CRITICAL REFLECTION

Community Service Writing was not what I expected. I entered the class believing that would be learning more through the writing portion of the class (ie: how to write a grant) as opposed to learning more through lens of community service. While I may not have emerged from the class with knowledge about how to write grants, I believe what I gained from the class is more valuable than I could have ever expected. Through service learning I have learned how to take excellent fieldnotes, view the world through a new and more objective lens, triangulate sources to further investigate issues, and how to use cultural artifacts to my benefit. I think my major projects and writing are a perfect example to see how I have grown as a writer, especially in relationship to service learning, over the course of the semester.

My hopes are that my writings available in this blog show readers the importance of service learning and the ability to write about issues relating to community service. I believe if more people are exposed to this kind of class they will benefit by gaining a whole new way of thinking and method of viewing the world.

MAJOR PROJECTS
Positioning Essay
Verbal and Visual Portrait
Critical Bibliographic Essay
"Big" Ethnography

SUPPORTING PROJECTS
"Body Projects" Analysis
Symbol of a New Age: Nintendo DSi
Low Income Youth Development
Boys and Girls Club Fieldnotes Reflection

ARTIFACTS AND CULTURAL PERFORMANCES
Nintendo DSi Image

Boys and Girls Club Fieldnotes Reflection

Taking fieldnotes at the Boys and Girls Club can at times be difficult because the children are so fascinated by what outsiders are doing, especially those carefully observing them. That being said, over the semester I've been able to gather a substantial amount of fieldnotes that need summarized and reflected on. I will try and further investigate my fieldnotes from my time at the Boys and Girls Club in the blog post. I spend most of my time in the art room at the Boys and Girls Club. One thing that stood out to me was the clothing children wore during the 8 and under girls homeroom. There were three young girls in Justin Bieber shirts and another girl with a Mickey Mouse umbrella accessory, which she proceeded to show off during show and tell. I think this shows the ability of the media to influence children. They are influenced not only by multimedia devices but also clothing items, like Justin Bieber zip-up sweatshirts. I wonder how the media affects kids unknowingly and whether it works in positive or negative ways. Another important part of the art room is clean-up time. Surprisingly, the majority of the kids are not only willing to do their part in the clean-up process, they are also excited about. I noticed children fighting over who got to scrape the paint off the table and making sure their teacher, Matisse, was watching when they were the ones cleaning. Kids are rewarded by Matisse for being excellent cleaners, and, if a child doesn't receive a prize, Matisse reminds them that "tomorrow is another day." I think this sort of reminder can unknowingly influence the children in other aspects of life as well. There is an abundance of positive reinforcement used in this classroom, and, judging by the children's excitement about cleaning, it works. One day at the Boys and Girls Club, I attended a club meeting which occurs once a month. All of the children at the club gather for a variety of announcements and awards. I watched and noticed that the majority of volunteers took this opportunity to sit in the gym bleachers while the kids all sat together on the gym floor. When a volunteer chose to sit with the children on the floor, the children's affection towards the volunteer was apparent. I think this brings to light a problem. How do we get people to do more than just show up to volunteer? Volunteers need to be more interactive with the children rather than the other adults. They are at the club, after all, for the children, right? The club meeting last about an hour and by the end of the meeting kids were really starting to get antsy. One little boy was rolling around the floor crying. Another girl was telling all the kids her friend farted. Yet another girl was waving her rear end in the air while the club program director tried to speak. It seemed that these kids needed to actually do something rather than just sit. I would imagine a full day at school already affected them substantially. I would also imagine this is why they have club meetings only once a month. Another important part of the club meeting was their emphasis on calling the children "members." To me, this erases the stigma of the Boys and Girls Club being a cheap daycare or something the children might not willingly attend. By being called members, this place becomes a club that children choose to attend. I have a great amount of fieldnotes from the Boys and Girls Club. I know I am really going to miss these kids and my fellow volunteers when the semester is over. I think the club is a great place for the development of Bloomington's youth.

