Kahne & Westheimer, "In The Service of What?"

When doing this reading, for obvious reasons, the first thing that came to mind was the service learning project we are completing in FNED.  As you know, in this project we go into a classroom or two and assist the teacher in helping the students learn.  Most of originally look at this on how this can benefit ourselves, by giving us practice in the field, doing a portion of our required hours, and helping us complete the class.  Few think of right away on how we doing this will help the actual students until we actually walk into the classroom.  In my service learning project I help a group of kids learn to read and pronounce words correctly.  I have not even completed the assignment and already the students have shown great progress from my first visit to now.  By showing up I am giving the students more attention with their subject than the teacher could with a class of twenty plus students.  By doing this I may have helped kids learn and help them with a skill they will use throughout their live.  By doing this I was able to help others rather than just myself, in a way relating it to the quote in the reading said by President Kennedy, “Ask not what your country can do for you but rather what you can do for your country.” 

            This is not the first time I am participated in a service learning project.  In high school I was in the National Honor Society and did many of these.  None of those brought me the satisfaction that I got in this school.  However still this service learning project does not pass my work with the Special Olympics, which is something I love doing and enjoy going to.  We may think of how things can help/benefit us rather how doing it helps others.  We could do so much in this world to help and we do not even notice we are doing it and how much we are helping others. 

The special Olympics is something I love doing.  You can consider it a "service learning project" in a way but I do not.  I volunteer with them a lot.  There I always think how am benefiting the athlete and I always have a good time going to help. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nsfuXVccF2w 

this link shows the special Olympics impact on the world.  How a billion dollar company like the wwe supports it and how the superstars saying both being there and the athletes bring a smile to their face.  This is what it is all about helping others and by doing so being able to bring a smile to both theirs and your face.

Christensen

There is no doubt in my mind that media plays a crucial factor in people’s development in live.  When we are little most of us watched Disney movies where we saw princes and princesses get into danger but in the end be magically rescued, this leaves people to believe that my special someone will come rescue me and he or she will be extremely good looking.  When people turn into preteens many girls watch teenage dramas where it can show them having multiple relationships at the same time, getting into fights, underage drinking and other factors that preteens now say “So that is what I have to do to be cool.”  We may not mean to intentionally become like the characters we see in the media but psychologically it just happens.  

            Some people argue now that the media should take a different approach to what they show on television, to me I do not agree with this.  Media is supposed to be used for one purpose, entertainment.  Honestly, if media portrayed only positive life decisions than we would not be as entertained.  People need to realize what is fiction and what is reality.  When I watch the Man of Steel I do not assume I can fly and save people from a burning oil rig because I know it is fiction.  People need to realize what happens on your television screens, does not always happen in real life.  The media will never change because it needs to keep its viewers entertained but the viewers need to learn to be themselves and not the characters they see for a half hour an hour on television. 

This picture shows that you need to be your own person and not be the person on television.  Think your own thoughts, not the ones of characters who have scripts provided for them. 

Allan

The reading tells us how school is made for heterosexuals.  The author talks about how homophobia can run wild in the schools from both the students and the parents.  How teachers are even trying to include more non heterosexual books to teach the class.  For me when I was reading this I thought of my school experiences.  I started to wonder if the school system I was in was made for heterosexuals, and honestly I felt the answer was no.  I feel they never thought sexuality in our school and if teachers saw any couple displaying things such as PDA in the hall way they would tell them to stop whether they are heterosexual or not.  I feel it is not really the school’s fault but more on the students, if they accept LGBT than there will not be a problem.  I believe progress has been shown since in my school we had openly gay couples who were not given a problem and we even had a group of students make a club called “The gay straight student alliance”.  I believe kids are getting more accepting of it as time goes along just like kids became more accepting of other issues that used to be a “problem”.  In ten to fifteen years who knows where the LGBT thing will stand, but I know in schools it will be up to the students, who will be influenced by their parents who are students right now. 

I believe shows such as modern family make kids feel more accepting of people of different sexual origins, since they can see how they live and with Cam being one of the funniest characters it makes the viewers feel much more accepting of people of different sexual origins. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J_Cd6XfGs6Y

This link shows the evolution of Cam and Mitchell through the years, and through the many seasons the fans have supported all they've done together from adopting a baby to eventually getting married.