Here is journal 4, due March 25th. Again, please remember to include your full name. Also, remember that grades may be found at: http://spreadsheets.google.com/ccc?key=0AuNqcZipjcc5dHhEcFRwN2l5NUVLdzMzTUp0Tm83UkE&hl=en. If you don't see your PIN, e-mail it to me. If you're unsatisfied with a grade, remember that there will be a make-up at the end of the semester. If you see a blank slot where you did something, let me know and we'll get it fixed!
In Green's discussion of Martin Luther King as a prophetic pragmatist, she notes that King “realized that there is generally less deep agreement in American political life about specific goals to be achieved than about the unacceptability of specific present realities” (139). She then goes on to explain that King was not only critical (of an unacceptable current situation) and idealistic (holding an image of the world as a better place), but that he recognized the importance of attainable goals that are grounded in reality.
It is easy to be critical (poverty is bad) and have a vague idea of what the world would look like if it were a better place (we need more education, equality, human rights, etc.). It is much more difficult to find widespread agreement of specific and realistic goals to work towards, as well as ways of reaching those goals.
Think about the social problem that your APPLES organization is addressing. Do you think that their method and goals are the most effective way to address this problem? If so, why do you think their model works? If not, what method or model do you think would work better, and why?
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The problem that my APPLES organization, St. Joe's Bread Ministry, is addressing is lack of access to nutritious food suffered by lower income people. Additionally, they are addressing the stigma attached with being poor and minoritized in this country. Although it does have its shortcomings (relatively small amount of people that it reaches, failing to pull people out of the cycle of dependency on free food services, lack of Spanish-speaking people to serve that community to the fullest) I would say that their method is pretty effective.
ReplyDeleteOne unique thing about St. Joe's Bread Ministry is that it allows the people it serves to chose their own food rather than being given a box of food that they may not even like or have knowledge of how to prepare. This allows the clients to maintain their dignity because they have a choice and control in a situation where most people would say "you should just be thankful for whatever we decide to give you", thus combating the stigma associated with most food pantries. This choice also promotes conversation between groups that may not otherwise communicate. When the volunteers listen with open ears and consideration to the opinions of the people they are serving, they are allowing all voices to be heard, which is one component of deep democracy for which Green argues.
Most importantly, St. Joe's Bread Ministry puts faces and personalities to the abstract social problem of hunger and poverty, thus making it easier to come up with specific solutions to combat the greater problem. I have gotten to know differently-socially-located people with whom I would have never thought to strike up a conversation. It's easier to see the progress that is being made against poverty when you can relate it back to a mother personally telling you that your services helped pull her family through a tough time versus just handing out food and hoping that it makes an impact on hunger and poverty.
The Bread Ministry model works because of the way that it promotes social interaction on a deeper human level and affords dignity to those that it serves.
My APPLES organization Abbey Court Human Rights Center addresses many social issues including human rights, social economic inequality, educational inequality, etc. We UNC students work with other volunteers including elementary school teachers. Together, we try to help local Latino and other minority groups’ children. These children are educationally, economically behind compare to the rest of the society. Our methods include building a friendship with these children, volunteer helping them with math, reading, and science, and spend quality times together with them. Our goals are to help these children to excel in academics, to have a bright future, to be able to educate their children in the future, unlike some of their parents who are not capable of reading and solving mathematics problems. So far, our methods and goals are working well. As we have more and more students come. Some of them have homework to do, some of them just come and hang out with college students, and there are also some children who come here to meet new friends.
ReplyDeleteEvery time I go to the Center, there is a sense of coziness and joy at the Center and among these children. I think it is a great place for them to grow and learn. College students often go there to help them with homework, check their math homework, help them reading, and guide them through tough assignments. There are also times where college students and these children play board games together, draw together, or do other fun activities together. Through bonding with college students, these children no longer feel left out from the rest of the society, no longer fall behind their classmates at school. This approach solves problems such as educational inequality.
There were times when college students or college student organizations brought donations to the center where local families could receive some food and other commodities. Last year we organized a can food donation event and then distributed all of them to the community. Our method here solves economic inequality.
We have seen progress of these children’s academic performance at school. Many students received much better grades since they started coming to the center regularly. It is truly encouraging, and these children even want to come during their breaks, when they have no school. As long as we bring a warm heart to the Center and help out, we will solve many problems and issues that are presented in today’s society.
-Ray Dong
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ReplyDeleteThe main social problem that my APPLES organization is addressing is the inequality of education. This is a rather important issue, especially given the current situation in Wake County of ending busing for economic diversity and promoting “neighborhood” schools. Although I volunteer in Orange County in Chapel Hill, the repercussions of this decision resonate throughout the entire US education system. One foreseeable problem with this new system is that the schools that are already at an economic disadvantage compared to other schools will become even more disadvantaged with the beginning of neighborhood schools. Due to the fact that majority of minorities reside in minority populated neighborhoods, the new neighborhood schools will not be economically diverse and subsequently will not have the same resources as other schools – arguably something akin to re-segregation (this comment only touches the tip of the iceberg and does not even delve into statistics that show that low-income minority students perform at higher levels when surrounded by middle class whites). I see the effects of segregated schooling every time I volunteer at Communiversity. The children that attend the Communiversity program in which I volunteer attend schools that consist of an overwhelming minority population of blacks and Hispanics. These children are often at a disadvantage because they do not receive the educational reinforcement of what they learn in school in their home environment because their parents are often working to support the family and do not have adequate time to devote to their child’s education. For some of the children, the only supplementary work they do outside of school is done during their short 2 hours spent at Communiversity.
ReplyDeleteOne of the most important ways in which the program addresses this social problem is through personal tutoring and homework help. The program is fortunate enough to have enough volunteers for each child to have personal 1:1 attention each day. This helps the student build self confidence in what they are doing because they do not have to be compared to the level of achievement or reading pace of others in the program. Often times we here “I can’t do it” (which personally bothers me), but with the personal attention and help, they are able to see that they CAN complete harder math problems or pronounce big words. This 1:1 model works well for the children that attend the program because they are able to gain close relationships with the volunteers, who in turn are able to tailor their approach to the individual student and their learning difficulties while building a mentor-like relationship with the participants.
I volunteer at a pre-school class in Carrboro Elementary school, and a social problem I see is that half of the kids will be repeating pre-school next year. I haven’t talked to my supervisor much about why they are being held back; she tells me some of the kids just don’t get it. A majority of the kids being held back are children of immigrants who recently came to America. Naturally, they would have a more difficult time reciting numbers and letters in English when this is their first experience of immersion into the English language. Still, I believe that they have a strong grasp of the concepts. They know how to count in their native language. They know the alphabet and understand other basic pre-school concepts. I think holding them back is not what they truly need. The children can learn these pre-school concepts quickly and to make them spend another year reviewing the concepts seems wasteful to me when that’s not the problem. The problem is that they don’t speak English, and I firmly believe that the best way of learning English is through further immersion in the language, and these kids will have that in kindergarten. I think that this is representative of the problem we have in our society. We spend too much time focusing on a cookie-cutter education rather than cultivating the strengths of each child. If each child is different, how can we expect them to learn in the same ways? I would like to clarify that I do believe that every child should be educated, but I think that the system needs to take into consideration that these things may be expressed differently. I went to a low-income school, and there were students there who were brilliant but fell through the cracks of the system. They knew as much math, science, and literature as I did, but they didn’t care about tests or assignments. They had to do the year over, but I honestly don’t believe that what they needed was to re-learn the material. What they needed was a way to express their knowledge. I’m not sure how to solve this, but I think individual attention would benefit them. I think that it would be more productive to give a child one-on-one instruction that allows them to review these concepts with a child. I think we could gauge their true knowledge and abilities in a one on one situation rather than on a random bubble sheet. If they need more instruction, I think these kids should go to summer school or do additional homework rather than repeating a year.
ReplyDeleteThe social problem that my APPLES organization is addressing is a lack of support for ESL students. In order to solve this problem I have been sent to tutor several ESL children. ESL children require a different kind of teaching. I have been trained to teach these children in an interesting way. Instead of simply explaining to them what words mean, I show them pictures or act out the words. Luckily there is no need for me to know their native language. In fact, not knowing their native language is better because it keeps them from using it at all during our sessions.
ReplyDeleteWhile I definitely believe that my tutoring sessions are helping these students, I think that there are many other ways to help solve their social problem. I propose that these students be given reading/socializing partners. The partners could simply be one of their English speaking peers. The partners could spend an hour or so everyday reading or talking with one another. I think that the more these children are forced to read English and speak English with their peers, the better!! I propose this plan because I often see my ESL students only interacting with other ESL students. As a result, they are not getting as much interaction with the English language as they could be getting.
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ReplyDeleteFor my APPLES assignment, I am volunteering with a Pre-Kindergarten classroom. The social problem that they are facing would be the lack of resources to specialists and the inequality of learning for all students. Currently, the classroom that I volunteer with is hosting approximately sixteen children. Three of these children are living with developmental disorders such as Autism and ADHD. Even though there are specialist that are able to come in to the classroom at select times of the day, these children are being mainstreamed into a classroom of normally developing children who know that they are different from the children with disabilities. Sometimes the school model works when the Autistic and ADHD children are having “good days,” but when the have difficult days there is a definite problem with the lack of specialist who are able to work with these children.
ReplyDeleteI believe that a better model would be one where at least one teaching assistant worked one-on-one with these children throughout the school day when a specialist is not available. By doing so, the children would be able to experience the school environment with their peers, as well as, have individual support if it was needed.
Similarly, since there are many children in the classroom with a large spectrum of needs, it is difficult provide adequate levels of learning to all of the children each day. Currently, class proceeds as follows: circle time, breakfast, centers, outside play, lunch, naptime, and circle time. If anything, this regimen encourages independence, but there are times when the children could use more one-on-one learning with the teacher or groups to facilitate adequate levels of learning.
