Young Idealism by Robert Cole, tells a story of a young man tryign to persuade the son of a black postal worker to vote during the Civil Right's period. Because the two men have different backgrounds their ideals---what they value for themselves and their families--are understandably different. In the case of the man trying to get Alan to vote, his ideals are "to take a certain political stand, to have a certains ocial attitude and be willing to put [himself] on the line for those beliefs." In order to do those things, he would have to put himself at risk for harm, though it is a risk he is willing to take. However the worker would rather continue providing for his family as he has been, instead of voting and potentially getting killed. The article continues to offer numerous ideas of what it means to be idealistic, and how idealism is not always possitive. For example, there is a "danger that idealism can be a cover for a niave or unwitting complacency, a self-satisfaction that does little justice to the truth of one's own life or the lives of those whom one works with or helps or tries to enhance in some way." The to vote or not to vote argument illustrates this point in that the men disagree on how to make sacrifices for their community and families, which leads Alan to decide 'I guess it's everyone's job to decide on what's important, and then go and live the way you believe."
In your volunteering efforts with Project Angel Heart, has there been a time when your ideals about volunteering have contrasted with other volunteers/classmates? Do you think that being obligated to volunteer takes away a moral element essential to service work? Is there a cause that you yourself feel passionate about and would rather take part in?
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I think that everyone has their own version of ideals. This is not a bad thing, but it can cause some conflict as we saw in the reading last week. Sometimes I have to remind myself that just because someone has different beliefs, doesn’t mean that they are wrong and I am right. We all have different backgrounds and experiences that help shape who we are and how we think. The story of Alan shows the necessity of taking into account each other’s condition before placing judgment.
My work with Project Angel Heart has been a positive experience. From scooping bowls and bowls of soup to delivering meals, I feel like I am a part of something bigger. There is no glamour to what I have done, but I still found it fulfilling. That said, I do think that requiring service takes away from some of the spirit of community service. When I was in Angel Heart’s kitchen last week, one of the staff asked me if I would be coming once a week, and I found myself flustered. I knew that I would only be back two more times and I found myself embarrassed and a little ashamed. I felt like once I fulfilled my class duty, I would be leaving them high and dry. I have felt this way before. In high school for National Honor Society, I was required to do so many community service hours each quarter. I took any job that would take me, like my community food bank. Then as soon as I had completed my hours I was out of there until the next quarter.
When I stop to think about this difficult situation, I have decided that there is nothing wrong with this type of service. I still helped in some small way, Project Angel Heart and the food bank. I still have my other service which I love and continue all the time. Project Angel Heart has those people who love the program, and are passionate about it on a consistent basis. I love to work with kids and animals and consistently do work with programs like Partners. I would have loved to use my community service time with Partners or Saddle Up!, but I am mindful of the nature and structure of a class taught in 10 weeks and have nothing but good feelings about working with Angel Heart.
Without conflict in beliefs, there would be nothing. There would be a flat culture. Perspectives would be identical, everyone would conform to each others' ideas, and there would be no change. For this reason, people holding their own beliefs and ideals is essential to a democracy.
In volunteering for Project Angel Heart, I haven't noticed any of my ideals clashing with classmates. I'm pretty neutral in terms of my position on service learning as a part of this course. I feel that while I am not necessarily learning better "writing" skills, while volunteering, I am still giving to the community, which is equally, if not more, important. I have not talked to anybody in this class that was unhappy with the service learning experience they have encountered thus far.
I do not think being obligated to volunteer takes away from the moral element for 3 reasons:
1) NO MATTER THE REASON, YOU ARE STILL GIVING BACK TO THE COMMUNITY.
Whether one is "forced" or personally willing to give service, they are still doing it; thus contributing to the public good. Viewing the world as a system, the job is getting done, and that is what is important.
2. BEING REQUIRED TO GIVE SERVICE IS JUST THE MOTIVATIONAL COMPONENT.
Just because one is required to participate in community service, it does not mean they do not want to, and it does not mean they won't enjoy it, or learn from their experience. It is simply the means of getting them going; starting their journey.
3. THE MORE PEOPLE THAT ARE REQUIRED TO VOLUNTEER, THE MORE PEOPLE THERE ARE THAT MAY CONTINUE THE SERVICE, ENJOYING AND LEARNING FROM THE EXPERIENCE.
