Not far! It’s been a busy couple of weeks! Work has taken over as of late, but the volunteering is still a goin’… I just haven’t had much time to write. The last couple of weeks have included all of my regular favorites.
A few highlights…
- Hands On Greater Portland CARES Day (more on that in a minute!)
- Tabling for Hands On Greater Portland. It is so fun to talk about Hands On.
- SMART reading. This most recent week I worked with a kindergartner who did cartwheels down the hall on the way to the SMART room. Next week is the last week before summer break.
- AKA Science – weeks 3 and 4 included discussion of earthquakes and tornadoes. Now when I ask what causes certain types of weather… the answer tends to be “the combination of hot and cold air.” We continue to start each class with running or walking around the school to expend energy. I joined them in a race one week.. I don’t think they knew what to think when they found out I can actually run as fast as they can.
- AmeriCorps Alums Leadership Council – we are gearing up for a national conference on volunteering in Atlanta at the end of the month. We have talked about wearing superhero capes to stand out in the conference of 4-5,000 attendees. Whatever it takes to stand out.
- Oregon Commission on Service meeting – Friday’s meeting was in Albany, OR. 4 new Commissioners add great energy to the mix.
Total Volunteer Hours as of 5/11/08: 115.75
3 months into the adventure.
Showing posts with label SMART. Show all posts
Showing posts with label SMART. Show all posts
11 May 2008
14 April 2008
What does it all mean?
This week has a few of the usual suspects and one new endeavor. I read at SMART on Tuesday, worked with our local AmeriCorps Alums chapter, and went to an orientation at Fernwood Elementary/Middle for a new Monday activity; teaching science in an after-school program through AKA Science.
I spent Saturday at the University of Oregon at their student leadership conference. I presented a workshop called “Civic Engagement a.k.a. how to be a superhero in your community.” There were 25 or so college students in the room and I decided to utilize their experiences in a focus group discussion about community involvement.
We watched a video about the 4 college freshman in NC who changed the world by having a seat at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in February of 1960. Within 1 month 54 cities had similar sit in’s. Those 4 young men made a difference.
The U of O students worked through a couple of scenarios where they were called on to react to theoretical situations on campus: a dorm fire and a campus policy change on recycling. The students had great short-term and long-term actions for the scenarios. Then we talked about one’s responsibility in the community. It is easier to react when something hits you, but if we were to talk about the every day things students do… what does it mean to be a “citizen”? In Ancient Greece, an idiot was the opposite of a “citizen” or someone involved in community.
The students discussed the idea of volunteering and whether that should be a part of citizenship. Some thought a requirement was good… others thought is should be by choice and related to one’s interest. They mostly agreed that being informed was an important component of being a citizen. This led to a discussion on voting and whether that was an important component of citizenship. The students thought that voting without information was useless and should therefore be a neutral indicator of citizenship. Do you agree?
By the way… if you are in Oregon, please make sure you are registered with a party so that you can vote in our primary on May 20th. If you are an independent, then you cannot vote for a major party candidate. Your vote matters! Please register by April 21st. More information on registering to vote is here!
Total Volunteer Hours as of April 13th: 87.5
I spent Saturday at the University of Oregon at their student leadership conference. I presented a workshop called “Civic Engagement a.k.a. how to be a superhero in your community.” There were 25 or so college students in the room and I decided to utilize their experiences in a focus group discussion about community involvement.
We watched a video about the 4 college freshman in NC who changed the world by having a seat at a Woolworth’s lunch counter in February of 1960. Within 1 month 54 cities had similar sit in’s. Those 4 young men made a difference.
The U of O students worked through a couple of scenarios where they were called on to react to theoretical situations on campus: a dorm fire and a campus policy change on recycling. The students had great short-term and long-term actions for the scenarios. Then we talked about one’s responsibility in the community. It is easier to react when something hits you, but if we were to talk about the every day things students do… what does it mean to be a “citizen”? In Ancient Greece, an idiot was the opposite of a “citizen” or someone involved in community.
The students discussed the idea of volunteering and whether that should be a part of citizenship. Some thought a requirement was good… others thought is should be by choice and related to one’s interest. They mostly agreed that being informed was an important component of being a citizen. This led to a discussion on voting and whether that was an important component of citizenship. The students thought that voting without information was useless and should therefore be a neutral indicator of citizenship. Do you agree?
By the way… if you are in Oregon, please make sure you are registered with a party so that you can vote in our primary on May 20th. If you are an independent, then you cannot vote for a major party candidate. Your vote matters! Please register by April 21st. More information on registering to vote is here!
Total Volunteer Hours as of April 13th: 87.5
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