I suggest that incorporating one center per day where the teacher or teaching assistant teaches science, math, reading, etc… to children in the group will facilitate a more equal level of learning for both the children who are developing normally and those who have developmental disorders.
For change to take place and for success to be accomplished, I feel that the teachers, parents, and administrators must provide their input about the situation. All views should be considered and any decisions should be made in the best interest of the children. In accordance with the readings, I feel that Green would agree with this approach.
We dream big. Whenever we think of what we should do and what we can do we more often than not drift into an idealistic state of faux-reality, in which all things seem possible with hard work. In addressing all of the problems of the world, it is easy to come up with solutions and it is easy to imagine all problems and issues corrected. It is a natural tendency of humans, however people do not seem to take in consideration the time, commitment, resources, effort, determination, etc that are involved in making any substantial change in order to correct a problem. I feel as if this applies to my Apples Project at Carolina Apartments (and Abbey Court).
ReplyDeleteThe main issue that our efforts are attempting to overcome is educational resources, such as tutoring and resources, to children in disadvantaged homes or school districts. Every Wednesday when I show up for my volunteering at Carolina Apartments, I see our efforts not being wasted in vain, however I see the overall issue of fully providing these children with comparable resources for educational advancement not being fully solved. As volunteers, we can only do so much. I feel as if our method of merely assisting the children is not going to obliterate the disadvantages these children face. The parents need to be involved in our efforts in correcting the problem. Often times the children’s parents cannot assist them with their homework, so the children seek our help, however the education/tutoring cannot stop at the center for those two hours.
What about the rest of the children’s time? Are they still being assisted and positively influenced we are not there? What about the parents? Are they being provided with resources to better help their children, such as educational services/camps/programs to send their children to? Are they involved at all? I feel as if incorporating parents in the solving the issue will further assist in solving the problem. If the children see their parents doing their all to assist not only them as their children, but also themselves as parents, the children may be further influenced and utilize our services and resources more completely, rather than taking it for granted as a way to just get answers for their homework.
--Chelsea Journigan
For my APPLES placement, I am tutoring at Glenwood Elementary. I volunteer in Mr. Kennedy’s 1st grade class. This classroom has between 20 and 25 students of very diverse backgrounds. Diversity in this classroom goes beyond race and gender and even incorporates the socioeconomic background of these children. Many so that the more money one has the better opportunity that individual has to receive a better education and thus a better life. For example, it has been noted that middle class children are read to more often because the child has the resource of a stay at home parent or caretaker. This presents a big advantage for the middle class child over the lower class child. In Chapel Hill, many students are given the resources needed to succeed. The schools in Chapel Hill are among the best, and Glenwood Elementary is not too far from that standard.
ReplyDeleteI do realize that Mr. Kennedy understands that not everyone in the class is on the same playing field. Some are more advance academically. So, instead of giving up, he has instituted a reading program that addresses the needs of each child and challenges them to continue to achieve. Also, the children have literacy stations in which they learn poetry, math, spelling, and reading. Poverty exists, but goal have been presented to overcome this obstacle. Mr. Kennedy has moved from an idealistic approach to an approach that challenges and addresses each of these issues. This model has seemed to work really well. I have tutored six students since the beginning of my APPLES placement. Each student was on a different level academically, but I have seen him or her grow and get better each day. I really like this model and how effective it has been to overcome obstacles of socioeconomic backgrounds and the advantages that some students have over the other students. However, I would like to see this model continue to grow. I would like to see the children interact with each other more. I know they have reading groups, but because the children are so active, there needs to be more volunteers or assistants to help Mr. Kennedy. In addition, I would try to continue to seek new books for the students but there is only a limited supply for them. With this being said, I believe this model is working efficiently.
Hakeem Salib Rizk
Lorenzo Neal Hopper
ReplyDeleteFor my APPLES assignment, I am volunteering with a 1st grade classroom at Glenwood Elementary School. The problem that they are facing would be the difference in the reading levels of the students as well as lack of resources to accommodate those students learning at different rates. I believe there are about 20 1st grade students and I have read with the same 5 students since the beginning of the semester, all of which who are on different reading levels lower than the rest of the class. I have not been informed that any of these students have any type of learning disability and there are a lot of different volunteers that come in to help out in the classroom. Even though there is a little extra help coming in from outside sources, these students who desperately need extra attention are thrown in the same learning activities as the students who are more advanced. So when I arrive it looks as if the slower learning students are singled out and forced to go read for extra help. With the way things are right now I feel that the 5 students I work with will be held back in the 1st grade. With a better system in the classroom the students can work together, learn from each other and feel more comfortable in their classroom setting.
The teacher is doing a wonderful job with the students, but I feel that the model he has is addressing the student’s different reading needs while manifesting a social problem. I believe that this problem could have a rather easy solution. A better model would be one where at least one teaching assistant worked one-on-one with these students and by placing them in some of the same work group less attention is paid to exactly how they are performing. By doing this, the children would be able to experience the school environment with their peers, as well as, have individual support if it was needed from the teaching assistant. As Green suggests in the readings, for change to take place and for success to be accomplished, I feel that the teachers, assistants, and administrators must provide their input about the situation and work together.
The broad social problem addressed at the Human Rights Center is inequality between Caucasians and essentially all other races. The population at the Center is generally made up of Hispanic children, Burmese immigrants and children whose parents moved from their country because of oppression (i.e. all but Caucasian children). The majority of time is spent addressing the educational inequality that exists in the schools these children attend. The volunteers work with each individual child on his/her homework and confirm that he/she is ready for the next day of school. In addition, the Center provides a safe environment to play so that the inequality of housing location does not have a large negative effect on the children.
ReplyDeleteI believe that the best method at the Center to address the inequality in education is the one-on-one tutoring program. A new program is being put into place to give children a second chance to pass their End of Grade exams. We are just beginning to test this program, but from what I have seen in the past week, it is very beneficial for the children. I believe that the goal (giving children of low socioeconomic status an equal chance to pass each school grade) is the most effective way to address this problem, but I am slightly concerned about the method implementation.
I have not seen widespread agreement and participation in these method to accomplish this goal. The after hours one-on-one program has not been widely advertised and it does not have the staff support that it needs. To me, it seems that everyone is not behind the program; if everyone agreed on the method I believe there would be more volunteers. Granted this is a new program and it needs time to improve, but I am still concerned about the method.
I think that a meeting should take place with all volunteers and parents that use the Center and everyone should discuss what they feel is the best way to address inequality in education. A step-by-step process that everyone can agree on and accept would be ideal. I propose that the program is implemented everyday (instead of whenever a volunteer can come) and a schedule is made according to which children need the most time. Creating an organized and efficient program would provide greater benefits for the children and work to combat inequality. Of course, everyone would have to agree on any plan put into action, but widespread agreement of the path leading to the goal would be a major step in the right direction.
I work with the Community Empowerment Fund, and we try to address homelessness and poverty by providing savings programs and microloans for things that can further employment (such as small business start up costs, housing deposits, cell phones in some cases, etc.). As humans we have the tendency to think we can solve all problems in a snap. The problem with that is that we're not realistic about what we can and cannot feasibly do. This has become very important with CEF lately, and we have recently restructured the program to have a strong emphasis on the savings programs before loan eligibility because we feel as though we were becoming a crisis provider for individuals in tough places economically. Organizations that help in crises are definitely needed in our community, but CEF saw that this was not the best way to address the specific problems that we were trying to address.
ReplyDeleteI really like the fact that CEF as an organization is aware of what their goals are (to provide assistance to individuals experiencing or at risk of experiencing homelessness through savings/loan programs to help these individuals become empowered), and that they are proactive enough to evaluate progress and make changes to the program when it is discovered that something isn't working. Some organizations attempt to solve all of the world's problems in one place, but if we all do our small part phenomenally, the world will be changed!
Unlike many organizations that work with many of the same individuals that CEF works with, CEF does not provide handouts to people. Strong personal relationships are established between CEF officers and savers/borrowers and I feel that this truly makes a difference in how CEF services are seen by the public. We strive to change the world, but I feel we are going about it in a way that is truly effective in reaching individuals who really want to and are capable of changing their lives. By providing these services, we attempt to end the perpetuation of poverty by allowing individuals the means to rise out of homelessness (hopefully to never return).
I once addressed this same prompt in a full out critique and analysis of my organization last semester. Understanding one of the overarching purposes of my organization as striving to provide a specific list of human rights to the members of the Carrboro community, I found that the methods were slightly unbalanced and therefore partially ineffective. For the purpose of this assignment, I will focus on another social problem.
ReplyDeleteOne of the main human rights that should be granted to the members of the Carrboro community that is not being facilitated by any other organization besides the Human Rights Center is the right to fair labor and compensation. I am focusing on this right versus the other rights because the right to education, is somewhat being handled in the schools; and the right to education for adults is offered at various centers around Orange County. The most evidence social problem in Abbey Court is poverty and the reasons behind it. One of the main reasons is the lack of steady employment amongst Abbey Court residents;poverty is also perpetuated by the lack of fair wage compensation among the residents. To tackle this issue, Dr.Blau and Raphael have planned reoccurring meetings and seminars hosted at the Abbey Court Center to allow residents to come find information about knowing when they are being wronged in employment and where to seek help. I think the objective of the seminars and meetings had great intentions, but there is a foreseen lack of follow up on both ends. The residents are attending the reoccurring, inconsistently scheduled meetings, but they are only leaving with information and no real insight as to how to proceed if the problem persists.
I think it would be necessary to follow up or include in each seminar a list of employees that are currently looking for help. Plan these seminars to occur weekly and let the residents know the schedule. Sign contracts with the employees that are provided on the list. Work with the residents of Abbey Court to find the reasons as to why they are not able to maintain steady employment: language barriers, lack of transportation, lack of education and once these reasons have been identified, construct a plan to improve them. The most important piece of this constructed plan is that it should be 80% contributions from the residents and 20% contributions from the assistants. With this contribution breakdown, we can ensure that residents will take some self-responsibility in carrying out the plan because it is truly their plan.
