EDUC 2300 Introduction to Education

Service Learning
Journal Entries

Erin Moore
 VISION FOR MY FUTURE

Here is what I want to accomplish this year:

Education: I hope to graduate in May with my Associates of Science in Special Education.

Career: Currently I am at Food City as a cashier though I hope to soon start substitute teaching
in Jefferson County so I can go ahead and get my face into the classroom by the end of the
semester.

Family and Friends: I hope not much will change by the end of the year, my main vision is to
see my niece take her first steps.

Involvement and Service to My Community: I will still be working at my church as an intern

with the youth group. Going out and doing mission projects come summer to help with our
community.

Personal Growth: I hope to become more organized, as always. I also hope to grow spiritually
to help me get through the struggles I know I will face.
 Service Learning Project

Name: Erin Moore

Course Title: EDUC 2300
Date: _____________________________
Agency Name: Jefferson Academy

Agencys Mission Statement/ Grades Served/ Community Needs:

The mission statement provided on their website is To provide a safe and structured learning
environment that facilitates student success in academics, self-respect, and self-discipline with
the ultimate goal being a successful return to the regular education classroom. They serve
grades 6-12 though occasionally they get an elementary student. The biggest issue this school
addresses is students with behavioral issues and drug addictions.

Prologue: What do you expect to get from your service learning experience (i.e., how will this
experience help YOU develop)? How will it impact your learning and link to class materials? How
do you think the students and staff will perceive you? What goals do you have for the semesters
Service Learning experience? What fears do you have (if any) about service learning?
I expect to gain experience working with the students most try to avoid. It will help me learn
how to deal with students from the worst of backgrounds that I never experienced growing up.
The links will show up when we get to the sections talking about students being at risk and over
representation. I plan on using this as a chance to get know in the school system outside of a
student as well as being able to prepare myself for when I start my career. The only fear I have
for this is that I will have to see these kids go through things I have never been through and not
be able to help.
 ABCs of Reflection

Affect In this section of your journal entry, you will identify

your feelings about the work you did and explain why you feel as
you do. Word choice should be specific: annoyed, aggravated,
shocked, disappointed, pleased, etc.

Behavior In this section of your journal entry, you should

discuss your actions during the service learning experience and
evaluate your behavior. State what you would do differently or
the same if you are ever confronted with a similar situation in the
future.

Cognition or Content In this section of your journal entry,

share your thoughts about the service learning you did in relation
to concepts being discussed in class. You may include a statement
of what you learned or note any observations that support or
contradict concepts taught in your education classes.

All three parts of your journal entry will be assessed for

completeness, organization, articulation and for correctness.
 Sample Journal Entry

First Agency Visit:

I met with Mr. Jett, the principal of the academy and told him of all I needed to do. He
asked where I would like to be and placed me in them right away. I got to meet with Mrs.
Clower, the math teacher. We sat and made a schedule for when I was going to come in and she
even said eventually she would let me lead some interventions.

Second Visit:

I came in during check in where they use metal detectors and check pockets and shoes for
any weapons. After the kids got settled they had breakfast before intervention. During
intervention, I participated in the game they were playing, multiplication uno.

Third Visit:

Today I helped with the high school class that is first in the rotation. They all pretty much
work independently on online courses so Mrs. Clower helped showed me Odesyware. She has to
run it because not all the high schoolers are taking math and she has to make sure that they have
all their classes are full.

Forth Visit:

My heart was broken today during a seminar on drug addiction. After the seminar, the
day went on as usual, like what was said didnt surprise the teachers. It was amazing to me, and I
dont know if Ill ever be able to forget that moment.

Fifth Visit:

During the 8th grade class one child got suspended for mentioning The Bloods and Crips.
About 30 minutes later, a student turned to talk to the girls behind him then collapsed in the floor
having a seizure. They gave him a drug test and it showed that he had, in fact, been using. His
stay got extended by 9 weeks due to his continual use of drugs.
 ABCs of Reflections

Affect: Walking into the office the first time I was nervous and felt like I was in trouble
and back in to my high school sophomore year. As the days went on I got more and more
comfortable with the procedures and the setting. I would get excited every time Mrs. Clower told
me I would get to lead a lesson or intervention. At first. With leading the kids, I would be anxious
hoping the plan would go well and then I became confident and sure in my plans with them as I
got to know them.

Behavior: The first visit I was reserved and planned on observing the students and Mrs.
Clower. She asked me to tell the kids of my past and when I got in trouble and where I am
currently and I think that giving that speech helped to motivate the kids to see that they can be
successful as well. With each visit, I asserted more and more power as she gave me control. The
students responded positively with a show of authority as opposed to that of a friend or peer.

Cognition/Content: In the beginning my thoughts were Am I crazy? But as I

progressed, I began to feel like I belonged there. Not because it was an alternative school but
because the students I was working with. Time ticked on and my thoughts began to change, some
became harder, meaning I knew that some liked to play the system and that it couldnt be
allowed, and others became softer, some kids acted tough because nothing around them was
stable besides the discipline they got in that school.
 Epilogue:

Reflect on your semesters service learning experience.

