Final Service Learning Reflection #3

I feel like out of the readings that we've done that Savage Inequalities relates to the volunteer work than any other piece we've read. The way that the children I've tutored over the semester and the children that are talked about in Savage Inequalities are very similar. They are determined to get out of where they are and go to college to become successful. While they are kids, in both instances, that just want to get through school or just drop it, there are those that want more than what they have. They work hard and are able to break free of where they are and get to college and achieve their goals.

Another way that the two are similar is that the kids don't have the best learning conditions and they knew it. In Savage Inequalities in many of the schools there was a lack of books, basic learning materials, and the school itself were in bad shape. Now, where I did the tutoring is a nice center, but sometimes it did lack in some basic things. The learning materials they had were a few years old or just out of date in general and sometimes they center workers weren't able to help with the homework cause they didn't know the answers themselves. Not being able to help the kids achieve their goals is heartbreaking but sometimes it's totally out of your control even though you want the best for them.

With that, the support of the teachers that they give to the kids is something that is similar in both instances. Most of the teachers in Savage Inequalities try their hardest to help the kids and have faith in them. At the center, the adults in charge want what's best for the kids and will help them any way that they possibly can so that they are able to achieve their goals. In the book, the teachers often went above and beyond their means to help the children to get what they needed. Having that support of an adult is sometimes all the children need to excel and know that there is something better out there for them, even if where they are, there isn't the best for them.

Final Service Learning Reflection #2

The use of space is a big thing that impacts the way that I help the kids. The homework room has a big window that sees out into the space where all the other kids play, which can cause many distractions when trying to help someone with their homework. They see what the other kids are doing and it causes them to loose focus and to not want to work or just to rush through the work to get it done so they are able to play with their friends and not be stuck in the homework room. Their minds tend to wander and it's hard to get them back to focusing on their homework to get done.

Another thing I noticed is that the materials available are hand-me-downs and not in the best condition. Looking at the encyclopedias, they weren't even the most current and there isn't a complete set. I never even saw any of the kids use any of the books on the shelves. It's like they know they aren't the best books.

Towards the end of my visits, the kids got a game room, but during my last 2 visits, they weren't allowed to be in there due to the fact that somehow the equipment had gotten messed up. It upset the adults in charge because the equipment was new and the kids were disrespecting it. I was surprised the kids didn't show the equipment more care since it was new and wasn't used. When they weren't allowed in there, they would just stare in there looking and wishing they could play with the games. It was kind of heartbreaking to watch because some of them probably don't have access to play with such nice things and the fact that just a few kids ruined it for everyone didn't seem fair to them.

I feel like the space outside was the most valuable of all to the kids. With the playground and the track they are able to run around and not be so constricted to being inside. On the days where it was too cold to be outside, you could tell the kids were going crazy while being inside. Being able to have the freedom to run around and not be yelled at for running inside or anything is important to the kids.

Final Service Learning Reflection #1

The experience I've had in my learning of literacy is far different than those of the students I've been involved with in the sessions. What I believe to be some basic aspects of writing, literacy, etc. the students had no idea how to utilize them or even what they were. Their education seems so lackluster to what mine was and that was surprising to realize. I felt like all students got the same education, but I was wrong. I went to school in a predominately white community with good schools, whereas most of these students go to lower income schools that don't have as much money to give them the things they need to be able to get the education they deserve. Seeing how where they live affects what kind of education they get, to me is something that shouldn't be happening.

We did have some similarities in our literacy experience. We both had teachers that cared a lot about our education and wanted us to succeed in life. Having a great support system that has faith in what we are doing and that we can succeed is a key part in our literacy experience. Being taught by someone who cares, gives them the education they need and deserve. If they have teachers that don't care about what they are teaching them, then they don't get the education that they deserve to get.

Volunteering blog session 7&8

Yesterday I did my final 2 hours of volunteering. I got there a little bit earlier and it was interesting to watch the staff prep for the kids to arrive. 2 of the high school students were already there so I talked with them a little bit about why they were there so early and other things. When the younger kids showed up they immediately had to go to the gym and once again, like the last time I visited, they were reprimanded over something they had done in the new game room. I decided not to go into the gym this time and just watched from the doorway and it was interesting to see how the kids reacted to what they were being told. Most of the kids opted to go outside after that and I decided to stay inside with the few who stayed in since it was chilly out.

During the 2nd hour, I stayed inside and talked to the high school kids about college. They were curious about Belmont and what was required and what the classes are like. They were really interested in hearing about college, which I guess shouldn't surprise me, but it was good to see that they were so determined to go to college and pursue a higher education than just high school. After that, since no one had homework, we just sat around and watched TV.

Volunteering blog session 5&6

Today I volunteered for 2 hours. The first hour started off by one of the heads scolding the kids about messing up the new game room that they had just gotten. The way she scolded them surprised me. I thought yelling at them might not have been the best thing for her to do. After that, we helped one kid do homework and since it was Friday she was the only one who had homework.

I spent the rest of my time playing marbles with a few of the different kids. It's interesting to hear them talk to each other and the way they do. They just seem so much more mature and talk about things I think kids their age shouldn't be. They seem to experience more in their lives for their ages than what I did when I was their age.