This was the main critique I found with the program and it's methods of solving social problems. The center was reenacting in an expert sense, meaning going in and making changes and suggestions without the community input. The suggestions or changes will not be effective, accepted or appreciated if they are not the true wants and needs of the community.
-Danielle Staggers
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ReplyDeleteCurrently the people of Haiti, the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere, are struggling to rebuild the basic foundations of their society that have been destroyed as a result of an earthquake. From my perspective, when a natural disaster occurs, the world community is quick to respond. Governments show their concern by offering food, water, medical supplies, or military support. Heels for Haiti also hopes to raise money by selling wristbands to benefit Haiti. This type of small scale relief effort illustrates a more effective, realistic way of reaching our community's goals.
ReplyDeleteHeels for Haiti originated on the campus of UNC by a group of students all living along the east coast of the United States. With this being said, our group had no direct affiliation with Haiti. Over the past 2 months, our hard work has helped bring hope to not only the people of Haiti, but also those within our own community. For example, when selling wristbands at the UNC Hospitals, our group was praised by a doctor who believed that "little acts of kindness" are contagious and ultimately lead to change. By raising awareness in the Chapel Hill area, our group is helping change our own community by making people feel RESPONSIBLE for the needs of others. There is no question that a check from the US government for $10 million is extremely helpful for the community of Haiti, however, our monetary contribution, as well as, our ability to motivate those around us is what eventually covers ground.
I believe we are on the right track for change because, in my opinion, change starts at the smallest form and, if effectively implemented, starts a "domino effect' all the way to the top!
-Michael Jarvis
The social problem that my APPLES organization, the Bread Ministry at St. Joseph’s, is addressing is primarily that of hunger and more specifically, a lack of access to healthy foods for people with low incomes. They address this problem by collecting perishable foods from local grocery stores in the area and distributing them to people of need in the community. This is a method similar to that used by many other food pantries, but one thing that makes the Bread Ministry different from other food pantries is that it allows its visitors to choose what foods they want rather than simply being handed a preassembled box of food items. By giving people a say in what food they receive, the Bread Ministry makes this process of distributing food to low income people a more dignified one than it might otherwise be. Granted, the Bread Ministry is not doing much to eliminate the need for such services, and some might even argue that they are only furthering people’s dependence on such services, however, all in all it seems they are doing a great job of addressing the social problem of hunger in our area. They successfully gather hundreds of pounds of food a day that would otherwise be thrown out, and make it readily available to those who need it. Also, because at St. Joseph’s there are no questions asked about why someone is there or using their services, there is less or a negative stigma associated with getting food from this pantry.
ReplyDeleteFor my APPLES assignment I am an ESL volunteer with Chapel Hill and Carrboro City Schools. This community has a large amount of immigrants from many different countries from around the world and the ESL program is working with the children who are brought here by their parents. ESL stands for English as a Second Language and is tackling the social problem that these children have of not being able to communicate in their new community. The way the program is structured, there is no need for any of the ESL teachers, staff, or volunteers to know the native languages of these children. These children learn English through complete immersion. There are tools that help us communicate with these children such as flash cards, miming, and picture dictionaries that show a picture of something, the word in English, and the word in the child’s native language. These picture dictionaries are especially helpful when the children already have a basic literacy in their native language.
ReplyDeleteOverall, I think the ESL program does a very good job of helping these children learn to communicate with their teachers, peers, and anyone else that they may come in contact with in the community. I have seen great progress in the two children that I have been helping since the beginning of the semester. They have both gone from being timid about the alphabet to being able to read some very basic books and spell some words that are commonly used in English. In regards to the education component this program is excellent, however, I feel that it is lacking somewhat in helping these children adapt to their new schools socially. The children are together for three thirty minute sessions a week in the ESL classroom and the rest of the time they are in a traditional classroom. I spend time with my two children in both of these settings and it is amazing how much happier and more involved they are when they are around other children who speak their native language. This comfort of having a more advanced ESL student available to help translate difficult words for them puts the kids more at ease.
I think that more needs to be done to set up partnerships for these students in the traditional classroom. The little girl that I help has this in her classroom, she has a family friend who is fluent in both English and Korean and is also in her first grade class. This other child helps direct her where to go and can give her basic information on the given assignments for the day. On the other hand, the little boy that I tutor does not have this. There is another child in the classroom that speaks both English and Korean yet nothing has been done to pair them up or even have them sit at the same table in the classroom. I think if this change were made he may have an easier time making friends and could get his ideas across to his teachers and peers. As these children continue to learn the language socialization will come much more naturally, but until they become more fluent they should be supported socially so they do not develop feelings of isolation.
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ReplyDeleteMy APPLES organization, The Blue Ribbon Mentoring Advocate is focused primarily on helping students of all ages and socioeconomic backgrounds with their academic school work. The BRMA organization's purpose is to help students get the most out of their education and school while creating an atmosphere conducive to the expansion of their intellectual boundaries, especially away from harmful environments and communities students may be exposed to. Although the program is open to everyone, we primarily see students from lower socioeconomic backgrounds come to our centers. The program is aimed at helping these students catch up to other students to have a better competitive chance at a higher education. I find these goals to be realistic and effective in bringing up a younger and more well-educated generation, but I find the methods to be flawed and sometimes counter-intuitive. The program randomly pairs students with mentors without evaluating if the mentor is suitable for the students. Even though my math skills is sub-par, the program paired me with Maggie, who usually needs help with her math work. However, during group tutoring sessions, there are usually a number of tutors with various skills and attributes, which allows the students to choose the mentor that is right for him/her. The program still needs to create workshops and a systematic plan to develop better teaching skills for the mentors and creating a better match between students and mentors in terms of academic subjects and even personalities to make the program more organic.
ReplyDeleteWith these changes to the program, I believe that the model created by the BRMA program is effective within its own goals and purpose to help students with their academics, especially for those who can not afford outside assistance. Having a better connection both on a academic level and personal level will help mentors develop into better role-models for the students and create an image young students can strive for.
I volunteer with the Frank Porter Graham after school program and the social problem that my APPLES site address is educational inequality, which is also interconnected with social and economic inequality. The main method used is tutoring the students in different subject areas, with a huge focus on reading. Everyday that I am there, the supervisor encourages the students to read the volunteers after they finished their homework. It is very important that are able to read and understand what the stories are about because those basic skills are the building blocks for learning and dealing with life situations later on in life. I believe that the method itself effective, but it is not enough to curve the educational and socioeconomic inequalities. We only meet with children for a short amount of time Monday through Thursday and it's only during the school year. If the program was able to run year long, then I think tutoring (and mentoring) would have a significant effect on lessening certain inequalities these students face. If we build relationships with the students and try to help them in more than just academics, the students would benefit more overall from our help because inequality is not one-dimensional. In my opinion, this is the problem with many programs. They only focus on one aspect of an issue to something that is very complex and intertwined.
ReplyDeleteMonica Brunache
The APPLES organization St. Josephs Baptist Church Bread Ministry addresses many social issues when it comes down to getting the proper food to the less fortunate in the surrounding community. Even though this wonderful program has only been helping out the Chapel Hill area community, it is open to everyone. In the wide scheme of things, there would not be a big group of people coming from too far away to get food from the bread ministry. In a sense that would defeat the purpose of needing a bread ministry if you can travel that far to get needed food. Overall the method that St. Joseph’s Bread ministry has been using the past couple of years has worked tremendously and is very effective.
ReplyDeleteThe model that St. Joseph’s Bread Ministry goes by is they pick people randomly by pulling numbers out of a hat to go into the building and get the specified number of items that they may need. The two good things about this is that people do not have to wait in line all day long just to get a small amount of groceries, they can show up right before 4 o’clock and have the same equal chance as everyone else. Also the other good thing is, they can pick what they would prefer or not prefer to eat rather than someone pre-picking it for them and most of the food goes to waste. By allowing the people to do this, it allows to volunteers to be able to carry on conversation, as well as help the people get the necessary items that they need. The people of St. Joseph’s Baptist Church Bread Ministry are always open to new ideas on improving the situation at hand. At the Bread Ministry, constructive criticism is all one needs. I feel that in accordance to the reading and Dr. Kings views, Green would agree as well.
Phillip Scotton
Andrea Solorzano
ReplyDeleteThe School Reading Partners (SRP) is a volunteer organization that directly addresses the problem of literacy among our youth, by directly providing one on one reading time to students who lag behind their classmates in terms of their reading level. On the surface, SRP is doing an absolutely excellent job as they are trying to improve the social problem of education by getting to the root of the issue. By serving elementary school children starting from pre-k, SRP is starting with the young in the hopes of creating a better educated population for the future. The issue of education, with specific regards to literacy, however, is an issue that is complicated by the current population of Spanish-speaking immigrants in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area. The population SRP serves is not simply English speaking children who aren’t getting enough learning experiences from both home and school, but they also have to serve Spanish-speaking children who are in perhaps greater need of a tutor to increase their reading skills in the English language. Moreover, not only does SRP advocate for increased reading time in English, but they now complement Scrogg Elementary’s dual reading program. This means that SRP is also providing students with tutors that will increase their Spanish speaking and reading skills. As you can see, the social problem SRP initially set out to improve is changing in nature and the organization has had to accommodate according to needs. Plans to resolve or improve a specific problem that is observed in society or in your local community cannot be stringent; they must be willing to change according to changes in the situation affecting the social problem. This is a very important lesson that I have been able to learn throughout my experience at my volunteer site. I do think that SRP has been realistically effective in its efforts to address the current social problem of education in the state of North Carolina. This is primarily because they are able to provide tutors or readers for students who need it, regardless of any language barrier, ethnicity/race, class, or level of ability. SRP is an organized organization that provides its volunteers with the opportunity to make the most of their experience. As a volunteer, I feel that I received important orientation training before going to Scroggs Elementary in a way that made me feel better prepared to read with these children in an effective manner.