While I was at my placement I had the chance to grow and learn. It was amazing to get to
work with the students at the Jefferson Academy and help them in a hard time. It has helped to
solidify my wishes of working with at-risk students. I honestly never wanted to leave, despite the
fact class started at 7 am.

Revisit the prologue. Have your expectations been met?

My expectations have been met and exceeded. I was expecting to get the basics of working
with trouble students and get to see all the different back grounds. The backgrounds for the younger
students matched with my expectation that they would be different but I was not prepared for what I
was about to hear from them. There was a drug seminar lead by the Juvenile Court Judge in Jefferson
County where he asked one student, who he knew related to the topic, to share his story. He got up
and told the story how his mom was addicted to narcotics and how she continued to use them while
pregnant. He showed the scar along his chest where they had to do surgery on him while he was only
a few months old because his heart and lungs werent functioning properly. He even told of the
learning disabilities he faces and how now he is in a foster home with no contact to his birth family.
He may have only spoke for five minutes, but he broke my heart into a thousand pieces. I knew that
some of those kids went through hard times but I never really understood how hard, the judge asked
the rest of the students to raise their hand if they have a story like the other boys and about 13 hands
went up. If a quarter of the kids at the alternative school went through this, I could never imagine the
total amount for the county.

How have you been surprised, delighted, or dismayed by the experience? Give specific examples.
All of the above depending upon the day. Each day brought forwards new challenges, all of
which were surprising. Sometimes there would be a student who would bring forward successful
work and it would reassure the fact that I am helping them. Then at other times, they would mention
what they experienced at home, they would never directly tell us but it was brought up in
conversations amongst each other. The best moment is when a girl in the 9 th-10th grade class was so
excited to see me walk in so she could show me that she passed a test.

How could this experience be improved?

I honestly do not know except that I would love to have more time there and get to see the
students more, even though I know the classes change every nine weeks
 VISION FOR MY FUTURE

Here is what I want to accomplish in the next five years:

Education: In the next five years I plan to graduate from Walters State, move on the CNU, and
then graduate from there with a Bachelors in Special Education.

Career: I want to be in a classroom and out of Food City during that time. I will still be working
at FC part time on the weekends, but I want it down to maybe once or twice a week.

Family and Friends: My niece will be starting school and I hope to be working in the same
county so I can continue to be her nanny. I hope during that time that Courtney and I will have
graduated from Carson Newman and gotten jobs so we can rent the house form my sister, who
said if I had a friend that would help that I could rent it from them.

Involvement and Service to My Community: I will still be involved in my church but not as a
full-time intern, I plan to just be teaching Sunday School in the mornings and leading the girls
small group at night. I will be an official member of the Eastern Stars to help give back to my
community.

Personal Growth: I will always be homing to organize my life and have my faith grow but I
will also, hopefully, be expanding my comfort zones with missions
 REFLECTIONS
Here are the Knowledge and Skills that I have acquired as a direct result of taking part in this
Service Learning project:
While at this placement I have acquired the skills to work with hard to handle students and
sensitive situations. I have also learned how to be flexible with a schedule as days will be
canceled for snow or a plethora of people will be disrupting the classroom. I have also gained the
skill to quiet a classroom with a single finger and how to put together a quick activity when the
teacher has to change focus to something else.

Here is how this Service Learning project ties in with my

EDUC 2300 Introduction to Education class:
It showed up almost every day in the classroom. The largest overlap I saw was when we talked
about poverty students as most of the students there were from families in poverty. Half of the
students didnt even care about graduating or going to college and that was terrible to hear so it
became almost a mission for me to change at least one students mind on their ability to learn. I
think I accomplished that when she ran up and showed me her test saying she never thought she
could do it. I even got to talk with the teacher I was with about Tenure and the nerves that come
from gaining it, though she said that when you are willing to work at an alternative school you
most likely dont have to worry unless you are just a terrible teacher, which also shocked me that
the county didnt care as much about these teachers ability to teach as they did the ones on the
main campuses.

My Contribution to the Community

I have devoted 18+* hours to my Service Learning project. Here are four lasting experiences
that are an outcome of my Service Learning project:
1. That with dedication to the students and their abilities, you can help to change
their minds and their futures.
2. Some students have gone through more than you could ever imagine, yet they
are still there. It is the job of the teacher to make school their safe place and a
place where they can learn that where they come from does not dictate where
they will go.
3. Bringing new ideas or activities in to the classroom excited kids to learn, even if
you think its just a way to switch it up, to them it is fun. I never though the kids
in that class would enjoy a multiplication scavenger hunt.
4. The outcome of an experience is proportionate to the amount of effort put in. I
know that had I not gone home and actively looked for activities to help the
kids learn that I would not have gained the joy of seeing them have fun while
learning.
*I completed more after completion of the journal, I only documented in this
journal the events that happened in those 18 hours.