Being required to volunteer does not mean you are forced to dedicate your life to any one cause or service work. It is only a small portion of your time that you are expected to give to those in need. The more people expected to give a portion of their time to service organizations, the more people there are being introduced to service learning experiences. Thus, the more likely it is that more people will enjoy what they experience, and continue giving to the community; this is the ultimate goal.
Only at one time, I felt a contrast in ideals during volunteering this quarter, just in the motivation behind the volunteering. I signed up for this course because I knew that it was a service learning course and I wanted to continue my volunteering experiences. I don’t know if it was a conscious decision for other students. I guess I just experienced a bit of difference between the desires to volunteer. The difference however had nothing to do with not wanting to volunteer, just more of the obligation aspect. However, I don’t see anything wrong with volunteering as part of a requirement. I think any person contains the moral element necessary for volunteering, especially with our class. It is still volunteering and helping people. I think it only becomes a problem when a volunteer's attitude has a negative impact on the place in which they are volunteering or the people they are helping. But again, that is not what I have noticed with our class whatsoever.
The reasons I volunteer have stemed out of my experiences volunteering this year. As I have mentioned, I am in the Social Justice LLC, and volunteer on a regular basis, every Friday. This regular volunteering experience has had an impact on my life. I had never really done much volunteer work before college and now I am thinking that I would like to continue doing this work for as long as I can. I feel like it is important for me to live not just for myself, and the betterment of myself at the moment, but to help other people and my community in any small way that I can.
I had my first kitchen experience with Angel Heart last Tuesday, and one of the girls that I met during this shift really provoked my thinking on this particular topic. Jessica and I were scooping soup together when we were joined by a third girl named Nicole. We were excited to learn about her experiences with Angel Heart, and we immediately started asking her questions in an attempt to start a conversation. Nicole, it turns out, was not as excited to talk to us as we had hoped. When we asked her about her experiences at Angel Heart, we learned that she was serving as part of her probation. In retrospect, it was pretty apparent that Nicole was not serving on her own terms but was being forced to do so. Nicole’s answers to our questions were short and direct, and no further discussion was pursued. I think the only time she initiated a comment of any type was to ask us, “Do we really have to be here until 8?”
This encounter spurred in me many thoughts on mandatory service opposed to volunteerism. If volunteering is supposed to be a positive experience and a “good thing,” then why does our legal system regard it as a punishment for lawbreakers? It is possible that a person required to perform a service may be encouraged by the positive aspects of helping others, but I think this possibility is a highly unlikely one. The more life experience I have, the more I am coming to the realization that it is impossible to teach someone something that they are not willing to learn. It is a two way street, so to speak. If a person goes into a service project with a closed mind and convinced of the project’s worthlessness, then the person will remain bitter and gain nothing from the experience.
This realization leads to a few different questions:
Is a person truly meant to gain anything from volunteering? The answer to this question is different for different people. Surely, personal gain is not the primary focus of the service, but it may provide one’s motivation to serve.
Is anyone’s motivation to serve truly selfless? Is this even possible? The argument can be made that it is not. Some serve out of requirement. Others serve of their own free will. Even then, however, many serve for direct personal gain (scholarships, etc). If one is not directly gaining from the service, then he or she feels good about this and attains personal satisfaction.
Do motives actually matter? Maybe not. Regardless of one’s motivation, a service is being performed that is benefiting other members of the community. The result is the same regardless of one’s intentions.
Is volunteering actually meant to be a “good thing”? If the answer to this question is yes, then the follow up question may be, “For whom is volunteering meant to be a good thing?” The answer to this question seems straightforward. Volunteering is a good thing for the people being served, of course. However, this becomes tricky when the people being served do not appear to have the proper appreciation for the service. Then again, who is to judge this appreciation?
Questions seem to lead to more questions rather than any answers. There are always more questions.
I haven’t experienced or had the chance to get to know the ideals of the volunteers at Project Angel Heart, nor am I too familiar with any of the ideal of any classmates. However, I would very much like to address the second question because I have thought about this a lot in volunteering for this class.