(Andrea Solorzano- continued Journal entry)
ReplyDeleteThe formal requirements of volunteering, such as making sure to sign-in and record the specific books you read with specific children, and any notes about the child, is done so in a very independent manner which I honestly enjoy a lot. There is no one checking up on me the entire time or making sure that I read with everyone I’m supposed to. I like this because I feel that we are all adults and I have to assume responsibility for what I signed up to do. As such, it is my job to ask any questions I may have or voice any comments or opinions as I need fit. We do get occasional reminder emails by Susan Pierce, who is the coordinator of SRP. She is very approachable and amiable. Getting in touch with her is always easy and she always responds to emails quickly. By giving volunteers independence in their reading experiences with the children, SRP shows confidence in us and shows us a level of trust that most people do not want to betray. Overall, I’m happy with my volunteering at SRP because I feel that I am truly contributing to the improvement of the social problem of literacy rates and education in general. I think that King’s contribution to deep democracy in his sense of “prophetic moral leadership” is still very present and necessary in order to improve our society today (Green 138). I highly regard King’s approach in addressing social issues, as I feel that not only do we need to establish realistic and attainable goals, but we must also maintain a sense of idealism. Without dreams there is no hope. On a international scale, especially in the example of the Millenium development goals, it is important to be idealistic and not realistic. Our world will forever have social issues that need to be resolved. If only set attainable goals, then it means that our work is done and this is by definition impossible in world whether to err is to be human.
This semester I have had the opportunity to work with two different APPLES group that are taking very different approaches to addressing their problems. In the time I have spent at the Human Rights Center it is clear that the center does not see money as a priority (which is a great thing). Young kids come to the center as an after school day care program where they can get help with school work, play games, or just hang out with other attendees. If I am correct the center asks for little, if any, compensation from the attendees parents/guardians. The center is addressing the problem of kids not having anywhere to go after school while their parents are at work by providing an establishment with supervision. The method works because there are not many alternatives but there are ways it can be improved. If the center were a little more organized I feel we could fit more kids in and the kids may be more productive. This may be at the expense of the kids enjoying themselves and the opportunity to wind down after the school day but it may be of greater good to the society.
ReplyDeleteThe other organization I have been working with is Heels for Haiti. Heels for Haiti aims to raise money for the people affected by the natural disasters of Haiti by selling bracelets. The money raised from the bracelets will be donated to the country to help in its recovery efforts. More importantly it reminds the individuals who purchase the bracelets about how the people of Haiti are being affected and looks to influence their daily decisions. The bracelets is something you will look at every day and when individuals look down and see the bracelet we hope that they think about what they can do to make a difference. Heels for Haiti has been successful in raising money for Haiti and has also impacted other human rights each day by influencing individuals actions in a positive manner and I would not change our plan of action.
-Ryan Flanagan
(Andrea Solorzano)
ReplyDeleteThe School Reading Partners (SRP) is a volunteer organization that directly addresses the problem of literacy among our youth, by directly providing one on one reading time to students who lag behind their classmates in terms of their reading level. On the surface, SRP is doing an absolutely excellent job as they are trying to improve the social problem of education by getting to the root of the issue. By serving elementary school children starting from pre-k, SRP is starting with the young in the hopes of creating a better educated population for the future. The issue of education, with specific regards to literacy, however, is an issue that is complicated by the current population of Spanish-speaking immigrants in the Chapel Hill/Carrboro area. The population SRP serves is not simply English speaking children who aren’t getting enough learning experiences from both home and school, but they also have to serve Spanish-speaking children who are in perhaps greater need of a tutor to increase their reading skills in the English language. Moreover, not only does SRP advocate for increased reading time in English, but they now complement Scrogg Elementary’s dual reading program. This means that SRP is also providing students with tutors that will increase their Spanish speaking and reading skills. As you can see, the social problem SRP initially set out to improve is changing in nature and the organization has had to accommodate according to needs. Plans to resolve or improve a specific problem that is observed in society or in your local community cannot be stringent; they must be willing to change according to changes in the situation affecting the social problem. This is a very important lesson that I have been able to learn throughout my experience at my volunteer site. I do think that SRP has been realistically effective in its efforts to address the current social problem of education in the state of North Carolina. This is primarily because they are able to provide tutors or readers for students who need it, regardless of any language barrier, ethnicity/race, class, or level of ability. SRP is an organized organization that provides its volunteers with the opportunity to make the most of their experience.
As a volunteer, I feel that I received important orientation training before going to Scroggs Elementary in a way that made me feel better prepared to read with these children in an effective manner. The formal requirements of volunteering, such as making sure to sign-in and record the specific books you read with specific children, and any notes about the child, is done so in a very independent manner which I honestly enjoy a lot. There is no one checking up on me the entire time or making sure that I read with everyone I’m supposed to. I like this because I feel that we are all adults and I have to assume responsibility for what I signed up to do. As such, it is my job to ask any questions I may have or voice any comments or opinions as I need fit. We do get occasional reminder emails by Susan Pierce, who is the coordinator of SRP. She is very approachable and amiable. Getting in touch with her is always easy and she always responds to emails quickly. By giving volunteers independence in their reading experiences with the children, SRP shows confidence in us and shows us a level of trust that most people do not want to betray. Overall, I’m happy with my volunteering at SRP because I feel that I am truly contributing to the improvement of the social problem of literacy rates and education in general. I think that King’s contribution to deep democracy in his sense of “prophetic moral leadership” is still very present and necessary in order to improve our society today (Green 138). I highly regard King’s approach in addressing social issues, as I feel that not only do we need to establish realistic and attainable goals, but we must also maintain a sense of idealism. Without dreams there is no hope. On a international scale, especially in the example of the Millenium development goals, it is important to be idealistic and not realistic. Our world will forever have social issues that need to be resolved. If only set attainable goals, then it means that our work is done and this is by definition impossible in world whether to err is to be human.
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI tutor at Carolina Apartments. The social problem this organization is addressing is the lack of resources for underprivileged kids and immigrant communities. I believe that my APPLES organization’s goals and methods to address this social problem is very effective. I believe the best way to address this is at the root of the problem. The biggest thing is getting the schools to understand that there is a problem to be addressed. FPG actually came to the HRC and requested their own program. They took the initiative to meet some of the needs of these kids that are not on the same playing field of most American children. I think the model of a after school center works because we are trying to bridge the gap between the scholastic achievement of the kids. Most of these children’s parents work so much, just to make ends meet, that they do not have time to sit their kids down to read, to do their homework, and to reinforce their learning from school. Many parents do not even speak English. The tutors at this program give support to these kids that they might not get at home.
ReplyDeleteThe human rights center attempts to give immigrants and their children a fighting chance in the community. It provides the children with help on their homework so they can achieve academic excellence even if English isn't their first or dominant language. It provides translating and council services to the immigrant parents that need it. The Center wants to make sure that these people are receiving the services and treatment they deserve as humans and that they're not being taken advantage of. I believe the Center is taking the best method in attacking this problem because it doesn't only try to make a difference by getting legislation passed, which takes forever and is usually not followed in reality, it takes on a hands on, everyday, on the ground approach which is always the most effective and successful way of achieving such a goal. It works because they're literally and physically helping people everyday, instead of just having words written down on an official document which may or may not be followed.
ReplyDelete-Steven Quintero
In my Apples organizations, Military Mentorship, we focus on an array of issues that have profound underlying social problems. Our primary focus is to instill a sense of educational importance to all of our current and formal military veterans. Wherein this seems like an easy and appropriate goal, it is not without its complications. It is easy to say that you want to help a soldier become educated, however the way in which to quickly instill these values can be significantly more difficult. The problem often lies much deeper, and many of these soldiers have grown up not valuing education the same way in which you or I were raised to do so. Many of them are multi-generational military members. All they have ever wanted to do was being in the Military like their mothers and fathers, which is not necessarily a bad thing, but we would like to give them the tools to further their education in order to open up more options for them. However, the social implications here are that we are trying to change values in a few months that many have held and been raised with their whole lives. A better way would be to simply start reinforcing good educational principles from an early age within all social classes and ethnicity. Many lower enlisted people in the Army come from lower income families, and many are often from minority classes, especially Hispanics. Many have confided in me that education was not emphasized to them at young ages. Instead they say that working and having a job to help support the family was more prized than having education. As a society we need to start emphasizing education first. We do what we can in my organization to try to override these values using hard facts on salaries, opportunity, and advancement. My guys and I do a pretty good job of doing this, but our jobs would be made much easier if as a society we moved away from only wealthier traditionally white society was told that education is key, and moved towards making everyone understand EARLY IN LIFE that education is a very important key to success in life.
ReplyDeleteFor my APPLES assignment, I am volunteering with a Pre-K classroom. The social problem that they are addressing would be that some of the children do not speak English very well and the school does not really have the resources to help them as much as they should. The teachers try to give these students extra attention but because the teachers are not fluent in Spanish and Vietnamese it is hard for them to help these students. The methods used are not necessarily the most effective to help these children. The teachers have the right goals in mind in helping these children but they do not have the capability to give all their attention to a few kids in their class. Since the children have some concept of English they are able to comprehend what the teachers mostly say but they are not given extra attention to help them grow with the English language. The method could be perfected by having a time for these kids to get special attention. The class has extra volunteers so there are more than enough people to help the other children while the teachers give these kids the extra help they need. To improve the learning for these kids the teacher should do this and focus on getting these kids up to speed with the rest of the class. Most of the kids who do not speak English as a first language have parent’s that also do not speak English as a first language so it is important that at school the kids get the learning experience needed so they do not regress when they go home. The teachers need to work with the administrators and parent’s of these kids at the school to create a better program to give these kids attention to help them increase their ability to speak English. Everyone should have an input and work together to improve these kids lives and I believe Green would agree with this approach to the situation.
