One main aspect of
this class was the service learning project. Funny enough, I apparently missed
the memo and did not know that it was a service-learning class. I had two service
projects that fit in with my schedule, one being working with the elderly at Montefiore,
and the other tutoring middle-schoolers at Open Doors Academy at Miles Park. I
ended up opting for Open Doors, because I have a deep fear of nursing
homes/retirement homes, and I have a lot of prior tutoring experiences. While I
was hesitant about the idea of service, just because I worried that I would not
have the time, I was happy to return to tutoring. I had over one hundred
volunteer hours in high school from tutoring alone, so I expected to excel.
When my service
group began our time at service, what struck me was how under-resourced the
location was. For about twenty-five children, there were three staff members
present consistently. Also, all of these kids were located in one gymnasium,
and basically had free reign over what they did during the time they were
there. To add, the kids did not have their own textbooks. Helping them with
homework was a huge challenge due to this because several children had to share
one book, which is not a productive study skill. They did not have large access
to technology for research, only the staff members’ tablets. This was really
eye-opening. I’m not used to being in an environment where things such as books
are computers and a rarity.
Another issue was
making a connection with the kids there. John Carroll Students are in a
completely different environment than the kids at Open Doors. We are hugely
sheltered and privileged, and those kids really aren’t. This was a major
challenge. Because the kids were allowed to interact with their friends and get
nothing accomplished, more often than not I felt like I just sat around doing
nothing. I did make connections with a couple of the kids there, and I was more
than happy to assist them with their homework. This was the upside to going to
service every week.
Another aspect of
this class was “kick-off” lectures and guest speakers. I have to give a big
thumbs down to this. Three words: the water guy. To this day I don’t even know
what the point of that presentation was. That was possibly the worst lecture I
have ever had to attend. Also, some of the professor’s lectures weren’t that
great (Sorry, Dr. Palmer, but the best professor-done speech goes to Dr.
Shutkin solely on visual aids). Dr. Seither’s lecture on the digital divide
lacked student interest, and having students come up to do examples did not
help. Finally, I really like Dr. Peden as a person but that presentation with
the sticky notes bombed horribly. As for guest speakers, kudos to the
transgender speaker, Joyce Murton. Hands down, best day ever in FYS. That
really held my attention and I found it aspiring that she comes to talk to JCU
students every year.
Finally, the
videos get a mixed review. Sometimes it has been a bit of an issue for me to do
the assignments over the weekend when I’m home and a video gets assigned
because we have a bandwidth limit at my house and thus, cannot stream videos (a
slight part of the digital divide—oh, the irony). A little more notice would
have been nice on these occasions. Overall though, the content of the videos
was good. I really enjoyed the stream of videos we watched in class about the
digital divide in rural areas; it was very eye-opening. I also enjoyed the
first segment on what happens to cellphones and computers when we dispose of
them. It wasn’t something I had taken a lot of time to think about, mainly
because I did not have a cellphone until my graduation. It was something that I
had never needed to think about.
Overall I enjoyed
this class, but to a degree I found it semi-dull. I thought it repetitive and
mindless at times unfortunately but at others I found it fascinating. All in
all, though, I feel that’s not a horrible view to have on a college course.
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