Friday, December 17, 2010

Reflection from Dr. Anna Marie Medina, Psychology

I became involved in Service-Learning in 2007, when I added it as a component to my Emotion Seminar. Since that time, and in light of the impact the Service-Learning has on students, I’ve added Service-Learning to two additional courses (General Psychology and Marriage & Family). 
                I’ve found that students think more about material that might otherwise be memorized for a test and subsequently forgotten.  For example, this semester alone a student in General Psychology acknowledged that his mentally categorizing a child as “just a bad kid” was a great illustration of the fundamental attribution error. 
                Another student, in Emotion, referenced a paper related to prefrontal regulation of amygdale activity in fear and rage responses, when describing a highly impulsive and angry child with whom he was working. In-class discussions about service-learning experiences have revealed that students become more reflective about the motives and meanings in the behavior they observe in others – and themselves.
                In one class last year, a student told me that the Service-Learning experience had made her angry with me. I was intrigued. In exploring this with her, she described a situation in which a young girl was in juvenile detention through very unhappy circumstances. 
                “It’s like she’s being punished, and it’s not her fault. It’s just not fair.” When I agreed that it was incredibly unfair, she blurted something along the lines of, “You should have told us. You should have warned us that it’s not fair.” Now, I’m sure this student had heard, as we all have, the old, “Life’s not fair.” But to really see that bad things can happen to good, sweet kids, and that there is no happy ending for many of them, is to have a powerful experience of “Life’s not fair."
                I’ve found that my use of student Service-Learning experiences as touchstone examples in class increases engagement with course content.  It is not uncommon for students to linger after class to ask or comment about behavior they have seen at Service Learning – behavior they are trying to understand. Students seem to find compelling the idea that their personal service-learning experiences can be understood through a particular lens - the material covered in class.
                In this way, service-learning functions very much as a circular classroom, affecting many students at least as much as those students affect the agencies they serve.
                As faculty, we agree to uphold the mission of the university. We are committed to developing the “imagination, intelligence, and moral judgment” of our students. We further “try to provide for our students some understanding of contemporary civilization; and we invite them to reflect with us on the problems and possibilities of a scientific age, the ideological differences that separate the peoples of the world, and the rights and responsibilities that come from commitment to a free society.” For myself, I find Service-Learning to be the most powerful pedagogical tool I have as I try to meet these goals

Monday, December 6, 2010

Deck the Halls with LED lights. . .


This is the time of year when everyone starts bringing boxes up from the basement or down from the attic, each filled with Christmas decorations. As you dig through the boxes filled with miscellaneous items the big concern is how many of your Christmas lights from last year still work. As you sort through the lights, plugging them in to test them, you start to make a pile of light strings that do not work anymore. What is the next step, throw them in the garbage?
Instead of throwing your old Christmas lights in the garbage send them in to be recycled for free! Holidayleds.com now takes old light strings, recycles them, and gives you 25% off your next order!
 Once holidayleds.com receives your old lights they will be processed and stripped of any material that cannot be recycled (i.e. loose bulbs). Once they have collected enough material they send them to a 3rd party recycling facility located in Jackson, MI. This company puts the lights through a commercial shredder, which chops the lights into little pieces. These pieces are then further processed and sorted into the various components that make up the glass.
How do I recycle my lights?
1)      Send your old lights into the address below, and they will e-mail you a coupon for 25% off. If you want your coupon before you make your order this is the way to go. However, it may take 3-4 weeks to get your order.
OR
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If you are interested please check the following website out: http://www.holidayleds.com/holidayledscom_christmas_light_recycling_program
Mailing Address:
HolidayLEDs.com
Attn: Recycling Program
118 Rosehill Dr.
Suite 1
Jackson, MI 49202