ReplyDeleteThe Ella Baker Women’s Center aims to create empowering relationships with local communities of color, mainly through weekly youth groups and workshops, as well as through collaborating with other local non-profits like the Human Rights Center. In my opinion, the approach that the EBWC and Dr. Parker have taken is in line with what Dr. King himself imagined for resolving the kind of problems that many communities and minority populations face today in the North Carolina. A model of engaged-scholarship and community-centered learning is imbued into all work done with UNC students, and the relationships that are cultivated with the young people at Trinity Court for example are grounded in a deep respect for their culture and for the power and knowledge they as Black people possess.
ReplyDeleteThe incorporation of workshops and youth-adult partnerships into the EBWC’s work is integral to the kind of change that the Center so desires, and I think its vision is on track to make a big difference in the lives of many young people. One approach I would offer that I have not seen yet is the establishment of relationships between the communities being served and the local school system (CHCCS). I think this kind of effort would greatly improve the impact and the youth groups and the kind of connection that could be made between marginalized populations and the privileged groups of students at UNC and their resources. I am happy to say that my ideas for the future of the EBWC and its programs has been well heard and that I feel strongly that my presence, experience and ideas are all valued and respected. This kind of openness is in fact probably the most important thing a community organization can foster as it moves forward with new programs and attempts to reach out to a larger number of youth in the area.
My APPLES project is Heirs to a Fighting Tradition, whose entire goal is to create and collect oral histories about people that have made an impact. This is an extremely unique approach to the problem of what is and is not realistic goals, and the best way to face new challenges, especially in grassroots organizing. I think this project has done an excellent job of looking at something that has been lacking in our community and addressing that need. Collecting oral histories of people that have made a difference in grassroots organizing, fighting for human rights, or racial equality.
ReplyDeleteIt is not uncommon for oral histories to be collected. For example we know a lot about MLK, Jr. and Rosa Parks, but what about the other people that worked behind the scenes of the big names but have been just as pivotal to progress in America. That is what Heirs does, collects the histories and experiences of the other people who have made just as big of an impact and need to be remembered in order for future generations to know how to effect change in this country and world.
Chelsea Glenn
Heels for Haiti addresses the effects the nation of Haiti is reeling from after such a devastating earthquake by bringing money to a cause and to people who desperately need it.
ReplyDeleteI think it is an effective cause in that it does get money to aid a situation that needs it and it helps to raise awareness around the UNC campus and Chapel Hill area.
However, I think the most effective relief efforts are those that are hands on. While raising money is the necessary first step, I think that it is important that those who raise the money make sure that it is spent as efficiently as possible. And I feel like the only way to ensure this is to go down their and personally distribute the money/supplies according to pre-decided upon plan, with room to negotiate depending on what the circumstances and needs are upon arrival.
I think Heels for Haiti is a great cause, and for college students who can't drop everything and fly down to Haiti to help, it is as efficient a means of helping as possible. If the opportunity is there for on-site involvment, I think that is always the best way to go.
As I see it, there are two main problems addressed by the Food Bank at St. Joseph's Church. There is the problem of food distribution and waste. Internationally, there is enough food to feed every person adequately, but the fact is that it doesn't get to the people who need it. And in cities and affluent areas, much food is wasted because the need is met and there is still excess. Fruit and vegetables get spots and are thrown away. Nonperishable items expire on the shelves before they are bought.
ReplyDeleteSt. Joe's effectively addresses this problem of inadequate food distribution. Daily pick-ups are made to area grocery stores. Food that would otherwise be thrown away is picked up: produce, canned goods, baked goods, prepared meals, and even flowers.The volunteers at the Food Bank sort it out to make sure the product is still edible/usable. If it's not, it is donated to a local pig farm. If it is, it is distributed to people who come by and choose from the selection.
Ideally, similar programs would be created to deal with all grocery store "waste" all over the country. However, for now this is a realistic solution to the problem of food waste in Chapel Hill and Carrboro.
The second problem that St. Joe's attempts to address is the problem of hunger in Chapel Hill and Carrboro. The method of doing this is by having distributions on weekday afternoons in which one family member may get three bags of groceries. Each food group has certain allowances depending on the amount available.
While this may be a good solution for some people and their families, it is an incomplete solution that points to more problems. How will people that can't make it to the food bank get their food? They may have work or it may be too far away, but the working, the housebound, and people living more than a couple miles away are at a huge disadvantage. What will these people do on the weekends for food? How can these people have a healthy and balanced diet? Although produce is offered, much of it is on the verge of expiration or may require some sort of preparation. There is a notable lack of protein offered. And there is always a shortage of food donations towards the end of the week.
So although this solution is the most workable for right now, it is clear that the many dimensions of the problem go unaddressed. And for now, it would be difficult to expand the program to address these issues without a more formal organization heading it up and more volunteers to help. So for now, King's vision remains unrealized. But hopefully St. Joe's will continue to expand or perhaps inspire similar programs.
The main issue that the clinics that I work for address is there are so many social issues, such as inequality, lack of education, not enough information and knowledge, low income, cultural issue, language issue, and sometimes races! Over the past couple of month that I've been working in clinics and sometimes at Dental school projects, I've seen so many latinos comprise more than 70 percent of our patients. They have no insurance, they are mostly from low income family, and with no education, so they automatically get the lower service, unfortunately. I've seen so many cases that needed to be filled (the cavity)but the guy got his tooth out, and we charged him for 20 bucks.
ReplyDeleteSo I would explain it here briefly, that in our society, at least in this century, money have the most important position, because when we see these people that they are victimized because of having no money, it's becoming a serious issue in the society. We should look at it this way, even the same person has the money but does not have education or enough information, they will still get the much better service, but having no money you won't get anything and will be victimized. This make it harder for the minority group and the people that have language barriers.
I would say the only way that we can change these situations and do better in life, just to spread out the human rights message and what human means and what all we need to care about each other in life!
The people of haiti are still strugaling to rebuild what they have lost. The earthquake ruined almost all of their buildings and since of tha lack of money the haitian government has there is not much they can do to fix it. Looking at it from a far, when a natural disaster occurs the World and Especially the US are quick to respond and help those in need. Heels for Haiti is another way for our small community (UNC- Chapel Hill) to help aid those that are in need the most. Selling these wristbands to benefit haiti may seem very small scale but also provides others with the thought of getting out and helping as well.
ReplyDeleteHeels for haiti was started by a group of UNC lacrosse players that saw an opportunity to help in a time of need. Most of these people who are from the north east US and have no direct officiation with haiti. over the past semester our group has raised money and also awareness in our community. Our group has gone all around campus and the greater triangle area to raise money/awerness, lettting people know that every little effort helps. By raising awareness in this area this group has made people feel the need to help in more ways than just give money; like food drives and also interacting with others passing on the word that help is still needed.
in my opinion we have gotten off to a great start and will continue to help the cause. in no means is the effort complete there is still a lot that needs to be done and our group will continue finding people to help as much as we can.
- Gavin Petracca
Anika Fisher
ReplyDeleteAs Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. desire an effective solution to a nation full of problem, so too does many of the organization that we serve as a class in SOCI 490 around the Carrboro and Chapel Hill community. King's belief that change is a community effort is supported by the idea that "change must be able to bring almost everyone concerned into...the level of personal commitments and personal values" (Green 139). Ultimately there is more power when everyone supports improvement and positive change, taking on each issue as if it were personally affecting their life. Therefore, model of social and community and development should improve intercultural and experiential relationships.
At my APPLES placement, St. Joseph's Bread Ministry, the agency cares to fight hunger in the area; living in such a wealthy and bountiful nation there is no reason for people to be hungry; therefore, the community merchants support this cause. The uniqueness of this agency is what continues to impress me. At volunteer-run Bread Ministry, around 400 families and week and about 1,000 families a month are able to come in and choose their own overstock food products donated from local stores. The fact that they get to choose allows them "to preserve culinary heritage, culture, and personal preferences." The Bread Ministry attempts to reach "across socioeconomic status, religion, language, and background, in order to meet one of the most basic human needs."
Though the Ministry does a fantastic job at reaching those in need in the community, I believe there could be more awareness. As many of the same faces come, fewer and fewer new faces pick up food. When the food is being organized on the table, there is always a large surplus which leaves food after the pick up drive. Of course it is not wasted but put out the next day. However, I believe that if those in need of groceries or even supplemental food to fill their tables, they could benefit from such generosity.
The model used at the ministry does work on many levels. One area in which there is a lasting impression for patrons is that the volunteers have a good attitude and do not belittle their need for food. I believe that volunteers and patrons alike a humble by the constant friendly and helpful environment. This element creates friendship and unity in the community and also inspires the people to move toward the improvement of socioeconomic stature.
After one of the largest earthquakes in recent history struck Haiti in January, millions were missing or left dead in the streets. Haitian infrastructure that has taken a lifetime to build literally crumbled in one day. As word spread of this disaster around the world, governments and individuals responded immediately by donating money, food, aid, and service men and women to Haiti. As students in Chapel Hill, we wanted to start a campaign to raise money for Haiti in order to help. As Green comments that Martin Luther King recognized the importance of having attainable goals that are grounded in reality, this principle can be applied to the earthquake in Haiti. In circumstances like this one, I’ve found that people overlook the continued need to help after a month or so. This should be considered an unacceptable reality since the Haitian people and country will be struggling to rebuild for years to come.
ReplyDeleteFrom a local perspective, I think that this campaign effectively and efficiently spreads awareness of the disaster. Not only does the campaign make people think about the Haitian disaster, but we hope the wristbands and campaign will make people think of others besides themselves, in turn promoting service to others in the Chapel Hill community.
The Heels for Haiti campaign has been a huge success so far by raising several thousand dollars. We didn’t want to set a table up and take monetary contributions, so we decided to make a thousand wristbands and sell them for $5 each. I think that college students feel more inclined to donate money if they receive something in return like a wristband or t-shirt. This has proven to be an effective approach as we have only received extra donations from several UNC professors that passed by our tables at the Business School and the School of Public Health. Additionally, the wristbands serve as a reminder to those wearing them (and those who see students with them on) that the situation in Haiti has not been fixed and is in need of continued support.
