Some of you still should be frantically getting together your grant questions. However, for those of you that have submitted them so far-THANK YOU! I know who you are and I appreciate it. Others-make it happen!
Assignment: Take your thought for question 12 (Please pick an issue area and design an idea to address) and expand it in the following ways:
1. How does this project qualify as service learning?
*2. How does your project align with the eight elements of quality service-learning projects, as discussed in the "characteristics of a quality project" section of the RFP:
-Meaningful Service:
-Link to Curriculum (Be specific)
-Reflection
-Diversity
-Youth Voice
-Partnerships
-Progress Monitoring
-Duration and Intensity
5 comments:
I would like to focus on access to higher education/closing the achievement gap. I think that with a grant from State Farm, Siena College would be able to reach out to more local schools, starting from the lowest level and working our way up to educate them on service learning. I am not sure how to include State Farm in this, but I think that we could definitely use the money to start there. By starting in the lower level schools, we can look at the root of the issue and start children off with doing service at a young age. This way, it will be incorporated in their lives all the way through high school. I think this will help a lot of kids in the Albany area especially to stay off the street and do community service instead. Or at least maybe they can experience some service through a service learning portion, even a small portion in class every day. This will be linked to the curriculum in the schools. The students will have homework assignments requiring them to keep a service learning journal and reflect upon their experiences either with doing community service or with learning about service learning.
I think that through doing service as a part of service learning, the children will be exposed to a plethora of things including diversity, student voice, student opinion and poverty. Youth voice comes in when the students begin to tell the teacher who or what they want to serve and why. The curriculum will require that each class does their own service learning project at the end of the year each year. The trainings and service learning throughout the year will allow them to decide what type of project they would like to do and what issue area they will focus on.
Through the service learning, we will incorporate the local non-profit agencies and community partners. The students will become educated progressively throughout grades k-12 with hopes that by the time they graduate, they will know what all of the agencies do and will be aware of the partners' wish lists as well.
This will develop over time. It is clearly not something that can just be done in one or two years. It is going to take a lot of funding and a lot of time but I think this is something that Siena College can really work with and make happen. It will be progressively planned out.
& Thats all I have.
Bloooove,
April
Continuing with my ideas from question 12, the issue of physical activity and exercise will be addressed through service-learning because it involves preparation, action, reflection and demonstration/celebration. Specifically, my project will address the three types of service-learning thoroughly. First of all, Direct Service-Learning is essential to this project since the Bonners will be leading youth exercise sessions and classes. Secondly, Indirect Service-Learning is also a significant aspect, as we will be responsible for researching and developing lesson plans for the classroom and hands-on education of the youth concerning exercise. Finally, Advocacy Service-Learning is also a key aspect to ensure our efforts are supported by the community at large; We can launch a campaign to revamp current physical education standards in public schools (e.g. support a policy for P.E. and Health classes to complement one another, include our techniques and be mandatory K-12).
Meaningful Service-Participants are encouraged to maintain a healthy exercise routine (as outlined and taught by us) to combat the issue of childhood obesity.
Link to Curriculum-This comes naturally, as we will educate students about the importance of exercising regularly and help them apply it to create a personal routine.
Reflection-Bonners will be expected to reflect at least weekly to evaluate their personal efforts and to keep in perspective the depth of the project.
Diversity-Diversity among age and sex will easily be honored since we are designing exercise routines appropriate for students appropriate to their body type and stage of life.
Youth Voice-We, as young Bonners, will be devising all exercise routines and lesson plans so we can communicate our ideas to our adult leaders to guide us toward the correct path of action.
Partnerships-We must develop partnerships with public schools (connect with the educators within) and the parents of the children in order to have support and lasting effects.
Progress Monitoring-After every session, we will log the time spent on site and also in the beginning and weekly poll the children to observe their attitudes. Ideally, we want to see a change in their attitudes toward exercising (to positive, or continued position) and increase in their knowledge of the issues. Looking at these results can help us to target weak areas and move forward.
Intensity and Duration-This program will be implemented daily during the school year as part of their curriculum and with more funds continued over vacation breaks to support and reinforce learning.
Personally, I would like to tackle the issue regarding access to higher education/ closing the achievement gap. I would propose to generate a program in which awareness for potential opportunities for underprivileged students to attend particular colleges/universities once they graduate from college is significant. This program will be implemented once students enter middle school, this way the idea that they are capable of furthering their educational career, even if their circumstances are less than substantially good. This qualilfies as service learning because it is not simply volunteering, it expands the intellectual capacity of members of the youth in the community. Although these children live within a cycle of poverty and most likely receive little encouragement from their parents to enroll in college, this will allow reflection on the basis of their own educational potential and push them to pour in more effort into their studies. This promotes diversity because those that aid in this program, students from local colleges such as Siena or Saint Rose and high school students that have received training to take the SATs and ACTs, will be integrated with younger students in very different financial circumstances than themselves. The youth voice, which speaks for encouragement to pursue higher education, will be represented, and we could work with community partnerships such as the YMCA that could potentially offer free SAT courses to middle school/high school students. We would monitor the progress of the students by asking their teachers to fill out reports based on their overall effort in their classes and if any dramatic changes happened either positively or negatively since the program has been implemented. In addition, we could question the students on their interest in attending college after receiving information on educational institutions through the program. Although the program will be intense in regards to promoting higher education, the activities need to give off a sense of comfortability for the students because they are at a younger and mroe ignorant age, and it must appeal to them. This program will certainly use the State Farm Grant to pay for activities, such as ACT instructional classes on how to prepare for the standardized tests and guest speakers representing local universities to give information that would encourage the students to consider their college. Tutors in math, science, and reading comprehension will be provided for the students to increase their chances of successfully graduating from high school in the higher ranks of their class and present them with opportunities for scholarships other than those based on federal income. The main purpose of this program is to show younger students that college IS a possibility and should not be ruled out based on the fact that their parents are uneducated or that they cannot afford it.
thats it!
B LOVEEEE
c-money
my focus was on the emvironmental aspect of the grant. i also believe that this can be tied into higher education. So it can fall under either issue area. In the program, we would inmplement environmental conservation into the cirruclum. (sort of like DARE) These courses/lessons would advise students to think enviromnemtally..such as using a flourscent light bulb instead of a regular one, turn off the lights, buy energy efficient faucets and so on. this is in hopes that when they live on their own or even today they can implement these ideas within their household. It qualifys as service learing becasue its getting students to be hands on and take a direct approach to the situation. They will have a part in what they do and be able to see the effects within their own community. Its meaningful service because it is contributing to a cleaner earth and has a purpose that effects everyone. It links to cirruclum because it would be taught within the classrooms or in an afterschool program. Diversity becasue it is something that everyone in every school no matter the location can take place in. the youth are going to be pushing their household to make these changes. We can partner with local stores to get donations of Lightbulbs for example to be handed out to the students to use in their own home. progress can be monitored by surveys of students each year to see what they want to implement and what they have done within a year of learing about ecofriendly changes. If this is built within the cirruclum it is something that will be taught year after year and at multiple grade levels.
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