Application of Knowledge
Stacy Ramirez & Zaira Ramirez
" It is not beyond our power to create a world in which all children have access to a good education"
- Nelson Mandela
Course Content in Action
Throughout our time in St. Louis, we were able to see how the concepts we studied in class played out in real world situations. Our in-depth reflections focused on the issues affecting the communities we worked with, but always tied back to core concepts discussed throughout the semester.
Course Concepts
- The Social Change model was vital to understanding how our service work aligned with bigger goals concerning education equity. By understanding the model we were able to utilize and integrate our individual strengths to work together towards a common goal, service to the St. Louis community, and deepen our understanding of the social issues that create education inequity.
- Having prior knowledge about what it means to be an active citizen within our communities guided us throughout our week of service. We were exposed to different learning environments and organizations that focused on the development and advancement in equal, accessible education.
Common Read
While preparing for our week of service, we read and interpreted John Diamond and Amanda Lewis' book Despite the Best Intentions. The book explores Riverview High School a well off school with high-achieving pupils and suggestively well trained faculty. Throughout the book the author keep one question in the reader's mind: Why does the achievement gap between minority (namely black and Latinx) students and their peers continue to manifest itself even when under the best circumstances? The read helped us grasp a deeper knowledge of the school systems within our nation and exposed education inequity as a problem that persists in even the best schools. The book also helped to somewhat understand the lived experiences of students enrolled in St. Louis' schooling system.
Knowledge Gained
We had the opportunity to partner with faculty within three structurally diverse schools with common visions for supporting their scholars' early education. Through being exposed to service in different environments, our team had the opportunity to learn more about ourselves and how we can become better active citizens within our own communities. This service trip allowed us to intensify our individual strengths, challenged us to think outside our own personal boundaries, and personally reflect on how we can integrate what we learned into our future role as an active citizen.
Gymnasium inside
The Biome STEAM School
Students working on projects at the Lafayette Prep Academy
What's Next?
Our experience in St. Louis helped us realize the power in strong community engagement and organization. Throughout this learning experience, we also learned that social change can be sparked by one individual. This knowledge can be applied to future efforts within our own communities and partnerships. Education inequity is an issue that not only affect the communities of St. Louis, but stems throughout the United States. The awareness and intellect that we gained from this trip showed us that it is essential to put ourselves out there and work with others in our communities in order to become active agents of change.