While monetary donations are better than nothing, I have always been a firm believer that actual hands on service is always better than just sending financial aid. Unfortunately since traveling to Haiti was out of the question with classes, the Heels for Haiti campaign is a good start to not only help Haiti but encourage other students to choose a cause and make a difference.
-Tommy D'Alessandro
In working with the platelet center, the problem they are trying to solve is to increase the number of returning donors. Currently about 300-350 units are needed by the UNC Hospital each month, but only about 150-200 units are being collected. The method used by the staff is very ethical in my opinion. Instead of asking what doesn't entice UNC students to donate once or keep donating, they use a more assets based approach and look for ways in which the center can use what it has and improve itself to cater to donors. Through initial polling and focus groups, they get raw data about people's opinions about donation as well as the center itself. It was found through this process that, in general, people found the center to be comfortable location and the experience to be pleasant. However, it was mainly issues of time that stopped them from donating. Since platelet donation is a 1.5-2 hour process, it does take significantly more time than blood donation. However, with platelets only having a 5-day shelf life, the center is in constant need for platelets and donors. One of the benefits that the platelet center has over other organizations that APPLES students work with is the fact that it is located in the NC Cancer Hospital, which means that along with an accessible location, they also receive a LOT of funding to produce incentives. However, through the years they have realized that t-shirts and great food aren't enough to entice people to come donate every week. Motivation is the underlying factor. How can we motivate people? While one method might be a little invasive in terms of preaching to others about the benefit of donating, the center uses a more methodical approach. They produce brochures, flyers and emails that attempt to educate without overwhelming people, as the ultimate belief is that education is enough to encourage people to donate. Overall, I think that the method of assets based research is much better than the VERY common needs based approach to social issues. While it is easy to come in as an outsider and say "oh college kids just need free food to come donate," it is much more effective to engage with a community and find out what THEY want/need and what we can use in the community to make it better...together.
ReplyDeleteFor my APPLES assignment, I am an ESL volunteer at Mary Scroggs Elementary school. The social problem that my APPLES organization faces is the need of more ESL volunteers and support for the ESL students. This need is very apparent. I am constantly going back and forth between 4 classrooms, 2 second grade and 2 third grade classrooms. I’m not entirely sure how we can get more volunteers for this program but I feel like the way the organization did was great. They came to UNC’s campus and asked people to sign up for it; going to a college campus to acquire these volunteers was smart. There are many students that want to par take in helping out their surrounding community. Although I believe that my tutoring sessions are helping the ESL students, I think the language barrier is not the only problem. It lies deeper. I believe these children need a mentor even if it’s only an hour or so after school hours. I understand that education is very important but they need time outside of school to teach them how to interact with others and to help out the parents understand as well because culture also makes it hard for some ESL students to transition into American schools. I’m not in any way suggesting assimilation; I highly disagree with it, but suggesting that they need to be taught about American culture so they are aware of the differences. I say this because I have noticed especially in Hispanics that the parents will take trips back to their country in the middle of the kids school year, when these kids come back they are held back due to their absences. The parents see nothing wrong with this and sometimes kids are being punished for things they cannot control.
ReplyDelete-Marisol Rangel
I volunteer with the UNC NOW Bread Ministry. This lesson directly coincides with what I have experienced at this location. St. Joseph’s provides food for anyone who needs it every Monday-Friday. No questions are asked. If you show, and they have supplies, you will receive what you need. St Joseph’s has certainly acknowledged that poverty is a prominent and growing issue in the North Side of Chapel Hill and acts swiftly to address this need. This program has had a tremendous impact on a diminishing community. It has now be effect for 7 years, and counties to nourish less fortunate residents of this area.
ReplyDeleteThough this is a remarkable initiative, I do feel that if could be more effective. I can’t help but think of the age-old parable, “If you give a man a fish, you feed him for a day. If you teach a man to fish, you feed him for a lifetime.” I sincerely believe that the Bread Ministry is effective in providing food to those who need it. However, this organization could potentially add various elements to address the root of the issue at hand and to decrease the occurrence of dependence and abuse.
In its next stage of development, St. Joseph’s could possibly implement new tactics to include those who are being served in this process. They could possibly hire residents of the community, or require that you volunteer for a specified number of hours to receive the benefits of this program. I feel this will provide valuable work experience and skills for individuals to implement in other areas of their lives’. Acquiring a job related skill set would prove to be beneficial in the many settings.
As I now prepare to enter the workforce, these lessons will resonate. After attending graduate school, I aspire to generate a successful international non-profit organization. I will take with me the lessons conveyed by Martin Luther King Jr. through Greene. I must remember to not only remain critical, but proactive. In conjunction with indicating social problems, I must also present realistic solutions to combat these disparities. My involvement in this course has reinforced my passion for service and has provided a phenomenal learning experiences on which I can continue to grow as a leader and serve as a catalyst for change.
-Anarrah Ross
The organization I volunteer at is the Human Rights Center. The types of social problems that my organization addresses are poverty, inequality in schools, as well as positive outlets for kids such as tutoring but at the same time mentoring. I think tutoring is a very effective way to address the issue of inequality in schools. Some of the students receive the extra attention that schools are not able to provide such as filling in the gap when it comes to language disparity. Furthermore, as the kids attend tutoring they receive positive feed back from their tutors, us, and feel as if they are truly accomplishing something significant which correlates into them having a positive attitude towards education in general. Also, having taken an active part in the Center last semester, we collected universal goods that families could use; items collected included clothes, car seats for young children, books, toys, etc. These items were given to families in need without them having to pay or go through any strenuous process to receive the goods.
ReplyDeleteOn top of providing tutoring for the residents of Abbey Court, the Center also provides a positive outlet for the residents in the form of soccer on the weekend. Although, soccer this semester has been sporadic, young kids as well as adults find joy in playing soccer on the weekend. Soccer helps provide a sense of community to the residents, thru my eyes at least. When it is really nice outside, more and more residents join in and play soccer, while others watch and comment from the sidelines. No matter what the scenario, soccer is always a joyous occasion that provides great memories for all participants involved.
I think this model works because the center is found directly in the community they are serving. It is highly accessible to the residents of Abbey Court, they do not have to travel to any unfamiliar part of town, but rather can walk from their house to the center and receive the help they want to receive. The only down side to the model is there has been a shortage of college students to tutor as well as play soccer on the weekend. Besides these minor incidents the center provides opportunities for further advancement in society that can be overlooked for minority or undocumented workers in our society and community.
For my APPLES assignment, I am an ESL volunteer for Chapel Hill/ Carrboro schools. ESL stands for English as a second language, therefore I am aiding in a child's ability to learn English as their second language. There is a huge social problem/ barrier when it comes to a child not being able to communicate with language due to not knowing it. ESL volunteering helps to aid in breaking the social and communicating barriers for children through various means. As an ESL volunteer, I help children learn English and to communicate better with teachers, classmates etc. ESL volunteering has a huge impact on the community and is a great aid for Chapel Hill/ Carrboro school systems, especially since it has a large immigrant population from various locations. Becoming an ESL volunteer was an easy task because the program does not require the individual to be fluent in other languages and the learning process is an immersion technique. When acquiring training, the instructors showed various ways of communicating and educating the children through the use of picture dictionaries, flash cards, drawings, games and with hands-on activities to help engage their interest.
ReplyDeleteI think the methods and goals the ESL program illicit are effective ways to address the problem.
The program is effective because it helps to take information they already understand in their language and uses it to reference it in English language. The program takes a familiarity for the kids and translated it into English, so that they are comfortable. The kids I am working with have showed improvement and are acknowledging changes. Starting out with some of the kids, they seemed skeptical and unresponsive, but now they are learning more and getting involved with what I am trying to teach them. I think the ESL program should expand and help the kids when it comes to the classroom setting. I feel that the tutor sessions are a comfort zone and they, still, need a way to break out of their comfort zone during class to help break social barriers amongst their peers.
As a preschool volunteer at Seawell Elementary, the main social problem that exists in the classroom is both a lack of quality education and resources. Education is one of the most essential and valued things in our society. It is disappointing to see that right now education is not treated as a top priority. Every child, regardless of ethnicity or socioeconomic status, has a right to access high-quality education in this country. It is our responsibility to make sure that this is fulfilled. The academic system at this school and other schools needs to be improved in order for our children to acquire the developmental tools they need to succeed in the future. Children who receive an effective education early on in life gain several cognitive benefits and are more likely to go out and accomplish great achievements. However, without enough resources, a child misses out on these opportunities and benefits. One problem that I've seen regarding a lack of resources is that the teachers are not given a sufficient budget to purchase educational tools and basic materials for the classroom. Funding is inadequate and needs to be increased. For example, the classroom's library of books is quite small, and the children I work with have limited choices when it comes to reading books. It is not a surprise if a child has to read the same book more than one time. I feel that because of this, many of the children are most likely behind in their reading skills and are not at the appropriate reading level for their age. Since the preschool age is a critical period for learning, the lack of resources to give a proper education could result in a lack of proficiency in subjects such as Math and English later on. The classroom is also very cramped in size and many of the play stations do not allow sufficient space for the children to explore. A couple of times I have had to witness a child being told that they could not paint that day because there was not enough paint and no more aprons left. Often times, a teacher has to buy certain educational tools using money out of their own pocket, and sometimes that still isn't enough since generally a teacher's income is not high. I believe that school systems should be given a larger budget in order to provide a more variety of resources to cater to these children's learning needs, which will help them in the long-run.
ReplyDelete-Nadeen Al-Ghandour
I work with Heels for Haiti and while it is a relatively small-scale effort, I think the idea of local communities raising money for another community (in this case an entire nation) is important and shows that whether or not we are directly affected by such a disaster, we can still contribute to Haiti’s recovery. I think this relates to Green’s explanation of MLK Jr. Even though Heels for Haiti is small-scale effort and the amount we raise might not be very much alone for such a devastating situation in Haiti, idealistically we’d like to think our little part, along with several others’, will add up to make a real difference.
