Student Reflection

by Michelle Lee

When you walk into the second grade classroom, there is a bulletin board about the various attitudes that are conducive to a healthy learning environment. From the photo, examples of these attitudes include respect, enthusiasm, empathy, and integrity among many others. Not only are these qualities important for the students in the development of their character, they are also crucial for tutors and other community volunteers to possess as well. 
These sheets of paper are posted all throughout the school on bulletin boards in the hallways as well as at the main entrance. I was actually surprised that these kids were already learning very advanced words that I feel like I learned in middle school! One word that stands out to me the most is integrity; I see it everywhere, which suggests that it is something that is stressed a lot at Garden Hills. Telling the truth is something that I find extremely important to working in the community for both volunteers and community members. By being honest with each other, we are then able to build rapport with each other, improve our relationship, and strengthen community unity. 
Another word that caught my eye was respect. Respect is something that is stressed for children to learn, but I feel that it is even more so in the Latino community. Teaching children respect is not only for their elders, but for themselves and their fellow classmates as well. It is important for tutors to show respect for the people they work with and the new cultures that they are being exposed to. If my students ever tell me anything about their cultures that seem shocking to me, I try not to show that I am surprised but instead treat it as something interesting and something that I respect about their culture. 
I think that the attitudes listed on the bulletin board are crucial for the development of strong individuals. They are also important qualities to have as a volunteer in the community. It is critical to be tolerant of others, respect their cultures, show empathy to them, and cooperate on tasks among all the other characteristics listed. Working in SOAR has helped me put these traits into effect and shown me how having them can help make a positive change with the people I work with.

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

Vocabulary for Parent-Teacher Conferences

Image
I'm very happy that so many students responded to our community partner's need for help. Our students' language skills will help Central High School's Latino parents better communicate with the teachers during the parent-teacher conferences next week. Central's secretary will contact the students directly to schedule times with them. Here is some vocabulary help for students. Materias. School subjects are "materias" NOT "sujetos." You should remember subjects from your intro Spanish courses, but here are some reminders: historia, matemáticas, inglés, física, química, biología, educación física, etc. General vocabulary. Notas = grades; aprobar = to pass; suspender = to fail; conducta, comportamiento = behavior. Topics. Ms. Citraro offers the following advice: "The topics and vocabulary that would come up are about the subjects at school. For example: no ha entregado las tareas tiene que tomar el examen otra vez habla mucho en clase falta muc
Read more

How to Correctly File Hispanic Names

Image
I know that community-based learning students don't like it when they are asked to file during their time in the community. However, their learning goals are to improve their Spanish and knowledge of Latino cultures. Filing information on clients with Hispanic names helps them with both. And imagine the impact of mis-filing for the organizations where our students work and and their clients. That's why I was unhappy to learn that many SPAN 232 students did not do well on their exam section asking them to put some Hispanic names in alphabetical order. I can imagine that some students feel that putting names into alphabetical order isn't important. It is! It is especially important in the organizations where they work because they are dealing with clients who may not have "accommodated" to the American system of using only one last name. And it is especially important for clients whose papers are so important for their legal status, medical information and oth
Read more

Interview with Jessica Horn of ACCIÓN Chicago

Image
By Carolyn Kloecker , Span 232 student This past week I completed an assignment for my Business Communications class (SPCM 211) which was to interview someone in a field that I am interested in working for in the future. I asked her many questions about the organization, and lots of information can be found on their website www.accionchicago.org . This organization is a Community Partner with Spanish & Illinois, and has an extensive connection with the Spanish-speaking community in the Chicagoland area. Here are a few of the questions and answers from Jessica: Is ACCIÓN a fairly new organization? How did it begin? ACCIÓN Chicago started in 1994, but the parent organization, ACCIÓN was started in 1961. It is the largest micro-lending organization, and it began in Venezuela, and took root in the U.S. in 1991. How do loan officers communicate with clients? Mostly by phone, as people call in to the office to get a loan for their small business. The website is also a main form o
Read more