SYB 111
SOCIAL PROBLEMS
FALL 2004
W. DOANE
SOCIAL
PROBLEMS PROJECT--SERVICE LEARNING
Description:
In conjunction with your service learning
activity, you will keep a journal of your experiences. Your journal will be a forum in which you
undertake a sociological analysis of
your service-learning activities and the social problem(s) to which it is
related. You will be asked to make
sociological observations in your volunteer setting, to apply course concepts
and readings to analyze your experiences, to gather information about the
problem, and to discuss possible solutions to the problems(s). While some journal entries will be expected
to follow specific guidelines, others may be on topics chosen by you. In general, the purpose of the journal is for
you to go beyond providing a description of your activities and think (sociologically)
about the issues/problems addressed by your service learning activity.
I expect six
journal entries for the semester—five 2-page (typewritten) entries and one longer
“final” entry. Details on journal
content are provided below. While final
evaluation of journals will not be until the end of the semester, you will be required to submit two entries
on Tuesday, October 19. The purpose
of this requirement is to enable me to assess your progress and to provide you
with necessary feedback (you may revise the first two entries after I return
them). You may, at your option, submit
an additional two entries for comment on Thursday, November 18. You will also be expected to keep a log of
your volunteer activity and to submit this on October 19, on November 18, and
at the end of the semester. Please contact me immediately if you
experience problems with your service-learning activity or journal.
Topics:
While journal topics may vary according
to individual experiences, the following list of topics is presented to provide
you with ideas for your weekly entry. Please note that some items are marked as
required; other topics may be included at your discretion. In addition, you may also include entries
which contain “open” observations and analysis related to your service learning
activity (please feel free to meet with me to discuss ideas for journal entries). Students undertaking service-learning
activities other than Educational Main Street are strongly urged to meet with me to discuss plans for journal
entries.
1. “Impressions” (Required entry. The guidelines for this assignment were
distributed in September)
Your first journal entry should be a discussion/analysis of
your first impressions of your service learning experience. Be sure to address the following:
· Provide a brief description of the setting, clients, your co-workers, and your activity.
·
Discuss your reaction to your setting, clients,
and co-workers. Use your reaction as
“data” to analyze your setting. For
·
If
you have engaged in previous volunteer work—either at U of H or
elsewhere—compare your first impressions of this setting (and clients) with
your other volunteer experiences.
· [Important!] What social problems and issues are addressed by your volunteer activity? Try to go beyond the obvious (think about indirect social effects--connections to other social problems). Why are these important? What social issues and sociological questions can be linked to your volunteer work (in other words, think of some things that you would like to know/find out over the next few months)?
2. Interview [optional]
Conduct an informal interview with
co-workers/supervisor/clients about organizational activities or the problem
being addressed by the organization, then write an analysis of the issues
raised by your interview. Please meet
with me before undertaking this.
3. Social Problems
Analysis--Education (required for
Read “Children of the City Invincible” (a chapter from
Jonathan Kozol’s Savage Inequalities)
on electronic reserve for SYB 111 in the University Library. Discuss the core issues raised in the
reading. Apply the social problems
perspectives discussed in class. Apply
the material to your tutoring experience.
4. Educational Issues
in
The course web site contains a page with information on the
Hartford Schools:
·
“We’ll
Never Be Last Again”—a 12-part series from the Hartford Courant
·
selected
newspaper articles about the Hartford Schools
·
school district profiles for
Discuss the articles (read a few—they are brief), compare
the profiles, or analyze the data. Think of this information as the context for
your tutoring experience. The URL for
the web page is http://uhaweb.hartford.edu/doane/emsmenu2004.html (note: this web page will not be available
until mid-October).
5. Social Policy and
Social Change (optional--recommended
for later in the semester).
Develop and discuss your ideas as to how you might improve
the program/organization in which you are working. What other programs could be developed to
address the problem? What needs to be
done to address the problem for society as a whole?
