Service Learning 3

Snowball: 12+ hours
"Not just a state of mind but a way of life" This quote came from my second Snowball retreat: after returning for the weekend I realized that it must be true. I was so excited to return to Snowball because it had become a way of life while I was in high school I staffed and directed for the weekend retreat but this time it would be different. I wasn't on stage performing nor was I leading a small group so what was there to do? My duties included Lights out, wake up calls, locking cabins, and ensuring that the teen staff and directors had what was needed in order to make the weekend successful. The weekend began Friday night and by the time Saturday morning came I was exhausted. I can't really say that I learned anything directly from my duties but the large group speakers and returning home to something that I seem somewhat distant to taught me alot. On the train ride home I had hours to reflect my first month and a half at Coe...what a change from the Snowballer I once was. I decided that I needed to make some changes and those changes have proven to be successful and upon writing this entry I believe that I need to re-evaluate my life once again.

Service Learning 2

Zion Baptist Church- Tutoring 4 hrs.
I volunteered at Zion Baptist Church twice where my responsibilities included teaching students learning strategies. The first day that I went, I met all the children which was kind of nice to see African American students with the desire to learn and want to learn how to improve in areas that they were lacking in. During this day I helped a boy in sixth grade with a math worksheet, this was very interesting because he was having trouble understanding basic mathematical concepts. This came to a surprise to me because my cousin who is in the fourth grade was beginning to and had already grasped most of those concepts. The second time I went I worked with students teaching them how to read, well it was more like I taught them how to enunciate words and then they read a story to me. Overall the experience was interesting because I now understand the purpose of the no child left behind act. It is important because these students weren't grasping basic concepts in both reading and math yet they were expected to complete their homework assignment. This volunteer opportunity made me realize the importance of an education and now I am beginning to consider whether or not I would be able to survive as a teacher.

Service Learning 1

Description- Willis Dady: Men's shelter that houses two rooms containing four beds, the upstairs of the facility is for families and houses four families.
Reflection: Before we went to work, the project manager explained the purpose of the shelter and how the individuals came about entering the shelter. Basically the shelter was for single family fathers and some families whom had difficulties maintaining a household. We learned what was needed to sustain a basic household which was not the amount that some of them were making thus causing them to end up at the shelter. This project made me realize how the things that I take for granted should be valued and I should be very grateful because I could be alot worse off than what I am. Atleast I have basic necessities and have a place to call home. Volunteering here made me realize that may not be the career choice for me because I have such a big heart that I would not be able to turn away families and I would have to find or make a way before I gave up. I also realized that this career would be as stressful as others would tell me and that my best bet would be to volunteer on a regular basis.The work that we did here was considered valuable because we did what the project manager did not have time to do. The only thing we did was reorganize the food pantry and place items into storage containers, basically organization things. This project showed me that the small things in life are what really counts and makes a persons day.

ABC's of Communication

So what are communication skills? Based on the article the ability to properly use the communication cycle which consists of the source-encoding-channel-decoding-and the receiver, making sure the message is understood and interpreted well in each area. While reading this article I began to reflect on my own communication skills, I concluded that I have basic communication skills meaning I understand the process but lack strength in certain areas. I realized often when I communicate with others my message is sometimes unclear which is the beginning mistake. In order to ensure that the receiver understands my message I must have my thoughts organized in the beginning. The most interesting part of the article was the discussing on why communication skills are important, before reading this article I never thought of communicating in terms of a sender and receiver. I considered communication to involve two individuals having a conversation and interpreting what the other was saying. However the process is more complicated and involves many steps that must be clear in order for effective communication to take place. The article pointed out that "communication is only successful when both the sender and the receiver undersatand the same information as a result of the communication." I found this to be true because often when I have important conversations the individual and myself are on separate pages, which leads to confusion and carries the conversation on. Overall I took this away from the article: communication skills are important because they affect all aspects of our lives and they lead to great success. Having great communication skills not only allows you to communicate with others well but allows you to become more marketable in career terms. Who would have ever thought that having the gift of gab and using it properly could lead to having good communication skills?

Colors Tell All

Today we learned what color we are...interesting because it was kind of hard for me to find the perfect match. That is, until we did the calculation worksheet; before we did the actual calculations, I thought that I was more of a blue-green type of person because the childhood description was totally me but then the work description for blue was me too. However when we did calculations the numbers that I did added up to make me more of a blue-gold person. Nevertheless, I am simply a rainbow because I find myself in all colors.