Low-Income Youth Development in Today's World of Working Parents

I've spent a lot of time volunteering this semester at the Boys and Girls Club of Monroe County. I work in the art room, and, since I'm not the most artistic person, I spend most of my time just talking with the kids and learning about their lives. While the Boys and Girls Club offers afterschool programs to children of all different economic backgrounds and lifestyles, I've noticed that a majority of the children I've met seem to be of lower socio-economical status. Furthermore, a lot of these children come from homes where both of their parents work, which is a reason why they are attending the afterschool programs at the Boys and Girls Club. These observations have led me to the issue I want to investigate; how do afterschool programs shape the emotional/social development of low-income youth who are children of working parents?

Joan Jacobs Brumberg, in her chapter on "Girl Advocacy Again" from the book The Body Project, offers her perspective youth development in modern society based primarily on interviews with youth. While her youth are not defined by their socio-economic status, her ideas about girls' sexual development can be useful as a broad starting point for examining the need for guidance in youth development. Brumberg writes: "Too often popular culture and peer groups, rather than parents or other responsible adults, call the cadence in contemporary teenage life. [...] Many [young girls] remain emotionally immature, and that makes it all the more difficult to withstand the sexually brutal and commercially rapacious society in which they grow up" (197). This brings to light another issue. How do programs like the Boys and Girls Club guide positive development in light of an era that is flooded with media messages and misinformed peer groups?

Brumberg also discusses the "postmodern style of family nurturance" (199). She believes that today's "hurried children" are those of "harried parents" and are expected to be fully developed by the time they are adolescents, leading to a loss of limits and values in parenting (199). If this is the case, it seems an organization like the Boys and Girls Club would be beneficial for children of working parents because it offers limits and guidlines; children are taught to become caring and responsbile citizens. Following Brumberg's beliefs, children would likely respond well to such an environment because "Adolescents raised in [...] permissive environment[s] become extremely stressed precisely because they have been denied a comfortable envelope of adult values that allow[...] them time to adjust emotionally to their developing bodies and new social roles" (199). Brumberg sees a need for a developmental period in today's youth with structure and guidance.

Jane Quinn sees a need for youth development programs as well, though again she is not as specific as my noted issue. Her article, however, can offer guidance through further investigation of low-income youth of working parents in developmental programs. Quinn sees youth development program's primary purpose as being "intentional about teaching young people new knowledge and allowing them to practice useful life skills" (98). Useful life skills seem essential to development; I would want to know, however, how youth programs motivate kids to learn such skills after a long day of much learning at school already. Quinn's emphasis on teaching life skills would likely coincide with Brumberg's emphasis on a need for guidance through development among young women; with life skills young women would learn what is necessary to become competent and valuable members of society.

Quinn discusses current theories in youth development, such as the current theory that "young adolescents need opportunities for physical activity, devlopment of competence and achievement, self-definition, creative expression, positive social interaction with peers and adults, a sense of structure and clear limits, and meaninful participation in authentic work" (103). Programs at the Boys and Girls Club offer all of the opportunities Quinn discusses, making my observations a good starting point for observing the effectiveness of programs like those at the club in regard to low-income youth development.

Quinn notes some difficulties could potentially arise for children of low-income families. These include "transportation, location of services (which includes safety considerations), and whether or not there are fees for services or for required items like uniforms" (105). This complicates my issue. Regardless of whether programs like those at the Boys and Girls Club benefit low-income youth of working parent's positive development, some may have too many barriers to access the beneficial programs. How do organizations make their programs more accessible?

Brumberg and Quinn demonstrate a need for guidance through adolescent development; I must now further investigate to find how programs like those at the Boys and Girls club benefit (or hinder), more specifically, the emotional and social development of low-income youth of working parents.

Symbol of a New Age: Nintendo DSi

While working in the art room of the Boys and Girls Club, I had the opportunity to sit and talk with kids between the ages of 8 and 12 about their everyday lives. We talked about various subjects: from secret crushes to favorite movies to what they learned at school that day. Some kids were more willing to talk about some subjects than others and some barely spoke at all. One subject, however, had the kids so excited they were yelling to be heard over one another's voices; even those who had seemed shy were trying to chime in. The Nintendo DSi had been brought up.