First I would like to address the first part of the second question, on being obligated to volunteer. The idea of volunteering is to give time and to do something without compensation. We are obligated to volunteer for this class, so are we getting something (a grade) out of volunteering when we shouldn’t be? When I volunteered in the kitchen at Project Angel Heart last week, one of the volunteers was there as part of her probation. She was forced to be there, but she was still helping the community. At what point does it matter why one is volunteering?
This leads me to the second part of the question, that a moral element is “essential to service work.” I don’t know whether I believe this is true or not. This moral element, or getting a better sense of what it is to be moral through volunteering, seems like compensation for volunteering. If a person volunteers for this moral element then he or she is getting something out of volunteering. So, at what point is this moral compensation a form a payment? If the definition of volunteering is to give time or work without being paid it would seem that this constitutes any kind of payment, even moral. Another point to consider is why one must have a moral element to volunteering if the service received by those who need the support of volunteers is the same regardless of why a person volunteers. People volunteer for various reasons; to help, to give free time, for probation, for class, for a moral element; but the difference in reason is never the highlighted point, but what is done because of this volunteering is.
However I have also wondered if one should get something out of volunteering. In Young Idealism, one of the professors in the story said that one should not give something without getting something back. This also sounds feasible. So I suppose the purpose of this blog is to say that I don’t know. What I think I know is that no matter the cause for volunteering, it is done anyway and the benefits of that work are appreciated.
Volunteering seems to be something Americans tag onto resumes or job applications. Volunteering also seems to be somethings Americans do to gain respect from the community. Companies donate to and sponsor those less fortunate. What is one thing that all three of these have in common: community service, volunteering, and civic engagement? They all provide or help others and/or the environment. I ask, what does it matter the extent to which someone volunteers or the reasons for it? Do you think the homeless person really cares about the intentions of the workers at a soup kitchen? Will he turn down service because he feels like the workers are being passionate enough about volunteering? How ridiculous that sounds!
There is so much need all over the world, including the United States. If volunteering is going to provide assistance to others, I don’t see any need to complain. It doesn’t matter if it is a juvenile delinquent doing his community service hours, or an elderly woman trying to give back to the community, good is being done either way.
Despite my preceding views of intentions, I have considered two interesting points. One refers to my previous point of a homeless man not turning down a good meal because it wasn’t prepared with love and affection. I think that Americans today are more inclined to turn down a helping hand if they feel like the volunteer is only offering out of pity. I don’t really know if this is good or bad. In some instances, it would be very beneficial to accept a little help even if the one offering is only offering out of pity. As Ayn Rand depicted in The Fountainhead, pity is the lowest emotion felt towards another human being, or it is at least the lowest way of helping another being. I understand that most people would rather take out a loan from a bank than asking a family member for an I owe you, because it can be a blow to one’s dignity to show (especially to close friends and family) that one is in need. But, who cares? A helping hand is a helping hand.
My second point comes from the book Grapes of Wrath. In the book a family, including extended family members, travels out west around the time of the depression. The family can hardly provide for itself, but hopes for better days when they strike it rich in the glorious west. Along their route, they stop at a camping ground. It has bathrooms, and camps for the residents to use. The mom of the family cooks a dinner that will barely provide of all of the members, let alone any outsiders. While she is cooking, a group of children gather around in desperate need of food. These children's’ families merely cannot provide enough. Hesitantly, the mom gives much of the dinner away leaving her family with meager portions. What I find interesting is that although she hesitated, she gave in none the less. She wasn’t selfish. Neither was she depicted as displaying pity on the children, nor being boastful that she had done a good deed. She simply performed the task and went about her life. I think that in the world we live today, there is much emphasis on feeling good about giving. Is it really about feeling good? Maybe the feeling accompanies doing a good deed, but as the mother shows in Grapes of Wrath, giving can be as simple as doing for others without any accompanying emotions or intentions.
I just think that volunteering helps others. Ideally, everyone would give time, money, and effort without pity, or boastfulness. But how realistic are ideals?
