Blog Post #1 (Anna's Arts for Kids)

Because I am in another course that requires Service Learning and immediately knew where I wanted to complete my hours, I fortunately did not have to go through the narrowing process. The agency I am serving at is Anna’s Arts for Kids. Anna’s Arts for Kids is an after school and weekend program for minority, underprivileged, and “at-risk” children between the ages of five and fourteen. Many of the children who are a part of St. Anna’s program float from home to home and come from families that are involved in the drug trade. This program provides these children with tutoring, various classes (e.g. nutrition, theatre, music, choir, etc.), help with literacy and manners/etiquette, meals, and overall enrichment. I am really happy to play a small part in this agency because what they do for these children is so important and vital to their lives. I find children to be absolutely fascinating because they often say exactly what is on their minds and often surprise me with their intelligence. Through tutoring and reading to/with these kids and volunteering during the weekly after-school program, I hope to appreciate their youthful spirits and truly learn from them. I also hope to become more comfortable with the idea that I will be, in a sense, a role model to these children and hope that I can fulfill this responsibility. 

While reading Shakespeare, I notice the attention to detail when it comes to language and verse. One major thing that I’m learning in this course so far is the importance of paying attention to language and the way it’s being used. This attention  can also alter how we read the play (e.g. the rhyming couplets in The Taming of the Shrew.) During the training session at St. Anna’s, volunteers were told that a major task we are responsible for implicating is the use of standard english from the kids. Two directors at St. Anna’s told us that these children often speak in slang and improperly, therefore we are asked to listen carefully to the language being used and demand the use of standard english from the children at all times. We are also asked to pay close attention to what the children say because sometimes they can hint at larger, serious problems such as sexual abuse and neglect. Though this close attention to language at St. Anna’s and the way it is being used by these kids versus in Shakespeare are completely different and seem hard to compare, it is still interesting to see different ways language works and the power it has over influencing our interpretations. 

I think this placement will expand my thinking about Shakespeare in a way that makes me pay closer attention to themes of race, authority, class, and power differences which are themes we have already encountered in the class while discussing the plays and sonnets. However, to be honest, connections between my placement and Shakespeare seem difficult to reconcile while actually doing hands-on service at St. Anna’s. Studying Shakespeare seems like such a privilege; especially when surrounded by kids who are, as the program directors call it, "just trying to survive."