ReplyDeleteThe efforts put forth by Heels for Haiti is just one example of a local fundraiser that will contribute to an overall force of international relief. As Michael Jarvis said, we’d like to think that “little acts of kindness” are contagious and therefore a small endeavor like Heels for Haiti will ultimately get the ball rolling on a large scale. Also, in terms of evaluating the methods or goals of this project, I think the fundraiser is a very effective way to reach a ton of people in the community and with each person wearing the bracelets, awareness will continue to spread.
The main issues Spanish School Reading Partner addresses are education and literacy. The program pairs a college student with children in elementary and middle school for individual and small group work in the classroom. College tutors allow students who learn more slowly to have individual attention and more focused learning. This program does successfully address the issue of literacy and education because students do show improvement in their reading skills throughout the course of the semester. Personalized attention is a good method to improve literacy and increase opportunities for continuing education. A lot of times when students do not get the support they need in school they are less likely to continue their education in the future and therefore do not have the same opportunities in the workplace. By reinforcing the importance of education and encouraging students who are often frustrated with their own learning, college students inspire their mentees and serve as positive role models. Education is a human right and School Reading Partners helps children to fully realize their rights.
ReplyDeleteNicole McClain
The problem that Heirs is trying to address is the unheard voice of community members who make local impacts. They do this by recording oral stories of these members and archiving them and sharing them with the public so that people have access to these oral histories. The work that Heirs does is something I think needs to be done to keep social justice stories alive. Sometimes local events make the biggest impact on peoples lives and communities should be aware of those making significant changes within them.
ReplyDeleteI think their model works to an extent but can be possibly updated and improved. I do believe that keeping these oral histories is important, but the manner in which they are kept and advertised is key to them being useful. Currently, Heirs archives them as a webcast and posts them to their website. This is fine for now, but if they want to reach the larger community and potentially become national it would be more effective to expand their advertising and posting. They can start by gaining the support from other similar organizations and post on their websites. They can also archive audio material at local libraries, this way they have physical recordings. One of the biggest ways to continue expanding is by getting in touch with larger organizations who help help advertise for Heirs. Their methods of asking local members to record their histories is a great way to get the truly unheard voices, but they can improve their name by trying to branch out past locally to be known outside of Carborro.
A current problem that my APPLES placement, the Campus Y, is addressing is the fight against poverty and for poverty awareness. I have been working with HOPE an organization with the campus Y that helps the homeless community and those that are less fortunate. I believe that we have been doing a good job in addressing this issue. This week is poverty awareness week and we have been putting on various events to try to help out the homeless and lower class community in Chapel Hill and Carborro. On Monday we held a community dinner and fed many people we got to interact with many people that were homeless or were struggling financially, we had speakers from different community organization that offer many services to help them get back on their feet. Tuesday night a couple of us went out and put paper bags on every door in a community in Chapel Hill, the paper bag had a paper attached in which we explained that we were trying to collect canned goods to give to children on the free lunch program who may not have food to eat over the weekend or whenever they are not in school. HOPE's efforts go beyond just this week, the community dinners are held once a month and we always strive to help out anybody that is in need. It is hard to make sure that some of these people get the help and services that they need because more often than not they do not remain in one spot for too long. It is always uplifting to see someone that may have been going through a rough time back on their feet. So far I have enjoyed working with this organization because of the effectiveness of their actions.
ReplyDeleteAnali Gaytan
Latosha Phillips
ReplyDeleteThe organization that I volunteer for is AVID. AVID is a program designed to improve the education of college potentially bound minorities. Orange County implement this goal by providing a tutorial class during normal school hours and allowing tutors to work with students. Students are able to get help in all core subjects, and they also gain life long skills that will help their future success. AVID students do receive grades for their participation in the program so it encourages them to not use the period as a free period.
I think that AVID is an amazing program and I agree whole-heartedly with its method toward improving this educational gap problem. I think that using school time wisely for these mediocre students is very important. While they could be engaging in other electives such as Physical Education or Chorus, they are instead increasing their educational skills in all of their core subjects. These students are also picking up on tactics such as turning in work on time (meeting deadlines), learning how to take notes and study for test. All of these skills prepare them for college and future success. Mr. Hennesse, the teacher that I tutor under, is very stern with is students because he has such high expectations for their life. I think his approach to overseeing AVID reinforces the goals and purpose of the program. Another great aspect about using school time as a method for additional help is the freeing up of after school hours. Students are able to participate in extracurricular activities and still succeed in their education. If AVID doesn't help then after school hours are free for additional help.
The only problem that I see with AVID is the lack of practice of homework at home. Most of the students save their homework for the next day to do in AVID. I think that it should be a requirement of AVID that students show where they have started on assignments outside of class and now are seeking additional help for things that they don't understand.
Amer Raja
ReplyDeleteKing's understanding of the difficulties that lay ahead may have led him to act pragmatically as a leader, but as an individual he still maintained his adherence to a deep ideological viewpoint. Similarly, The Heirs to a Fighting Tradition project focuses on the practical means of ensuring that the stories of civil rights activists are not lost--but it also provides a platform for the ideals which have not been accomplished to be pursued vigorously. Their model is to record and archive the various experiences of individuals within the state of North Carolina. Considering the fact that they could extend this project nationally and most likely see less success, I think they are indeed pursuing the most pragmatic approach. By doing so they are building the identities around which communities can be based, laying the foundations for deep democratic action in which individuals know that they are empowered and can improve their societies. Furthermore, the Heirs project is staying committed to the most fundamental values of its organizers--providing the building blocks for social justice movements, rallies, and literature. I think that their model works effectively because of the way that the organization approaches challenges. Rather than giving up or overshooting the goal, the Heirs project works through everything step by step. The work done by Heirs is contingent upon the ability of the organization to be stable and free standing. Similar to the references by Green in her book, the Heirs project is critical of the environment, but is not stuck in the clouds. Instead the project focuses on the goals that can be accomplished most effectively and which will have the best bearing in promoting efficacy and social justice action and rhetoric. I believe it is precisely this approach that will make the Heirs project sustainable and will allow them to pull our communities into better situations step by step.
One of the issues that my service organization tries to combat is the issue of hunger in the Chapel Hill Community. Many citizens of the Northside community come from low income backgrounds; therefore, they cannot afford to spend the most money on groceries. Working at the Northside Bread ministry allows me to help bridge the gap of hunger that the community faces, and it also allows me to bridge the gap of racism. It brings together different groups of people, mostly African American, Hispanic, and White, around a common cause. Like Martin Luther King's Speech brings to life, is the ideal that people come together around a common cause. Many citizens of the Northside community suffer from an lack of education, income, and opportunity that all continues to play an active roll in there life. By simply providing the citizens with an outlet to receive free meals and come together in fellowship is only making a stepping stone in the long struggle for closing the income gap that citizens all throughout the US face. The backbone of the Northside Bread Ministry is similar to that of the foundation of Fair Trade. By supporting the citizens of the Northside community, it is playing an active roll in protecting these citizens natural rights to Life, Liberty, and Pursuit of Happiness (sometimes referred to as Opportunity).
ReplyDeleteNidia Menjivar
ReplyDeleteFor my APPLES placement I am volunteering in a third grade class at Scroggs Elementary school. My placement site is trying to address both the disparity between reading levels among the children in the class and the need more ESL volunteers. In order to address this issue, the school has volunteers and specialized teachers work with students with lower reading levels on an individual basis. In addition, the school has created a Reading-Partners program specifically geared to help ESL students improve both their reading and vocabulary.
Although the school has established the programs mentioned above to try to address the issue, they have had a few issues in recruiting committed volunteers. It takes a lot of patience to work with the students that need more helps that others; thus, some people shy away from becoming volunteers. In order to attract more volunteers, the Chapel Hill County school system has reached out to the University community. Thus far, they have had success as the number of volunteers has increased. However, the number of volunteers has increased over the last couple of year; yet the number of volunteer still does not match the needs of the school.
Overall, I feel that the actions that school is taken is a good step in addressing the issue. The extra help that the students receive enables them to improve their reading level as well as their English. The most important about the way they are addressing the issue is the fact that the students receive individual help. By giving each student individual help, they are less likely to fall through the cracks and remain on lower reading level as their peers.
While in retrospective the school's plan seems like a good one, some of the students that are receiving the help have a hard time seeing that. I have had several of students that I work with make comments of how they feel like they do not belong with their peers since they have to receive extra help. They are unable to see that the individual help is to their benefit when they just want to feel like the rest of their peers. They feel even more alienated from their peers since they usually have someone take them out of class and away from their peers. While I understand the feelings of the students since I have been there before, I still believe that the individual help that they receive is important for their academic success.
I have been volunteering at the school for several weeks now and I have realized that I tend to work with the same six students on a daily basis. Interestingly enough, all the students are either from underprivileged families, from single-parent households, or minorities. For the most part, I tend to work with the Hispanics students since I am able to explain to them things in their native language. Thus, it is apparent that a students family background is an indicator of which students may require extra help. The school has noticed this and they continue to take steps to aid all their students. While this may be a bigger challenge for the school, I feel that they have begun to take appropriate steps in order for all students to have an equal opportunity at a good education.
Emily Dixon
ReplyDeleteMy APPLES assignment is working with the elementary students that live in Carolina Apartments and reading and tutoring them. My assignment's main focus that I am noticing is to try and help the children of underprivileged minority groups (in this case, mainly those of Hispanic and South Asian backgrounds) get the best out of the education in the local school system and the same rights and privileges to an education in America. The program is helping tremendously. There are children that are slowly becoming more knowledgeable of the English and as well as becoming knowledgeable in Spanish because the advisor of the program, Pablo Valencia, speaks to the children in Spanish as well. But, to increase their knowledge, the program needs to venture out and help them with their homework and tutor them more as well take them on field trips to places like the planetarium or to a music concert, etc. to teach them other aspect of life and to show them other cultures as well. The American culture is so mixed and melted together that I think the children would be better influenced by receiving the extra education help and to be exposed to the beauty of a mixed culture.