Overall, today was a slow day since they weren't allowed to go outside.

Movie Storyboard

Storyboard ideas for video project

The idea I have for my video project to go with my enthographic survey is looking at the different ships of the characters on Glee. I'm planning on using images from different websites and then having title slides to show the name of each ship along with 3-5 pictures of the couple. I plan to have some sort of audio from the show, but I haven't decided which one I will use.

Volunteering blog session 3&4

Today I volunteered for 2 hours. For the first hour, I helped the kids with their homework. The one boy I was helping with math seemed to be focused on anything but his homework, so it took almost a full hour to do 15 problems on his worksheet. I helped another girl with the same worksheet and she breezed right through it. For the boy, I had to spend 15 minutes trying to explain just one problem. He seemed frustrated but I think in the end he got it.

During the second hour, I went and sat outside and watched the kids play for a little bit. It is interesting to see how they interact with each other. After sitting outside for 15 minutes, I went back inside and some of the older kids were in the homework room so I went in to help them. One boy needed help with math and I made an attempt to help him. Another girl needed help with her biology so I helped her with that. They started asking me questions about Belmont and college in general so we talked about that while they did their homework. They seemed really interested in college, which was a cool thing to see.

Wesbites for project

I found 2 websites useful for my project:

http://www.gleeforum.com/forums.html
http://ontd-glee.livejournal.com/

Glee Forum was the more active of the 2 communities. When I was on Glee Forum there was over 700 users logged in at that period in time. They have many many subsections of the forum, which makes it easier to find people talking about a certain subject. They have threads for every episode ever aired and also a thread for every character.

Ontd-glee is more a community strictly where news related articles are posted. So it's only active when there is a lot of news going on with the show. I'm a member of this community, so I know the period of times in which it is more active. This community is more sarcastic than most Glee communities. Members have inside jokes related to certain characters on the show and those jokes stay relevant for awhile in the community. There aren't as many members as Glee Forum, but the ones on ontd-glee are active a lot within the community.

Glossary

• Gleek - Someone who is a fan of Glee
• Klaine - The pairing/shipping of Kurt and Blaine
• Hummelberry - The pairing/shipping of kurt and Rachel
• Finchel - The pairing/shipping of Finn and Rachel
• Slushie facial - Getting a slushie thrown in your face
• Gleerios - Glee members that are Cheerios
• The Muckraker - The newspaper featured on Glee
• Fondue For Two - The webshow that Brittany has on the show
• Brittiana - The shipping/pairing of Brittany and Santana
• Puckleberry - The shipping/pairing of Puck and Rachel
• Quick - The shipping/pairing of Quinn and Puck
• Dalton - The school where Kurt transfers to after being harrassed by Karfosky
• Breadstix - The restaurant often gone to by the characters on the show
• Bartie - The pairing/shipping of Brittany and Artie
• Tike - The pairing/shipping of Tina and Mike
• HeMo - The nickname of Heather Morris (Brittany)
• Diva - off - When two characters, typically Rachel, Merecdes, or Kurt fight for a solo.

 

Cohesion and Coherence - October 7th

I'm connected to my project because I am a fan of Glee. I may not be the craziest Gleek out there, but I do have a love for the show. I look forward to every Tuesday that the show is on and talk to my friends about it after it airs. I check out the forums/message boards/communities to see what other Glee fans think about the episode. I feel that having a love for the show will help me in my project because I will be able to understand other Glee fans' passion about the show. Unlike an outsider who has no idea about the show, I'm able to understand where they are coming from.

Volunteering blog session 1&2

Today I volunteered for 2.5 hours at Easley. For the first half hour, I helped one student with their social studies homework. I had been told since it was Friday most of the kids don't have homework so they tend to play most of the time. For the rest of the time, I played different games with the kids. We played marbles, foose ball, and then we finally went outside. One of the girls said I needed to go outside but that she needed to beat me at foose ball first. So once she did that, we went outside to the playground. A few of the younger girls took a liking to me and one in particular would stand pretty much on top of me as if I was her security blanket or something. I noticed the older kids were really self sufficient and didn't need help from me or anyone else from the center. One of the little girls I was with set up the cones and ran around the perimeter of the playground a few times. After about a half hour outside, we had to go back inside since it was 5. I went back inside and played a few rounds of marbles with one of the girls before I left.

Interview

I interviewed someone I know through the Glee fandom, Nedum. She's 18 and lives in the Chicago area. We did the interview via email.

1. Why do you watch Glee?
well at first i watched it because i really like musicals and it seemed funny but i think i continue to watch it because of the cast

2. What makes someone a Gleek?
probably when they follow the show religiously and become so invested in the characters' development that they basically want to write the show....

3. Why does Glee have such a cult following?
i think it's because most people that watch glee realize it's a dumb show so why not bond over our dumbness. or because it made such a huge impact in such a short amount of time, who knows.

