Application of Knowledge
Jose Muniz Jr & Sydney Shively
Embedded Files
"Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity" - Aristotle
"Education is an ornament in prosperity and a refuge in adversity" - Aristotle
Service Learning
Service Learning
Sumner High
Sumner High
At Sumner Public High School, we learned about the history and how it was a prosperous high school community in the days of the civil rights movement, but later population declined and is now struggling to stay open.
WashU
WashU
Washington University taught us about the guiding principles for community engagement. Those Principles are: well-being, reciprocity, reflection, accountability, respect, clarity, humility, and equity lens.
Ready Readers
Ready Readers
While we served in the workshop, we learned the behind the scenes processes in how the books are packaged and sent to individuals. We learned the focus of ReadyReaders is to distribute their books to places that don't have the resources to obtain books for children.
KIPP Inspire
KIPP Inspire
KIPP Inspire Public Charter Middle School taught us the difference between public schools and public charter schools. During our time there we observed many positive things but also many things that need to be addressed and worked on in order to do what is best for the children in attendance.
Course Learning
Course Learning
Triangle of Quality Service
Triangle of Quality Service
In class, we learned about active citizenship. Active citizens prioritize their communities in their values and life choices. We demonstrated this with our quality service.
- Education: We spent nine weeks in class learning about service and the specifics of education in St. Louis.
- Direct Service: We served and learned with 7 different groups. While doing this, we cleaned floors, sorted clothes, packed books, etc.
- Reflection: At the end of each day, we talked to the other members in our group about what we saw and learned and how we felt.
Asset Based Community Development
Asset Based Community Development
Asset Based Community Development is the idea that every person has an asset, or skill, that can help the community. This was extremely evident in many of the places we visited. At Sumner High School, alumni groups work to keep the school up and running and to keep administrators in check. At the East St. Louis School District 189 meeting, we witnessed many parents, grandparents, and other concerned citizens calling the school board members out for their lack of support of the students. One woman mentioned that she spends her free time at the school doing what she can to help the students. Everyone can contribute something, no matter how small it may seem.
Course Readings
Course Readings
The Problem With Little White Girls, Boys and Voluntourism
The Problem With Little White Girls, Boys and Voluntourism
This reading explained that direct service is not right for everyone. In some cases, it is better to give the people native to the area the tools they need to help their own community grow. We may cause more harm than good. During our trip in, we stayed mostly behind the scenes, doing work that the institutions did not have time for: cleaning, packing, sorting, etc. It was not our place to be 'role models' to the students. They deserve to have role models who look like them.
Volunteering Abroad? Read This Before You Post That Selfie
Volunteering Abroad? Read This Before You Post That Selfie
This article informed first time travelers that their posts on social media are more than just a simple plot to get likes. Social media posts about volunteerism usually portray stereotypes and make impoverished individuals look helpless rather than empowered. During our trip we made it a priority to not post any pictures that could be seen at negative. The only pictures we posted were of ourselves and our time exploring the great city of St. Louis.
What's Next?
What's Next?
Our trip to St. Louis taught us the importance of education in today's society. We saw how real racial segregation is, even in 2019, and its impact on education equity. We can use what we learned about education equity in St. Louis and apply it to the education system here in Iowa City.
Our first hand experiences have made us more aware of social inequities in our world. We are also more aware of our privilege, and we can use that here in Iowa City to spend more time volunteering and learning. We will be able to promote service trips to other students to get them involved in active citizenship. Our service trip has empowered us to make a change in our own community.
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