Steve Ortiz
ReplyDeleteThe Human Rights Center in Carrboro is where I volunteer at where we do one on one after school tutoring with underprivileged elementary school students. We help them with their homework assignments and supplement the teaching they receive within the classroom. I think as far as the academics are concerned this is the best approach. I would say that there isn’t enough time available on the hands of college students and the people who run the center to help long enough for most of the kids to fully get the material down well but like journal prompt says you have to be realistic about your goals considering the resources given. The only aspect that causes a problem to their learning is their motivation to learn or their focus. I’m not saying they aren’t not capable because the students I work with have potential that I didn’t even see In my own peer group at their age. It’s just sometimes they don’t fully understand why they should be putting their upmost effort in doing this work.
In one of my sociology classes we examined how children in lower class communities have a lot of environment factors effecting their motivation and ultimately their success. One of the factors our book stated was the examples set by elders and guardians around them. A lot of these kids come from immigrant families who were not able to benefit from a good education system to secure stable employment. Also due to that they don’t have the knowledge help supplement and assist in their child’s education. Without a role model at home to demonstrate those specific aspects of aspiration in a tangible sense, the whole concept of a “better life” whether that involves being a lawyer, doctor, teacher, or whatever seems foreign, distant, idealistic, or imaginary to them. Physical representation they can interact with is a better motivator and bar setter than words but sadly they don’t have these examples in their communities, like the saying goes “out of sight, out of mind”.
Another method that could be implemented to better their motivation would be an attempt to strengthen their learning tools. They need daily exercises to help them practice focus in general, patience in general, diligence in general, discipline in general, time management in general, and many other skills required to learn effectively. Exercises that focus on these traits in their basic execution would help if the school or center allotted time but it’s is difficult because of the time constraints both have. When you don’t have these skills properly cultivated in your personality then it’s hard to build upon that weak foundation. Strengthening of these behavioral skills matched with exposure to impressionable role models of achievement, attainment, and success would go far in improving the children’s motivation in my opinion.
Steve Ortiz
For my APPLES project I am working with the Coalition Against Sex Trafficking (CAST). CAST is a social justice project that works toward raising awareness about issues concerning trafficking, increasing local and global concern about the issue, critically analyzing the problem as it exists in various fields such as economics and health, and partnering with other organizations to directly serve victims of trafficking through volunteering, advocacy and activism. CAST achieves these goals through numerous methods. One of the biggest methods is raising awareness about human trafficking. CAST believes that one of the most important steps to combating human trafficking is teaching the community to be aware of its presence in everyday society.
ReplyDeleteJust last week, we held a lecture given by a former Ghanaian child slave on the subject of human trafficking. After listening to the brave man’s life story of struggle caused by human trafficking, the audience was educated about the issues of human trafficking, moved and inspired to help stop it. I believe educating the community is an effective way to address human trafficking. One of the main reasons human trafficking is thriving is because of its underground nature. Few are aware of this problem and players in human trafficking rings seek to pay off officials to keep the practice out of the public eye. The more people who are educated about human trafficking will lead to more people pushing officials to address the issue.
I believe the model of community education works to combat human trafficking because of the powerful nature of knowledge. By knowing about an issue, one becomes aware of its presence in day-to-day life. For example, educating residents of border towns along the Mexico-US border about human trafficking and the tactics of traffickers will help them be aware of the issue and how to spot such activity. Even though we don’t live in a high traffic zone, we can do our part to help stop human trafficking in North Carolina. I believe we can combat human trafficking simply by spreading the knowledge. Human trafficking is a social problem generally excluded from the public discourse and to make it an important issue we must educate the public. If individuals are not aware of the issue, they are powerless to stop it.
-Karyn Shealy
Journal 4--Darine El-Sourady
ReplyDeleteI tutor students in ESL and reading comprehension at McDougle Middle School for my program. Students work on computer reading programs while their peers continue with social studies class. The bulk of my work is giving personalized attention to these students and talking through their reading exercises with them. I think the personalized workplan is great to address the immediate needs of students although it segregates the kids who are struggling from the kids who are "normal." I think a good model to work more towards the root of the issue is to engage the families of these students. Most of my students that I tutor have issues at home and it would be extremely helpful to talk about the economic or social struggles that my students' families are facing. These larger forces affect why students cannot excel in the classroom and a combination of "social work" and individual attention would be the most helpful model to address student needs.
For my APPLES assignment I work at the Foodbank at St. Joseph's Church. The problem they are addressing is hunger and poverty in the local community, as there are many homeless and struggling people nearby. Their goal is to reduce the struggle of these people and provide them aid by giving them free food and sometimes clothing. They execute this by allowing anyone to enter and give food out based on a lottery system.
ReplyDeleteTheir method is effective but there are some things they could improve. Firstly, the method is good in achieving their goal because they give out so much food to so many people at no charge. Many people in poverty are able to get free food to feed their families and live each day better. Therefore, providing free food to people in need is defintely a great method to address the problem of poverty. Also, since they use a lottery system the give out food to the largest amount of people and the least amount of bias. This is a great aspect of the program as there is essentially no bias. If you do not receive food one day you can go back tomorrow and sign up for the lottery again.
However, since so many people attend the food bank many of them are completely dependent on the church. If something would happen to the program or the church couldn't continue the food bank many people would be in serious trouble. Thus, they provide continuous free food for people, when they should do something to help them achieve a higher economic status. Then these individuals could buy their own food and wouldn't be dependent on the church so heavily.
-Michael Dauer
In my apples group we are doing Heels for Haiti to not only provide some relief money for the Natural Disaster, but to also raise awareness of just how poverty ridden haiti really is. To be perfectly honest, I am not even sure if the citizens or government in Haiti could provide a better plan for their country to fix some of the Human Rights issues they are experiencing.
ReplyDeleteMost of the income in Haiti comes from exports that are not in high demand such as sugar and fruit. They also have a lot of people working in factories that make various products for American companies who outsource their manufacturing. This is one way they are being stripped of their human rights. They are working too long of hours for too little pay.
We believe our plan will do a little part in helping the larger picture (complete relief and funding for Haiti recovery). Like our class, it has to come from smaller groups like the HRI, or the fair trade project to fuel the larger main cause.
My apples program is working with children at Ephesus Elementary School. Education is critical and as far as I can tell this is a very well run school. There does not seem to be a lack of equipment and the teachers seem to be genuinely interested in helping students. I work with Kindergarten students and just this week, I was helping an African American boy with his assignment and I was having a conversation with him about what he wants to do. He told me that he wanted to go to college to play football or basketball, I asked him what he wants to do after college and he said "play football or basketball." I was disheartened by his answers, when I asked what he thought about being a doctor or lawyer, he said those were too hard and he wouldn't be able to do those. This is a problem that I think affects that African American male community especially. I don't think it is an issue that is addressed enough. Granted this boy is only in Kindergarten, I think it is never too early to start exposing children to more so they can dream bigger than what they know or see in their community. What was disheartening about the situation is that even when I said, "but you can learn how to do them in school" he wasn't buying it. I think mentoring programs would be a good way to tackle this issue. Pair students up with people who are going to give them more exposure and help nurture their self confidence. I also think that getting parents involved would be a very big help, when parents are supportive and encourage children to explore and encourage their children to have plan their future without limits, it has a large impact. Ephesus is a diverse school therefore I'm sure children like this young boy do get more exposure but I think a little more personal attention in this regard is what is needed. So often children limit themselves because of their environment, so having a mentor program that would provide them with a role model from a young age would be very valuable.
ReplyDeleteZanele Mhlaba
Working with the Orange County Rape Crisis Center, the main job of those who work there is to provide services and make people aware about sexual violence and its prevalence. I think the OCRCC does a fantastic job at providing secondary services for survivors: companions for the courtroom and hospital visits, a hotline, and school-education programs. However, one drawback is that they are primarily a secondary prevention organization: that is, they only deal with the effects of a rape culture and don’t necessarily address the root causes of rape in our society. I think that in order to address the problems of rape and sexual assault in our society, both types of programming are needed: primary (learning about what feeds into a rape culture) and secondary (similar to what the ORCRR provides) services. I think that in terms of secondary prevention, the OCRCC does a great job and their model works very well. One great thing about the ORCRR as compared to other rape crisis centers is that there is a Latina services respondent available. Having spoken with her numerous times, she has often told me that she fields calls from all over the state, from places that don’t have Spanish-speaking staff. Since we live in a very civic-minded area, I think the majority of the programs in Chapel Hill/Carrboro are much more mindful of unique needs of different populations than these same services found in other places.
ReplyDeleteI volunteer at an elementary school, helping kids with classwork such as reading. I especially work with the more challenged, like kids of the Hispanic ethnicity. This social problem of the influx of immigrants, including their home born children that are lacking resources. They struggle by getting a jump start in English due to their parents' backgrounds, and the labor they are in which tends to limit the resources they are able to supply their children with to learn. In schools I feel like we lack the labor resources to keep up with the amounts of children that need more personal attention to aid in learning, along with programs which would be more efficient in teaching these kids. I think that the model we have, with the money given to the school system works relatively well because underprivileged kids are getting more of a chance to succeed than previously before. Some of the tax revenue is going directly to this cause, even though it doesn't have to, and it will overall cause a more coherent, educated, and efficient economy. I don't know what method would be better than the current one to educate these kids because you wouldn't necessarily want to have classes that would split these Hispanic, etc. kids up from the rest of the students. To encourage learning I would just suggest community activities that go through the school to show these students that they can help out no matter the struggles they may be facing in comparison with the rest of the population.
ReplyDelete