6. Final Entry [required—should be done during the last
week of classes]
The final entry in your service learning journal should be
an essay in which you reflect upon your service learning experience. Summarize/discuss what you have learned from
your volunteer work--about yourself, about volunteer work, about the social
problem(s) addressed by your volunteer work, and about society in
general. Are there any course
concepts/sociological concepts that you feel are particularly relevant to
understanding your experiences? I expect
that this entry will be more comprehensive (3-4 pages) than your weekly
entries.
1. “Impressions” (Required entry. The guidelines for this assignment were
distributed in September)
Your first journal entry should be a discussion/analysis of
your first impressions of your service learning experience. Be sure to address the following:
· Provide a brief description of the setting, clients, your co-workers, and your activity.
· Discuss your reaction to your setting, clients, and co-workers. Use your reaction as “data” to analyze your setting. For EMS tutors: compare/contrast your tutoring setting with the schools that you attended.
·
If
you have engaged in previous volunteer work—either at U of H or
elsewhere—compare your first impressions of this setting (and clients) with
your other volunteer experiences.
· [Important!] What social problems and issues are addressed by your volunteer activity? Try to go beyond the obvious (think about indirect social effects--connections to other social problems). Why are these important? What social issues and sociological questions can be linked to your volunteer work (in other words, think of some things that you would like to know/find out over the next few months)?
2. Social Problems
Analysis [optional]
Apply the various perspectives discussed in class
(person-blame/system-blame, social constructionism, political economy) to the
problem(s) addressed by your service-learning volunteer activity.
3.
Two readings on homelessness have been placed on electronic
reserve (for SYB 111) in the library:
“Being Homeless” and “Getting Ahead and
the Barriers to Escape.” Read and
discuss one of these chapters. You may
read and discuss at the other chapter for a second entry.
4. Research on
Current Issues (required for all non-EMS).
Use
library/Internet resources to find an article/data relating to the scope of the
problem addressed by your work, the effects of the problem, or other solutions
to the problem. Analyze/discuss the
contents of the article (should be done at least once by non-EMS volunteers;
may be done more than once).
5. Interview [optional]
Conduct an informal interview with
co-workers/supervisor/clients about organizational activities or the problem
being addressed by the organization, then write an analysis of the issues
raised by your interview. Please meet
with me before undertaking this.
6. Social Policy and
Social Change (optional--recommended
for later in the semester).
Develop and discuss your ideas as to how you might improve
the program/organization in which you are working. What other programs could be developed to
address the problem? What needs to be
done to address the problem for society as a whole?
7. Final Entry [required—should be done during the last
week of classes]
The final entry in your service learning journal should be
an essay in which you reflect upon your service learning experience. Summarize/discuss what you have learned from
your volunteer work--about yourself, about volunteer work, about the social
problem(s) addressed by your volunteer work, and about society in
general. Are there any course
concepts/sociological concepts that you feel are particularly relevant to
understanding your experiences? I expect
that this entry will be more comprehensive (3-4 pages) than your weekly
entries.
Student-Generated topics
You may develop your own ideas for a
journal entry to replace one or more of the optional topics. Please
be sure to discuss your ideas with me BEFORE you being work on the entry.
Final Submission:
Your final project submission should contain the following:
·
Journal
entries (as described above). All
journal entries should be typewritten. Be sure that you have completed ALL
required entries for your volunteer activity.
·
Completed
volunteer activity log forms. You
may--at your option--submit any comments given to you by your supervisor.
Journals are due no later than the last day of class—Tuesday, December 14. Late submissions will be penalized.
Evaluation:
Evaluation of your journal will be based on
(1) the depth and insightfulness of your journal entries and (2) the clarity of
your writing. While you will not be
graded on volunteer activity attendance as such, failure to keep your
commitment will be reflected in your
grade (significant lapses in your volunteer activity will result in your
receiving a failing grade for your project).
In addition, you are encouraged (but not required) to obtain and submit
a letter of evaluation from the contact person or supervisor for your
volunteer activity (these are provided automatically for EMS volunteers). Be sure to devote adequate time and effort to
your journal as it will comprise 40% of your grade for this course.