I come from an era of the Gameboy. While Gameboys were pretty fun, I know for a fact they weren't the type of toy that would have this strong of reaction. I asked the kids to tell me what made the Nintendo DSi so cool. Their biggest emphases were on the various games that could be played on it (from a pet shop game to bloody fighting games) as well its ability to text message. It seemed pretty cool to me, but I needed to do a little more research on my own. After calling a few of my younger cousins (who were shocked I knew nothing about such a cool toy) I realized what a cool item this Nintendo DSi was. The toy flips open and has two screens, a touch screen, two digital cameras, voice recording and music playing ability, and Wi-Fi connection. It comes in a wide assortment of colors and has an unbelievable amount of games that can be played with the DS system. This toy, which costs around $170, proved to be much more than what I had access to has a child.

This Nintendo DSi is a cultural artifact of today's culture of children. They all know what is and, if they don't already own one, then they want one badly. I think a new question is raised - how do we use this Nintendo DSi to help our kids grow? In a culture of violent video games, sexting, and the often dangerous internet, it's scary that a toy with access to all three of these is the hottest conversation topic among kids at an afterschool program that promotes the healthy growth and development of today's children. How do we work with toys like the Nintendo DSi to shape our children into those the Boys and Girls club aims to form? What are the positive aspects of the Nintendo DSi?

Analysis of "Body Projects" and the Impact of Cultures/Subcultures

There have been numerous articles on women written revealing their decrease in self-esteem and increase in emphasis on external traits over the past century. "The Body Projects," by Joan Brumberg, is one of these texts. Living on a college campus, I am able to see clearly the types of problems Brumberg discusses. I am living in a subculture of young college Greek women who constantly feel pressured to meet the standards imposed by their own group of peers. Not only must these women excel academically, they also must maintain a trim physique, dress exquisitely, and have perfect hair, make-up, and bronzed skin. By relating the topic of subcultures from the Fieldworking text (4), one can see a real-life example of Brumberg's ideas from "The Body Project" such as the "body as the ultimate expression of self" (97).
In the subculture of young women in the Greek system, group diets before big Spring Break trips are common. Women can be found together complaining about the cupcake they ate the day before, praising each other for only eating half a salad, and figuring out exactly how many calories were burned in their hot yoga class that morning. These women have an immense amount of pressure to look svelte on their Spring Break trip because the entire Greek System, who ultimately defines each individual's status, will be on the trip. Pictures will be posted on Facebook and everyone will be able to tell while lounging poolside who had a little too big of a hamburger the night before. Spring Break is the ultimate expression of self for Greek women. Internal attributes are thrown out the window, and, as Brumberg discusses in her article, there is a huge focus on the externalities (124). The problem is that most Greek women rarely reach their bikini body goal, leading to extreme sadness on trips that should be fun and carefree (Brumberg 124). When women who in so many ways are successful (great jobs, great grades, great family) participate in extreme dieting behaviors to achieve the "perfect" body for Spring Break, these behaviors seem so "normal." In reality, however, they are dangerous and extreme.
Another problem for young Greek women involves clothing. Sorority houses generally have around 100 girls living in them, meaning 100 closets for girls to raid before picking the perfect outfit to wear to a party. The problem, though, is that in reality most bodies are different and not everyone is going to be the same size. It is embarassing for those who can't fit in their friend's size 2/4 closet and, in a sense, a failure. The emphasis on name brand clothes and flattering outfits often leads to low self-esteem, especially when certain young women can't fit into anything in a friend's closet.
Many members of the Greek system have women visit their sorority house to discuss healthy ways to diet and exercise as well as how to deal with depression and other mental issues. While this is great, a bigger change needs to occur. Having people visit to discuss a problem is like putting a bandaid on a broken leg and hoping it repairs itself. The subculture of Greek women is a group of intelligent, internally and externally beautiful young women that needs to make a change. Their safety is at stake, as Brumberg suggests, and some sort of change in external values must be made (214). Walking around with a broken leg and a band-aid just isn't going to cut it anymore.