Volunteering has a moral element that is pervasive in nearly everything community service event, regardless of the organization. In this sense, I feel that volunteering should be a choice, a desire, and not a mandatory obligation. Despite this belief, it is my opinion that no matter the circumstances, no matter the situation, every volunteer experience has a moral element. This became apparent to me when I did the deliveries for Project Angel Heart. I was not excited to drive around town and deliver food. It was awkward having to knock on stranger’s doors and engage in conversation with them. Although I was a little uncomfortable and unenthused, I felt a sense of moral accomplishment when we finished the delivery routes. I know that I made some one’s day, put a smile on some ones face, and most importantly gave them hope and courage to live longer. This is the type of moral gratification and satisfaction that every volunteer aspires for, and it is this that composes the moral element of volunteering.
The type of volunteering that attracts me has to do with community youth and laws. I am very passionate about the law, I get very disturbed when young individuals commit crimes or participate in illegal and unwise activities. It is for this reason that I volunteered with an organization called Peer Jury. This particular organization was composed of members that worked closely with the police department to prosecute first time juvenile offenders. By participating in this organization I was able to directly better society and pursue my passion.
When volunteering at the Project Angel Heart, there were times in which my own ideals were contradicted. As I began working: processing food, cutting carrots, and filling up soup cups, I was happy with the work I was doing and that it was for people who really needed it. However, after a couple of hours or so my attention span, which is short to begin with, began to kick lag. I honestly started to wonder whether or not I was going to have to stay the entire time. Although I was enjoying myself, I couldn’t help but get board in the latter stages of our community service work.
Now I don’t think that I’m a bad person for thinking this, I’m just being honest. After a while I lose interest in things but in another sense that fulfilling feeling that I thought I would have throughout our community service only really lasted for about half the time. However, the reason this occurred wasn’t because of the obligation I had because I’ve been obligated to do community service before and had less contradiction towards my idealism. I feel that the reason I was conflicted was because I did not get to see the work that I did get put to use. I know that the work I did helped but I feel that my personal idealism would have been more gratifying if I could do some deliveries. Doing deliveries would touch me more on a satisfying level and would certainly increase the passion that have towards community service.
The idea of whether or not forced volunteering affects the end results is a valid question. Does service learning achieve the same effects as pure philanthropy? As far as educational institutions are concerned, I would say yes. Colleges do not need to worry themselves with such details. It is the responsibility of each individual volunteer to make the experience what they want to. It can be positive or it can be negative. The volunteer can take something from the experience or they can choose not to. What colleges need to focus on is that service learning provides exposure. Learning does not stop at the binding of a book or the walks of a classroom. The world is a text without boundaries. Service learning exposes students to real world experiences. It forces them to apply knowledge to situations. These instances can fundamentally shift people’s perspectives. What is important to realize is that not every person will change. Not every person will have the maturity to undergo self-reflection. But some people will be ready. That is all a college can ask for. Society will not suddenly undergo a shift where everything changes at once. Things will not magically get better. In order to foster a greater change, people have to be affected one at a time. This equates to a long and gradual process, but there is no other alternative.
Ignorance is the poison of the world. Service learning opens perspective and does have the potential to make people uncomfortable. If discomfort is avoided, people will continue living their sheltered lives within their bubbles, refusing to challenge themselves. Enlightenment is the panacea of the world’s problems. The petty questions of “is this the true way to achieve real change” merely pull the reigns back on progress.
In listening to the opinions of my classmates, I realized that the people in the class, for the most part, had very strong opinions in terms of service work. When asked, most said that they were already involved in community service organizations, which was surprising to me. I wasn't aware of the depth of the involvement of the people around me in community service. I found that when I asked people (outside of class) if they were involved in community service, over half of them replied yes, even the ones I would never expect to volunteer.
I think that being obligated to volunteer, by law or by your mother, a certain moral element essential to volunteer work on an individual level, but I think the motive for volunteering on an individual level is insignificant compared with the bigger picture. Even if the volunteer's motive is redeeming themselves to society, by volunteering they are still contributing to the greater good regardless if they are gaining anything personally.
I don't think that it is necessary for community service to be integrated into the school and required of each student, but that stems from my personal opinion. My high school required a certain number of community service hours to be completed in order to graduate. I don't believe that everyone had a meaningful experience, but I do know that every person that graduated from Highland Park High contributed at least 50 hours of community service. I knew people that had hundreds by the time we graduated. Even though the majority of us would have rather not completed our hours, our contributions to the community are meaningful whether or not we were willing or forced into volunteering.
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