Service Learning Journal Sample

Lizz Gage

Service Learning Journal Entry #3

Due to my observations at my service learning setting with the Refugee Center, I have noticed that students with similar social identities and characteristics tend to stay closer to each other or associate with one another more than they do with students that are different from them. However, at my site, we are teaching children English, so they are in four different groups based on where their English is, or rather their language ability. The lowest level of English who need the most work are the Yellow Group, then one step above them is the Purple Group. I work with the second highest group, which is the Orange Group and the students that speak the best English and are most familiar with the language

I do not really see that the surroundings have a lot to do with the social groups that are present. Most of the posters just say inspirational quotes like “You can do it” or “Reach for the Stars” as a way to motivate the students to work hard and succeed. Race is visible, but not as much as language ability. Even though there are so many children with different ethnicities and that have different native languages, race and cultural differences is something that we really do not touch on at the after school program. The curriculum we have covered so far has been activities that include lessons on healthy eating, short-term and long-term goals, and “What do you want to be when you grow up?”. Tenorio states, “I changed my bulletin boards and literacy activities to correspond the holidays, and proudly integrated the activities into our daily lessons. We learned about our “differences” and celebrate our “similarities” (p. 25). I do believe that if the students talked and learned more about themselves and where they come from, there would be less fighting and arguing when they break up into groups that their friends are not

I feel that they do not take my social identities into account because I am there to help. Also, because we do not really shed any light on cultural differences at the after school program, it is not something they really think about. I feel very different from my students one reason simply can be is that a lot of them wear a headscarf or some type of veil and I do not. I feel that I stick out like a sore thumb, but I do not feel them judging me. Also, I once saw a child, Rofaida, praying before eating her snack that we offer to them. I do not pray before meals, but I recognized what she was doing and encouraged the other children to keep their voices down while she did so. I feel similar to my students when I think about and analyze their language ability. At one point, I was almost in the same situation as them. English was not my second language, but I did know what it was like to learn a language and how frustrating it could be. Because of this, I want to be as much help to them as possible. Tenorio says, “It is not the awareness of racial and cultural differences that leads to prejudice and racism, but how people respond to these differences” (p. 26). Every student is different. It is up to me and every other future teacher out there to always be available to their students as well as to be open minded and