My Service Experience

I Volunteered at Country Meadows with the special Ed kids and it was probably one of the scariest but definitely a treasured memory of mine. I really had to work up the guts to actually convince myself that we are all blessed in a different way and no matter what in the end we are human and desire the same thing: love, attention, care, and fun (especially for kids). I helped the kids out, a little with their homework and then during snack time and finally recess and really throughout the entire two-day experience I really did realize that stereotypes are probably the most stupid things created on this planet. I never had anyone in my family who volunteered with special Ed kids and I never had the personal experience to spend time with kids of needs, for whatever reason I was absolutely nervous out of my mind. I wasn’t even really sure what I’m supposed to say…how I’m supposed to introduce myself…and what I’m expected to talk about afterward. For example, I wasn’t even sure if they knew who SpongeBob is…and that is super pathetic to look back and reflect on now. I talked a little bit with Heather, to get a feel of what’s expected for me. I was warned; sometimes the kids do get out of hand by having a “sugar-high” and other times the kids just don’t realize that they’re being loud and silly. Honestly, I saw that when the kids scream, jump, make funny “bloop” noises they are the happier than a kid with a happy meal. I’ve spent a ton of time with non-special Ed kids whether it was through babysitting, family occasions, and my friends’ siblings and reflecting on the differences the non-special Ed kids seems like they really take life for granted. They whine over not getting certain toys, they complain about not having a pacifier to sleep with but; my goodness, the kids I hung out with for the service hours really took the meaning of “enjoying life” to a whole new level. During snack time, they truly believe in “life’s short, eat dessert first” and they follow very thoroughly with that idea ha-ha. Aside from the silly stuff and more of the serious stuff, when Heather spoke to me about the kids’ backgrounds, I seemed to hear a lot of the same, unfortunate, stuff story from story. Each of the kids get made fun of during lunch time, laughed at and stared at in the halls; the worst part of it these kids are only about nine or ten years old… it upsets me to see and hear stories like that because when I spent time with the kids they were able to put a smile on my face no matter what circumstance my day was classified under before hand. The reason I said stereotypes are the stupidest things ever created before in this blog is because I truly feel that due to the stereotypes the media sets out it causes kids and even adults in some cases to become stereotypical and judgmental. Often times when you watch a TV show, you aren’t really exposed to kids with special needs so when you come across them you aren’t really sure how to react or what to say, for that matter. This was completely true in my case, I really wasn’t sure how to start a conversation because I didn’t want to make the kids feel like I think that they don’t know how to open their lunch boxes but at the same time you always see people asking the kids “did you need help with that?” or “did you have to go to the bathroom?” but while I was there I saw that no, that’s not the case. Not at all. The kids have their own minds, opinions, and interests and really are no different than myself on the inside. For example, when the kids have to use the bathroom, they ask or when they want to use a glue stick they know exactly where it is and they don’t need special assistance just as any other nine or ten year old. During recess or outside time, whatever it’s called, the kids played any game I would play as a kid and it was completely similar to what you’d expect from stereotypes: the girls played games like “make believe (someone was the mom, and the dog and the grocery bagger lady) the boys played ball games such as a form of basket ball or catch. It’s funny because when I reflect on what I did in elementary school it was pretty much the same thing. The girls all played games like dress up, school, cooking and crafts. Then you’d have the “rough and tough” guys who played hardcore tag and rolled around in the dirt. Stereotypes become, in my opinion, barriers between a person and an experience because I know had it not been for this class I wouldn’t opened up as much as I did and try this experience. I know I would have tried a nursing home or soup kitchen and winded up not getting such a rewarding experience as I did. In the beginning of the semester Sal said that he wanted us to really get something out of this experience and try something new, I feel I really accomplished that and I would recommend any student to try and reach outside their comfort zone when it comes to this service project. I’m not sure whether it was the comfort of having a motivating teacher or wanting to really look back and be proud of my senior year…but I’m happy with my choice and I really wouldn’t have changed a thing. I definitely think having a person there with me whom I am close to helped because it did make me feel more comfortable around the kids. I feel that had I been completely with people I didn’t know I wouldn’t be as interactive and willing to play with the kids. Thank you for having the students do this type of “final” because I think especially for the seniors, when we go off to college I think that no matter what type of person a kid may be in school: rebel, goody-two-shoes, prep, jock, nerd, etc every kid learns either something about themselves or something about the world that they learned from the class throughout the semester.

In My School

In my school of 4.205 students each one of those students has their own story. Not everyone was born into a wealthy family and not everyone is a part of a low income family because they choose to dress differently. After watching the video of footage from life at a school is Texas, I'm happy to say I'm not involved in a school where kids are ruthless and think higher of themselves- compared to "outsiders" of their social class. Overall, regardless of some stories people hear, everyone is fairly nice to one another regardless of ones social class. I have never walked down a hall and heard someone get defriended due to their social status in our school. I've heard people getting put down for a certain stereotype they may hold but when watching the video it upset me to see that kids refuse to be friends with people of a different status. It's not like people have a disease just because their home isn't large. When ever I've volunteered, i've become thankful for what I have but I've also learned so much from people who may be less fortunate than I. I've heard struggles that individuals have gone through just to make it to where they are today, and with us we usually just take things for granted. I know I do, as bad as it is to say teens go out and buy a $50 shirt where some people truly work hard just to put food on the table. Tammy from the video, for example, walks 10 miles every day to work at Burger King for the minimum wage that she gets paid and with that she supports her three children: one which seems embarassed and ungrateful, but it definetely makes me very thankful. It also reminds me to not judge people by how they are dressed or what they look like on the outside, because whether it's in my school or at work I can never tell what type of hardships a person may have gone through to get to where they are now.