4. Who is your favorite character and why?
THIS IS HARD. ok favorite male is blaine because he's hot and i think when his character was added the show had a new depth what with kurt's gayness and all. favorite girl is between britanny and rachel... britanny because heather morris is an amazing dancer and rachel ebcause her voice is fabulous and her character speaks to my soul

5. What part of the fandom is the scariest/most outrageous?
when people ship EVERYONE WITH EVERYONE . it's annoying. and klainers can be a little too invested. idk.

Interview

For my in class interview I interviewed Faith about Glee. She's actually a fan of the show, so some of her quotes will be useful for my paper. She had great opinions on the show and showed an interest in my questions. Below are two quotes that I hope to use in my paper.

"It's a show about the underdog."
"Glee shows that everyone is valuable no matter who they are."

A cultural artifact related to the Glee fandom is the slushie. Every Glee fan knows that the slushie is a key part of the show and even a big part of the fandom. When most fans think of Glee they think of slushies, since every character on the show has been slushied at least once, if not more than once. It represents the fact that the Glee members themselves are outcasts, since they get slushies in the face and the fans can relate to that, being an outcast. They feel like the characters are real people just like them. All Glee fans can find at least one character they can relate to.

Humanities Symposium

One of the lectures I went to during the humanities symposium was "Truth In 140 Characters?" which focused on social media's influence on the way we receive our news. It focused on how we use Youtube, Twitter, Facebook, and other social media outlets to receive our news. 2 students were on the panel and they discussed how due to social media they found out about the soccer coach scandal that occurred last year. Once that was brought up, the whole conversation seemed to shift to the scandal and not exactly about what the lecture was truly meant to be about, which kind of bummed me out. While the lecture was informative had it stayed on topic, like I wish it would have, it would have been a so much better lecture and by far more informative.

One thing I did take away was that with social media we are able to get news and information much faster than we have in years past. Almost instantly we are able to find out what's going on anywhere and everywhere in the world. We can use our computers, smart phones, etc. and we have access to all sorts of news at our fingertips. Without social media, news would take awhile to get out and wouldn't travel as fast.

When I went in the Beaman to observe the other day for class I noticed one key element, that most everyone kept to themselves. Everyone was sitting at a table alone or maybe with one other person, but they didn't really communicate with each other. Everyone kept to themselves, but on occasion they would see someone they knew and they might tell them hi, but it would throw everyone else off because someone was talking in such a quiet area. It was almost like we were in the library with how quiet everyone seemed to be. It was like when someone talked out among everyone that it was such a shock to everyone that it confused them. It seems to be the social norm in the early hours to be quiet in the Beaman, but as the day goes on I noticed people become more talkative and social. It all comes down to whoever is in there and what is already going on. People seem to mimic what everyone else is doing so that they can conform to what's going on.

What surprised me? It surprised me how much people really kept to themselves. No one really seemed to mix with each other unless they knew the person pretty well.

What intrigued me? That not too many students were in the Beaman. I know it was during a class time but I thought it would be full of more people. It seemed like more people were in the gym working out, than out in the lobby studying.

What disturbed me? Nothing disturbed me. Everything was normal and fine and nothing was out of place.

Topic ideas

I've come up with the following ideas for my project, all dealing with Internet fandoms/fans.

- Glee fans, otherwise known as Gleeks. I'm a fan of the show and am always amazed at how dedicated people are towards the show and what they come up with. Glee fans are a special fan all their own and have their own culture and sometimes even their own language.

- Justin Bieber fans, otherwise known as Beliebers. While I realize, I am kind of old to like Justin Bieber, I do. His music is fun, upbeat, and all around positive. His fans have been compared to the kinds of fans The Beatles had. It would be interesting to look more into his fans, as a culture, and what exactly makes them Beliebers.

- Harry Potter fans, otherwise known as Potterheads. While I'm not as big of a fan of Harry Potter, as I am the two above, I do have an interest in this topic. It's so interesting to see people so into a book and now a movie series, that they are so dedicated to. It'd be interesting to research how the fanbase grew/spread throughout the book series and even moreso when the movies came out.

The two discourses in this video are those of gender roles and generational/social.

Gender roles: Most people would not think that a male working in a bridal shop as something that we would see everyday. He proves gender stereotypes wrong by showing that he is capable to work in a bridal shop just as much as a woman is.

Generational/social: The grandmother and the granddaughter have 2 totally different views on what is an acceptable dress. The grandmother has her views and the granddaughter has hers. The grandmother believes the granddaughter should wear something more classic, while the granddaughter wants something more contemporary. The grandmother has her views because of time in which she grew up more classic dresses were worn, whereas today, dresses are more contemporary. Each has their own view because of how society has influenced them.

Journal #1

Things I was told not to do when writing:

• Use contractions. I was told that using contractions made my writing very informal and that I needed to have a formal writing style.
• The use of first person. Writing papers without using I, me, etc. that way my writing did not seem like I was forcing my views/opinions down someone's throat.
• Never use Wikipedia as a source. My teachers often said that it was not a reliable source and that anything from Wikipedia could not be used in my papers.
• Do not plagiarize. If I was not sure if it needed to be quoted or not, I was told just to quote it, that would it would not come off as I was trying to steal someone else's work.