Today I went on my first service learning experience at St. Thomas Aquinas. As soon as I arrived there, I noticed the neighborhood where it was located and the outside of the school. Everything was rundown, and there was trash lying on the ground everywhere. Once we got inside, I saw that the students were running around, eating snacks, and attempting to do their homework. After I signed in, I walked over to help some students with their homework. An eighth grade girl asked me to help her with her math homework. She was working on adding and subtracting fractions. Her class was much further behind than my eighth grade studies were. At her age, I was learning algebra. This fact made me realize that inner city schools were definitely lacking in the math department. I found it sad because I wanted her to be able to attempt more difficult problems.
After she left the afterschool program, I went over and helped a third grader finish her homework. She was assigned to read a poem to three different people. For only being eight years old, she definitely was a good reader. I was glad that her school at least was teaching the students how to read well. However, when I was playing with her later, she mentioned how much she hated her shoes. I asked her why, and she told me that her mom forced her to get them because they were the only shoes they could afford. This definitely made me feel guilty. Never have I been forced to buy a pair of shoes because they were the only ones I could afford. It made me feel sorry for her and her life situation. It has to be so rough to live life where you can't even buy a simple pair of nice shoes.
Today's experience has already made a great impact on my life, and I am looking forward for the weeks to come.
The questions I have for the reading are as follows:
1) While someone is being dispositioned, how can one learn to unknow and not-know?
2) How much does it take a person to get past their stereotypes and assumptions?
3) During the service learning experience, why did the participants feel confused and discomforted at times?
4) Before volunteering for these service learning experiences, how much were the participants aware of their work sites?
5) Has the knowledge and self-discovery the participants received stuck with them in their daily lives to this day?
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