Self and Community

Assignment Descriptions

These assignments are designed to help you process what you are learning from your social justice work.  They will also help us maintain continuity between fall and spring quarters.  Please consider them an important part of your internship work within our program.

Learning-in-Progress e-mails

You should e-mail your faculty sponsor at least once every two weeks (weeks 2, 4, 6, 8, and 10), to check in and answer the following questions:

A. Briefly describe what you have been doing over the two weeks.

B. Discuss what you have learned over the past two weeks. (This may have little to do with what you've been doing during this time; engage in some deeper self-reflection here.) This should be the longest and most developed section of your e-mail.

C. What connections can you make between your work in the real world and the readings and activities we did in our program fall quarter? (Use specific cites where relevant.)

Participation in program discussion forums

In an effort to maintain the strength of our program community even though we are dispersed, we will discuss program-related topics in forum-based seminars.  The forums are also available for you to use to debrief with each other about your internship/volunteer experiences, to seminar on optional readings (listed below), and for other community-building purposes. 

Every other Monday the faculty will post a forum topic.  You should "weigh in" on the topic as it relates to your service learning work and respond to your peers' comments.  If you post your response early in the week, please return later in the week to read and respond to your peers' posts.

Tentative forum topics (these are subject to change, depending on what arises in your work):

Week 1: Entrances; newcomers; adjustments; how's it going?

Week 3: Met/unmet expectations.

Is this a hospitable organizational context (see Dalton p. 377)?  For example, is the environment geared toward teaching interns? 

How is the concept of different ecological levels of community relevant to your experience? Review Dalton ch. 1 (at least pgs.17-31) and ch. 5 (at least pgs. 135-147), and reference the text in your response.

Week 5: Self in this community; boundaries; problem solving.

Optional: read Edelman and Crain's The Tao of Negotiation and discuss negotiation and conflict resolution in your current setting.

Week 7: How you've changed (esp. re: multiple identities, defining your communities, social networks).

What personal issues may be a barrier or hindrance to your ability to learn from this internship/volunteer setting?

What is your organization's mission or statement?  What do they really do?  Are their policies organized around their goals?

Review Dalton ch. 11 (esp. pgs. 365 "Characteristics of Well-Implemented, Sustained Prevention Programs" and 375-385 "Implementing Prevention/Promotion Initiatives Widely and Effectively").  Evaluate the effectiveness of your organization given these community psychology principles (e.g., active administrative support, balance of resources and constraints).  What is the organization doing well, and what needs to change in order for them to more effectively meet their goals? 

Week 9: Your thoughts about social justice work; your desires for spring.

Review Dalton ch. 13 (esp. pgs. 444 "Seven Approaches to Community and Social Change" and 457-461 "Elements of Effective Community Change Initiatives").  Evaluate the effectiveness of your organization given these community psychology principles (e.g., consciousness-raising, community coalitions, multiple areas of action, external linkages and resources).  What is the organization doing well, and what needs to change in order for them to more effectively meet their goals? 

Service learning process papers (due to sponsoring faculty)

**Your work should be typed with a legible standard-sized font (11 points), and your pages should be stapled and double-spaced.  Proofread your work carefully before you turn it in.**

Paper #1 due Tuesday, February 5^th (week 5) at 11:00 a.m. in class or via email

1 page on each question:

A. How well are you meeting each of the goals you set for yourself in your internship contract(s)? What personal and organizational factors are facilitating and hindering your progress? What can you do differently for the second half of the quarter to better meet your goals? Reference Dalton ch. 11 and the content of your forum posts in this response.

B. Given your experiences to this point, what do people following you into this type of work need to know in order to succeed? Be specific about what future social justice workers can learn from your experience. What do you wish you would have learned during fall quarter to better prepare you?

Paper #2 due Tuesday, March 11^th (week 10) at noon in class or via email

1 page on each question:

A. What are the three most important things you've learned from this experience (about yourself, our program themes, social justice work, our society, etc.)? Based on your internship experiences, what do you want to learn in the spring?

B. How well did you meet each of the goals you set for yourself in your internship contract(s)? What personal and organizational factors facilitated and hindered your progress? What do you wish you'd have learned in the fall to better prepare you for this work? Reference Dalton chs. 11 and 13 and the content of your forum posts in this response.

C. How has your understanding of the relationship between self and community evolved over the quarter? What aspects of the psychological and sociological theories and concepts from the fall seminar books have assisted you in your work this quarter (cite specific texts where possible)?

Additional Items

Other assignments include a self-evaluation, due to faculty via email by Thursday, March 13th.

Note

Ellen Shortt Sanchez at the Center for Community-Based Learning and Action is available for you to meet individually or in groups to discuss your internship and volunteer experiences.  She welcomes you to contact her at (360) 867-6859 or visit Seminar 2, E 2123.