The 7C's

1. Consciousness of self: awareness of one’s own beliefs, attitudes, and values

2. Congruence: thinking and acting with consistency, authenticity, and honesty

3. Commitment: the energy that motivates us to serve

4. Collaboration: to work with others in a common effort

5. Common purpose: the shared aims and values that people have in a collaboration

6. Controversy with civility: different viewpoints are inevitable, but they must be shared with civility

7. Citizenship: to become responsibly connected to the community through service

How I have exhibited the 7C's in my service learning:

1. Consciousness of Self: I completed an online implicit bias workshop to analyze my attitudes and beliefs further.

2. Congruence: I was honest with my supervisor when discussing the days I couldn’t come to OSD.

3. Commitment: I am very committed to working with the toddlers at OSD and learning more sign language to communicate with them better.

4. Collaboration: I have to collaborate with the various preschool teachers that I am assisting for the children to receive the best care and learning experience.

5. Common Purpose: I believe our common purpose for the preschool is to provide Deaf/HOH children with care and education in their language so that they can grow up with a stable connection to their identity.

6. Controversy with Civility: I’ve worked with individuals who have held different viewpoints from mine. We had to discuss our different opinions and compromise to make the best decisions for our group.

7. Citizenship: Through service at OSD, I hope to develop a level of responsibility and connection with the Deaf community and become a more engaged citizen.

Agent of Change

How I am an Agent of Change:

1. I am an agent of change in the sense that I possess the drive and commitment to wanting to change as a person and to support change in the community.

2. I am learning to become an agent of change by finding new ways to be more hands-on with my impact and go beyond advocacy.

3. I want to be more involved as a citizen and advocate for not only changes to how our society treats Deaf education but to other aspects of how Deaf people are mistreated and ignored in our society. For example, I want to be more involved in accessibility. Helping people create closed captions for videos or even being aware of how to create a signing space.

4. It’s a bit difficult because I work at a Deaf school with mostly Deaf people, and the system that OSD has for itself is fine. I love learning about how education may differ for Deaf students and how teaching differs for Deaf faculty. It’s hard to find things to change in the environment itself, so I have to look outside to societal and personal issues.

What I struggle with: 

It’s hard for me to determine whether what I do would be considered the actions of an agent of change. For example, I’ve learned that Deaf schools are often underfunded and understaffed. I can definitely advocate for more resources to be allocated toward Deaf schools, but since this is a government-level issue, I don’t have the power to take it on by myself. I’ve done things to surprise the kids, like planning some sensory-friendly Easter gifts, but is that an example of being an agent of change? Or is it kindness or bonding? I think that’s what I struggle with the most. 

Updates: 

I have noticed that one of the kids that I work with has an interesting clothing situation. Her clothes are often too big, mismatched, or not appropriate for the weather, which is typically indicative of poverty and issues with getting clothes. I've been thinking about asking Gretchen if she can share more about her situation, and maybe we can get her some clothes.