Re: a reflection issue

Cindy,

 I like the way you have listened carefully to your service learners. 
Qualifying words like "just" and "only" in <<I'm just babysitting 
them.>> are clear signals that some good work is going on, and that 
the volunteer sees a potential for so much more to do. I suggest you 
ask students first of all what "good babysitting" would be and ask 
them if the time they are spending with the children would hit that 
mark. Even if all one is asked to do is to be present in the company 
of another we can do this with concerned concentration, listening to 
the talk, observing the body language and then beginning to structure 
some of the time into activities that teach ways of using time 
effectively. Working toward justice or massive social change may be 
what calls us to service---but in the nitty gritty, spending time  in 
each other's company is how service begins. It takes time to build 
trust. I spent a half hour this summer with a group of adult learners 
in a small field into which we had thrown a hula hoop. Our goal was to 
describe  (inventory) what we found inside that hoop---lists of 
insects, rocks, grasses, weeds, flowers, candy wrappers, etc. It was 
amazing how much we found in 30 minutes...and how much it told us 
about the area in which we were ostensibly doing nothing....We 
observed signs of drought, of littering, of fast foods' pervasiveness 
even in the middle of a grass field, of social life among ants, of the 
itinerant nature of butterflies... I guess my point is that with an 
attitude of inquiry we can make the most of our time, getting 
ourselves ready to move into the harder questions that underlie the 
details of daily living. 
Valuable contributions come with time--a hard, hard concept for any of 
us to understand. Perhaps all those in the s-l experience could list 
what is gained by the time spent together...listing as many  pluses as 
they can. I would also ask for the  minus side of things, too.  In 
concert with the particpants, I think we would all get a better 
understanding of what we are attempting in first level experiences so 
that we can plan some second level interactions and actions. 


Patricia E. O'Connor, Associate Prof., English, 312 New North, 
Georgetown University, Washington, DC 20057    
oconnorp@georgetown.edu  202 687 7622  
FAX: 202 687 5445   websites: 
http://www.georgetown.edu/faculty/oconnorp
http://www.georgetown.edu/outreach/vps/pops/