Course Description
This course gives students opportunity to deepen their knowledge of Japanese language and culture through their community service and to develop communication skills through discussions, reflection essays and presentations. Taught in Japanese.
Reflective Narrative
Although I participated in a similar volunteer experience prior to studying abroad, my experiences in Japanese Service Learning helped me learn about myself and how language can act as a bridge between communities. In class, we talked with peers about our goals in our new classrooms, and read articles focusing on the differences of service and volunteering, my favorite of which included the possible negativity regarding "volunteerism," which generally involves a "savior complex" that separates civilians from those whom they're attempting to help.
My group consisted of myself and two Japanese international students, and we were assigned to Del Rey Woods Elementary School in Monterey, CA, in which we developed lessons for 4th and 5th graders, and stayed late to offer cultural activities to younger students. Our weekly lesson plans introduced basic facets of Japanese culture, such as geography, food, and children's games. Seeing as the students were so young, I found it difficult to act with authority while simultaneously keeping the lessons fun and informative. However, because of the discussions we had with our peers in class each day, we could return to our site each week and use new techniques and concepts to better connect with our students and ultimately learn through them and their own individual experiences. I believe that we were able to did this effectively by closely interacting with groups of students; when we did art projects, we each took care of a group of five students and could ask them to compare Japanese culture to their home cultures. All of our students were Mexican-American, and by having so much variety in our small classroom, we could complete the full cultural exchange that CSUMB's Service Learning program emphasizes.
By serving the community wholeheartedly, we can hope to make a small impact on one child's life that will follow them out of the classroom and trickle down into the community. We can effect each student's short-term well-being by simply engaging with them and helping them get excited about school. Ideally, this turns into long term well being via how we encourage them to stay in school and break out of their lower socio-economic status that they were born into. By incorporating ethics throughout our lessons, focusing on tolerance and cultural understanding, we can influence children to be better long-term and improve their lives, this is the social justice we are tasked with as teachers. We hold ourselves to the same standards we hold our students, because we are equal to them.
My group consisted of myself and two Japanese international students, and we were assigned to Del Rey Woods Elementary School in Monterey, CA, in which we developed lessons for 4th and 5th graders, and stayed late to offer cultural activities to younger students. Our weekly lesson plans introduced basic facets of Japanese culture, such as geography, food, and children's games. Seeing as the students were so young, I found it difficult to act with authority while simultaneously keeping the lessons fun and informative. However, because of the discussions we had with our peers in class each day, we could return to our site each week and use new techniques and concepts to better connect with our students and ultimately learn through them and their own individual experiences. I believe that we were able to did this effectively by closely interacting with groups of students; when we did art projects, we each took care of a group of five students and could ask them to compare Japanese culture to their home cultures. All of our students were Mexican-American, and by having so much variety in our small classroom, we could complete the full cultural exchange that CSUMB's Service Learning program emphasizes.
By serving the community wholeheartedly, we can hope to make a small impact on one child's life that will follow them out of the classroom and trickle down into the community. We can effect each student's short-term well-being by simply engaging with them and helping them get excited about school. Ideally, this turns into long term well being via how we encourage them to stay in school and break out of their lower socio-economic status that they were born into. By incorporating ethics throughout our lessons, focusing on tolerance and cultural understanding, we can influence children to be better long-term and improve their lives, this is the social justice we are tasked with as teachers. We hold ourselves to the same standards we hold our students, because we are equal to them.
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