Extended Comments:
Like Sarah, i am also using Amanda's Blog for my extended comments blog because i know a few people that have been apart of their churches youth group and have done similar things as Amanda's church. My best friend before his confirmation had to participate in the same thing as Amanda's church group and fast for twenty four hours and sleep on the floor at the church. They did this because the church wants the kids to know what it feels like to be homeless. Even though it is only for a short amount of time it still really makes you think about what these people go through every night. Another thing that my friends church did was go to New Orleans after hurricane Katrina occurred. They went down there for a week and helped rebuild the churches and worked in soup kitchens to feed the people that were impacted by this tragedy. I have a ton of respect for my friend and his family for going there and helping all those people because they really did make a difference.
Another thing in Amanda's Blog that i really liked was when she said, "Service learning, no matter what type, is beneficial for everyone". I really like that she said this and completely agree with her. No matter what you are doing to help out your community, it matters. You may feel like you are doing something so small and not even think it matters but it does. Some one out there is grateful for what you are doing no matter how big or small of a task it is.
Something that i do that i don't really consider service learning is coaching a basketball team. I don't really consider this community service because i have just as much if not more fun than the kids do. It is something that i really enjoy doing and i know that the kids and parents really appreciate it because they tell me and my parents how nice it is for me to help out coaching the team.
What kind of service learning does everyone think they are doing in their VIPS classrooms? And are there other service learning projects that you take apart in, and do you enjoy doing them or do you just do it because you were told to or had to. Also with the VIPS tutoring do you think that if you only had to go to the classroom three times would you still be going now? Do you enjoy going or do you just go because you have to?
Great questions at the end, Luke. And given the rest of your post, what is the difference between Service Learning and Community Service?
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed reading your post! You made really good points here and I agree with what you said about how the littles things count! :)
ReplyDeleteI really like the quote "Service learning, no matter what type, is beneficial for everyone" as well. I sort of touched on that in my blog because in the end no matter if you are doing it for charity or for change, someone is affected. Sometimes it is more than just one person too. Like in VIPS, the children are benefitting from having an extra person in the room to help them, but we are also benefitting. We are getting great experience for our own classrooms. In my opinion, those kids are actually changing me more than I may be changing them.
ReplyDeleteMy highschool did something similar to the fasting idea that your friends church had. The hardest part for all of the students who participated was seeing the rest of the student body eating their lunches and watching them throw away food they didn't even it. They said it taught them a really good lesson and almost all of them became active members in community service organizations.
ReplyDeleteMarisa that quote that you liked was actually taken from Amanda's blog. I liked it so much that i used it in my own blog
ReplyDeleteFor the VIPS Service Learning, I think it is definitely change oriented. We are helping students learn vital information (most of it anyways) so that they can grow up and have bright futures. Even if they do not continue on with their education, they should have learned the social skills to be able to find a job. I love going to my school. We are only told to go for an hour and a half each week, but I go for almost 3.5 hours every week. Over spring break I visited when I didn't have to and I am going to continue to help my students until our semester is over. Not only is the VIPS program helping us, but it is also helping teachers and students. It may also open the eyes of the administration to new ideas, whatever those may be.
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