The most useful event for my learning was the civic engagement activity. The activity specialist allowed me to facilitate the lesson utilizing the game show concept of Jeopardy. The categories had different point values, where the members work together in groups to gain further understanding of the subjects mentioned. In addition, the activity focus on critical thinking and memory recall, where members had to make connections between different concepts. The opportunity to facilitate the lesson can enhance my program planning and teaching skills. My high point for the week was assisting with the Cops & Kids Basketball Tournament. The feeling was supportive since it was welcoming to observe the police officers interact with the youths at the
Most of the readings in the class focused on civically engaged activity that helped me to reflect on my personal and other people efforts to bring changes in society and the world. Through class readings I learned on what people are doing, and why are they doing certain activities or action in the society. The readings assisted me to reflect more on my journey about the past and the future. I reflected on the 11 years I lived in Brazil as a volunteer missionary, giving service to the marginalized. I testified the unjust system that hinders the poor and favor the rich or people of power. Some of the readings like
Overall, I was grateful for this experience. I was able to find out more about the behind the scenes responsibilities of our schools’ leadership.
When the cross country season started in August I became a mentor for the new runners. I was still a runner but now I was doing my running through my peers. During each practice I would lead everyone in stretching and would follow with encouragement on my bike during runs. The freshman looked up to me as if I were an assistant coach and I knew I had done the right thing in being there every day for
Having activities involving individuals with limitations or disabilities will raise awareness of the different types of disabilities. There also will put something positive back to the community. One of the organizations you can support is the Special Olympics where I am a participant. Are you ready to appreciate what you get than what you see? A person is more than their disability.
Within my school, I was Co-president of the National Junior Honor Society group for our school’s annual Parking Lot Party (PLP). For this project, I, along with the help of my other officers, led a group of students to create a set of games and activities for the PLP, which came out with very good results and lots of smiles from the students who both played the games and volunteered for them. From this experience, I have learned how much I enjoy planning an event and seeing it executed successfully with positive results on my community, and I hope that I can continue to do this in YAC.
The literature reveals many conflicting theories on the relationship between homeownership and civic participation. While most scholars agree that homeownership increases civic participation, the underlying reasons explaining this causal relationship are often contradictory. Contemporary scholarly interest in this topic seems to be motivated by the recent sub-prime mortgage crisis and historical policies that have promoted homeownership in the U.S. Other noteworthy trends include differing operational definitions of civic participation and efforts to increase social capital and civic participation in lower income urban neighborhoods. The following summary offers a snapshot into the literature’s most prevalent themes concerning this topic.
"Student Activities Office." The Benefits of Involvement . Worcester Polytechnic Institute, 04 Jan. 2011. Web. 29 Mar. 2014.
This week was very exciting in terms of my informational interviews and being able to work security at a music event. The informational interviews not only helped being the classroom to the real world but also provided me with real examples to better strengthen the connection. I also learned a lot in terms of dealing with the public in a busy environment and how to most successfully defuse a situation in which alcohol and attitudes are involved.
Activities and philosophies that advocate for the connecting of communities with socially sentient beliefs and actions is what have come to be referred to as civic engagement. They are thus individual or collective actions aimed at addressing issues that are deemed to be of public concern. They can be manifested in many ways including; public service, civil activity, service-learning, crusading and advocacy to mention but a few as the list is endless.
This week was challenging, and I enjoyed it. I had the opportunity to read some amazing papers, and to participate in an ethical math discussion. I feel that I'm learning more about myself by interacting with my classmates I never thought that I’d learn so much in so little time. Reading about wonderful organizations, and seeing the impact that they’re having on the community gives me hope for the future. I’m no longer surprised by the things that I’m learning, and reading about similar situations that I’ve encountered is refreshing. I’ve been able to share my stories with others, and it’s been amazing. The course outcomes have been a driving force for my final paper. I’ve used the information that has been presented to enhance my learning
As young people’s civic and political participation continues to decline, a number of organizations are working to reverse the decline by increasing opportunities for youth to participate. Communities around the country are taking steps to engage young people through a variety of methods that allow youth to actually participate in policy development and take action on local issues. The effectiveness of such community programs on long-term civic engagement is not well documented, however. This paper presents preliminary research about the effectiveness of one community participation program, the Southern Nevada Water Authority’s Youth Advisory Council. Quantitative and anecdotal evidence, while not conclusive, suggest this community problem solving approach may encourage its participants to engage in other civic and political activities. The paper also discusses the benefits that organizations and communities receive when young people participate in this way, and provides recommendations for developing a similar youth participation program.
Theater 180 addressed the quest question of how do people understand and engage in community life? Through this class I’ve gained a better understanding of what civic engagement is. At the start of this semester I had very minimal knowledge about civic engagement. As far as I knew civic engagement was just volunteering but nothing much beyond that. With this class I have learned that civic engagement is much more than just volunteer work.
During the May Term quarter of 2016, I participated in a civic engagement course that included a service trip to Haiti. The purpose of the trip was for the class to “engage ourselves civically” throughout the duration of the trip, and at the same time, gain a better sense of self. However, what does civic engagement even mean? Before the trip, I had a vague understanding of civic engagement; I believed that civic engagement was a personalized version of community service, and in some ways it was. Throughout the trip, that definition changed, and I also understood the importance of service learning in relation to civic engagement, which made my perspective of Haiti, true service, and even my own purpose, change.
As community members we all have rights and duties. Our community owes us our everyday rights. And we owe our community to be active members; we should do what we are capable of in order to payback our community and work towards its sustainability and betterment. This concept in its simplest form is "Civic Engagement". Civic engagement means researching, working for, and involving in a better society. This kind of engagement is based on our participation as community members. It is also based on us creating initiatives to invest in a better sustained healthier society. For us to engage civically in our society, we first start by scrutinizing and observing the public concerns. Then we can reflect upon them and apply the concept of "Civic Engagement"
The two participation activities I found most useful were the reading analytically activity involving the evaluation of the Gettysburg excerpt and the VASES activity regarding City Council. I found the reading analytically activity to be valuable because the activity prepared me to properly separate elements of