a pregnancy herself. Also, I like Jocelyn purely because of her willingness to succeed. This is evident due to her dreams and goals that she has for herself. All in all, this was a great movie. However, I am having problems writing my paper on it only because I find it very hard to analyze a movie and then compare it to another.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 1:35 PM | Permalink | Comments (2)

After class on Tuesday, I was very excited to get home and contemplate which organization to volunteer for. All the speakers were very informative about their establishment and after listening to each one, it made it very difficult to decide. My major field of study is Pharmacy which is part of the heath field and I was positive that I wanted to do my service-learning for a heath-related business. But then, I learned about Jackson Street Village and the prospect peaked my interest. For some reason I felt like I could really do some good by tutoring others. Also, I think it will be very interesting to be able to work with people of all ages. I’m not fond of really small children but to be able to work with little children and also adults in high school will be different. Also, I am a huge advocate for education, and school in general so I hope by helping the kids that I will be able to make a difference in someone else's life. I was positive after hearing all the speeches that Jackson Street Village was the one for me.
When I got home I logged on to the service-learning website to do my referral. However, in the scroll-down box, Jackson Street Village wasn’t listed so I e-mailed Monica and she was able to change the website. I’ve already heard back and I’m excited to start my volunteer work. It will be a different environment that I’m not use to since I use to work in a hospital. The Children’s Hospital was my second choice though but nevertheless I’m glad about the choice that I made.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 2:34 PM | Permalink

Interestingly enough, I chose this class because I wanted to do something other than just writing. The 1011 composition class lacked my interest. My experience in community service is limited but I have done some work. My sophomore year, I volunteered in the pharmacy at our local hospital. I really liked doing so because it corresponded with my interest in Pharmacy and currently is my major. Also, I have done quite a bit of yard work for the elderly and have gone carolling at many nursing homes. Other than that, I haven't done much work. But I'm excited to begin to volunteer again and perhaps I'll be able to volunteer at a hospital again.

Posted by Tuesday McAuliffe at 12:00 PM | Permalink