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CAS REFLECTION
During these two years, CAS has balanced my life between academics and other activities. CAS made up a large portion of my last two years of high school. Students can learn not only academically, but also from service, action, and creativity. Spending time on CAS also broadens our mindset. Through the act of helping others, we can also see the needs of different people and society. For me, I combine my interests and expertise to help others as much as I can, while at the same time trying to develop things that I have never tried before. Use this opportunity to do things that I haven't done. This final to reflect will explain how my experiences achieve all 7 learning outcomes.
1. Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.
1. Identify your own strengths and develop areas for personal growth.
As a violin major student, solfége is a basic knowledge I need to have. My mom’s student, Li Ya Zhang, a 12 years old boy, who is preparing for the music school entrance exam. I've decided to help him with music theory and music dictation.
I started with the rhythm first. From common time to 6/8. After a month of practicing, we got into sight-reading and musical terms. After a few months, he successfully passed the music entrance exam and got admitted to his second choice - Taipei Municipal Ren Ai Junior High School. While I was teaching my student I learned how to talk to children and how to explain things clearly. When they don’t understand, I need to use another way and change my wording. I wasn’t able to do that before teaching them because I rarely talk to younger children and always speak fast. Also, I learned how to be patient and try to understand his needs. I kept telling myself that he was still learning and trying to learn new stuff, I needed to be very patient and try not to blow his confidence. After the experience, I would say I did a pretty good job. He loved spending time with me and started to love music. This is the best outcome I’ve ever expected, I really hope my classes with him not only give him the knowledge of music but also arouse his love of music.
Teaching solfege is something I really wanted to do. As a person who has been learning music for my entire life, this is something I can do to help others. Using this opportunity to get it done. It’s a very meaningful thing and has also taught me a lot, including how to get along with children, how to be patient, and how to teach, all of which have given me a great experience that I couldn’t ask for more.
2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
2. Demonstrate that challenges have been undertaken, developing new skills in the process.
As a person who hates exercising, hiking is something that I have never done before. Using this experience I am going to hike with my friends and family. I've chosen a few mountains: they are Elephant mountain, YingHe Cave Hiking Trail, and Daping mountain.
After the first experience of hiking, I found out that hiking was not as bad as I thought, especially when we spend more time with my friends doing the outdoor activities together. When I completed all three hiking, I could feel that my physical strength was much better than before. My body changed a lot after I started exercising, not only physically but mentally. Even though after hiking my legs were sore, I felt very relaxed and satisfied. I enjoyed every minute with my family and friends and had some decent quality time with them.
3. Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience.
3. Demonstrate how to initiate and plan a CAS experience.
I was planning to teach him very basic grammar and also 5 new easy vocabulary during each class. We would also have some pop quizzes and tests to see his improvement. I also prepared some basic children's books to see if he could use them to learn more vocabulary.
After a few classes, I found that I had to adjust my teaching because his level was much easier than I thought. I had to teach from scratch, so I started with “I, you, he, she, and it”, the pronouns. I took a few classes to familiarize him with subject pronouns and slowly moved into other pronouns. For example, object pronoun. At the same time, at least five new words were added to each class, so he could memorize them slowly.
When I found out that he get more used to using English and get more comfortable with the structure of English, we started to read some very easy books during class, so that he could learn more vocabulary. Then, I realized that he was lack of pronunciation and communication skills. I started to reduce the time that we spent on grammar and started to do some easy conversation.
This is my first time teaching English. I did a lot of research and made the teaching plan I hoped for. From grammar to communication, and adding vocabulary at the same time. I needed to adjust my teaching style according to his performance and I think that is the hardest part, I needed to be able to explain everything in detail and make sure my student understands it.
4. Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.
4. Show commitment to and perseverance in CAS experiences.
The key point of having a perfect body shape is perseverance. It was almost summer, I was hoping that I could have a perfect body to wear bikinis. Due to quarantine, my belly has become very fat and I was looking for a workout that was focused on the stomach, trying to see if I could have abs. I didn’t have a lot of time, so I was planning to do the ten minutes workout daily, so that would be 70 minutes a week. I would continue the workout for two months to see if I could get rid of my stomach fat in this short period of time.
As I slowly got used to this workout, the hardest part came. I started to get lazy and didn't want to do it every day, but forced myself to do it. It was very painful to fight against my inner voice, and I kept thinking about it was completely okay to have a one-day break. In the end, fortunately, I still successfully completed my two-month workout challenge.
After two months of working out, I lost a little stomach fat and even got little abs. The hardest part was just sticking to it and can not stop for even a day. After getting into the habit of exercising, I felt more comfortable in my life every day. During the quarantine, I did nothing the whole day and just eat and lie down. Taking this opportunity, I could move my muscles and stretch, preventing getting fat.
5. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
5. Demonstrate the skills and recognize the benefits of working collaboratively.
Cooperation is the most significant element of the group project. Seussical preparation is a huge project that cannot be done alone. We divided everyone into different groups. While I was busy doing the grass parts, some of my classmates are doing the background cardboard. We finished everything on time because we worked together. We helped each other out and sometimes when my classmates can not come, we help them do it. It’s very important to have our classmates so that we can finish this huge project.
6. Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.
6. Demonstrate engagement with issues of global significance.
Leukemia is a very common global disease. There were approximately 2.43 million prevalent cases of leukemia. It is the most common type of cancer in children and adolescents (25.1 percent). I went to take care of children who are in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit in Mackay Memorial Hospital, most of whom have leukemia. It was heartbreaking to think that there are so many children in the world who are suffering from diseases. They don’t have a normal childhood, they are in the hospital every day, and the only thing we could all do is stay with them. Add something new to their lives, not just chemotherapy and injections. Having this opportunity makes me feel the pain of these children, but also how noble the medical staff is. Sending children's books and helping out with concerts is a small thing for us, but for the children in the hospital, it is something they rarely get to touch with. I am very happy that I have the ability to help the children and I hope they can be healthy again one day.
7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.
7. Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions.
To visit the pediatric intensive care unit seemed to be going well, but actually, our family had a discussion about what to give them. Sending them children's books is special and they can learn from them, especially since my mom published them. However, not every kid in the hospital is small enough to read a toddler's education books. Some children are no longer suitable for that kind of book. We were talking about donating money to the hospital but were also afraid that the parents of the kids would think we pitied them, and had negative feelings toward us. It was very hard to make the right decision so we decided to bring them books. At least when the children grow up, they can still leave the books in the hospital and give them to other children, and also give them spiritual support. Making the right decision is very important, it can avoid the consequences that we don't want to face and also make the whole event go smoothly.
Conclusion
Although I spent a lot of time during these two years on CAS, I feel I have gained a lot both physically and mentally. The knowledge and experience I have learned is something that cannot be obtained academically. I have also made great progress in physical fitness, helping others, and teaching. I am beyond grateful for having this opportunity to accomplish something that I've always wanted to accomplish. Taking advantage of these precious opportunities, I have become closer with friends and family, and have grown a lot spiritually. I am looking forward to the next chapter of my life with these precious experiences and values.
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