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:One of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had during my time at CSUMB was taking Service Learning. I took this course during the Fall semester of 2011, and not only did I learn the meaning of “service”, but I was also able to improve my Japanese skills through weekly reflections. We started off the course by discussing the difference between “service”, “volunteering”, and “helping”. Initially, I didn’t understand the difference between these three, and just assumed they were the same, or similar. However, we read articles explaining each of them, and I learned how the terms helping and volunteering can sometimes have negative connotations. Helping or volunteering sometimes implies that one group thinks they are superior to the other, which puts them in the position to help/volunteer. This can make the opposite group feel low or insecure about themselves. We learned that service, on the other hand, is an exchange, where both groups have something to offer. I definitely saw this during my time in this course.
My group was assigned to Highland Elementary School in Seaside, CA, where we worked with 2nd and 5th graders. We developed weekly lesson plans that introduced different aspects of Japanese culture, and also created class materials to engage the students. Of course, it was difficult at first keeping the children interested, and when they would misbehave it would be tempting to be authoritative. However, we were able to utilize the concepts we learned in class, and put ourselves on the same level of the students in order to gain their respect and trust. We did this by participating in the activities with them, rather than giving them an assignment and having them do it themselves. This was very effective, and by the end of the course we had built great relationships with our students. Throughout the process, not only were we able to introduce them to Japanese culture, but we also got to learn about their culture as well, as most students were of Hispanic origin. They would tell us about their own experiences at home, and when we would teach them words in Japanese, they would tell us how to say it in Spanish. Thus, I felt we were able to achieve that “exchange” that Service-Learning promotes.
Sample Works:
Reflective Narrative:One of the most rewarding experiences I’ve had during my time at CSUMB was taking Service Learning. I took this course during the Fall semester of 2011, and not only did I learn the meaning of “service”, but I was also able to improve my Japanese skills through weekly reflections. We started off the course by discussing the difference between “service”, “volunteering”, and “helping”. Initially, I didn’t understand the difference between these three, and just assumed they were the same, or similar. However, we read articles explaining each of them, and I learned how the terms helping and volunteering can sometimes have negative connotations. Helping or volunteering sometimes implies that one group thinks they are superior to the other, which puts them in the position to help/volunteer. This can make the opposite group feel low or insecure about themselves. We learned that service, on the other hand, is an exchange, where both groups have something to offer. I definitely saw this during my time in this course.
My group was assigned to Highland Elementary School in Seaside, CA, where we worked with 2nd and 5th graders. We developed weekly lesson plans that introduced different aspects of Japanese culture, and also created class materials to engage the students. Of course, it was difficult at first keeping the children interested, and when they would misbehave it would be tempting to be authoritative. However, we were able to utilize the concepts we learned in class, and put ourselves on the same level of the students in order to gain their respect and trust. We did this by participating in the activities with them, rather than giving them an assignment and having them do it themselves. This was very effective, and by the end of the course we had built great relationships with our students. Throughout the process, not only were we able to introduce them to Japanese culture, but we also got to learn about their culture as well, as most students were of Hispanic origin. They would tell us about their own experiences at home, and when we would teach them words in Japanese, they would tell us how to say it in Spanish. Thus, I felt we were able to achieve that “exchange” that Service-Learning promotes.
Sample Works:
Lesson Plan | |
File Size: | 158 kb |
File Type: |
Final Paper | |
File Size: | 252 kb |
File Type: |