Lauren's Post #4

When first working at Anna’s Arts for Kids this semester, I think I was quick to look at ways in which the program was run in a more analytical way. However, after spending time there over the course of the semester I became more divorced from that way of looking at the program from an outsiders perspective because I became more entrenched in the actual work and began to feel like more of a part of the program itself. I am glad that this happened fairly quickly because my experience became more and more positive as time went on. Instead of ruminating on the program or my work there or the childrens’ attitudes, I began simply just showing up and doing what I needed to do from moment to moment. A large reason why I think this happened is because I became accustomed to the schedule of the program and also got to know the kids’ personalities. 

Though I didn’t truly connect my classwork to my Service Learning as it was happening, writing blog posts, cluster convos, and talking about some relevant issues and themes during class always made it easy for me to draw connections while in an academic setting. I have really benefited from having Service Learning for this class as well as Race and Class in Schools because it has made me able to bounce around different and similar ideas in both contexts. I feel as if I have a more well-rounded understanding of issues such as the achievement gap, literacy rates, the effect family has on their children, fate, the accessibility of education, and looking at what makes reading accessible. By well-rounded I do not mean that I understand these issues fully or their effects. I do, however, feel as if I understand these issues on a different level because I was able to not have these issues running through my mind as I was working with these children; if I did, I don’t think I would have been much help or have been the type of person that these kids or the program needed. Through Service Learning I was simply doing my part by being one of the small pieces that are necessary to keep organizations like Anna’s Arts for Kids running and are trying to make a dent in these large, complex issues––even at least in the lives of a few children. If anything, I now understand that there are many different levels of involvement that are necessary in running a program that is fighting against large social, economic, and educational issues. I feel as if this placement was a great fit for me because I feel comfortable in being that smaller piece. 

In my last blog post, I discussed the connection between Shakespeare and Service Learning in terms of accessibility. This connection has stuck out to me the most, and it has been something I’ve been thinking a lot about and have also brought this connection into my other class. In my other class, I’m writing my final paper on approaches to improve literacy rates that involve making children develop their own genuine interest in reading. Dr. Eklund’s way of stimulating conversations on all of the works we read made Shakespeare so much more accessible to me. I mentioned in class that I enjoyed the structure of the classes because I would learn important information on Tuesdays that would often make me more engaged and willing to approach the texts in my own way on Thursdays and in future classes. I really loved this class so much because of the many different ways we were exposed to Shakespeare (e.g., reading, Service Learning, lectures, discussions, scene presentations). There are many different ways that Anna’s Arts makes education more accessible to the children, such as having a variety of available classes such as nutrition, choir, gardening, and instrument lessons. There are also times for games which gives the kids a chance to unwind and also allows for them to work on social and collaboration skills. These available opportunities are just a few of the ways that Anna’s Arts for Kids gives the students many options to explore their own interests and inform their own relationship with these different versions and approaches to learning and developing. It’s hard to describe lasting effects that I think I’ll have in one blog post. In fact, it’s hard to process coherently at all, but the overarching effect would be that I have a better understanding of the importance of incorporating a variety of approaches to people because we all have different interests, ways of learning, and levels of engagement. I also understand more of the importance of collaboration and having various levels of involvement when trying to tackle larger, complex issues. 

Blog Post #3 Anna's Arts for Kids

I am doing service learning at Anna’s Arts for kids for both Early Shakespeare and another class. The other class is Race and Class in Schools, so when I speak with people at St. Anna’s or am asked about what classes I’m there for, people immediately understand how my Race and Class in Schools directly connects to the service I’m doing. However, it seems to be unclear or abstract to others that I’d be there for Early Shakespeare. 

One way that I explain the relevance between Service Learning and  Shakespeare is that Shakespeare’s works seem unaccessible to many people. Reading certain books, completing homework assignments, and being successful in school could seem to be unaccessible and more difficult to some students I work with who don’t have the privileges that make it easy to do so. Part of what I’m doing at Anna’s Arts is reading with students and helping them to feel more confident while reading. One of my goals in Service Learning has been to get to know the children in a way that allows me to understand what makes them thrive and what makes them feel discouraged or get easily frustrated. Helping students build confidence and try to help them in a way that they will be excited to read in the future on their own, like reading Shakespeare and becoming comfortable with reading his works on my own, takes time and patience. The overarching relevance that currently stands out to me between Shakespeare and Service Learning is assessing what makes something come across as unaccessible, and parceling out how can barriers and associations be broken down in different ways to make the unaccessible accessible to all. 

During our Cluster Convo yesterday, someone noted that students writing the Critical Concepts blog are engaging in work that involves being in their own heads and spending solitary time with the text whereas Service Learners are out being engaged in a community. One of the reasons why I have enjoyed Service Learning so much is because it has given me the opportunity to get out of a purely academic setting; when I show up at St.Anna’s I find that I’m simply there and present with the kids and in the activities and not thinking much about Shakespeare. However, the Cluster Convos have been really eye-opening and beneficial because, by hearing from the Critical Concept bloggers and going through the prep sheets, I have been able to take what I’m doing at Service Learning and actually process it. The Cluster Convo work in the classroom has helped me to get out of that mode of disconnect with Shakespeare that I find myself in during Service Learning.

As we saw in the New York Times article about the performance of King Lear in a Syrian refugee camp, Shakespeare remains relevant in “the real world” sometimes in unexpected ways depending on how it’s presented. The performance of this play seemed to provide entertainment, joy, and education for the refugees. It also seemed to instill a sense of pride and confidence (for example, in the article, one of the mothers seemed proud to announce to another person that her son played King Lear.) With the topics of many of the Critical Concept blogs (Rank & Status, Memory, Sexuality, Fate, etc) we see that material, topics, ideas, etc. that come up in Shakespeare are not just stuck in a time warp– they remain relevant and present in our lives today. Shakespeare will also always hold a specific place in “education,” whether his works are presented to people and students in an accessible way or not. Education has various levels of accessibility, and the the way Shakespeare is perceived in various different ways, as culturally elite or something for the masses, makes Shakespeare very present today in “the real world.”

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."