I had mentioned earlier that I used the Heroes Alliance as part of my Service Learning requirement for Human Growth and Development last semester. Here is the required paper I wrote for the class. Enjoy!
Part 1
Heroes
Alliance
Stroll
for Epilepsy- Epilepsy Foundation of Ohio
Polaris
Mall
Heroes
Alliance Contact: Aaron Einhorn
Jan.
26th, 2013 8:00am-1:00pm
The
Epilepsy Foundation of Ohio assists persons and their families with
epilepsy. They provide education, support and methods of coping.
The Stroll for Epilepsy was a charity walk at Polaris Mall that
raised money, provided education, and raised awareness for the
Epilepsy Foundation of Ohio. The participants walked through the
mall, stopping at different areas to listen to a mini-educational
factoid about Epilepsy and get their booklet stamped. After you had
completed the walk, your booklet was entered into a drawing for
prizes.
http://www.epilepsy-ohio.org/events/stroll-for-epilepsy
The
Heroes Alliance was on hand to entertain the children and parents.
The group encountered all age groups from toddlers to grandparents.
We posed for photos, interacted with the children, and gave out
plenty of hugs. One of the best encounters was with a family of 4
children, all elementary school age or under. The oldest two girls
ran up to Superman and proudly declared that “Our sister has
epilepsy and we are here for her! You have to come meet our sister!”
The girls each took Superman's hands and led him across the food
court to their sister and parents. The rest of the heroes followed
and we were engaged with the family, interacting with the children.
What stood out the most was how proud the older sisters were of their
younger sister. This was not only concrete operation stage
(182) but social cognition (216) in action. They knew their
younger sister was different and because she was different, she was
special.
Heroes
Alliance
Columbus
Zoo – Chilly Open
4850
Powell Rd. Powell, OH 43065
Heroes
Alliance Contact: Aaron Einhorn
Feb. 2nd,
2013 Noon-4:00pm
The
Chilly Open is a fundraiser organized by the Westerville Sunrise
Rotary Club and benefits many central Ohio children's charities. The
goal was to raise over $250,000 for Flying Horse Farms, Children's
Hunger Alliance, Mt. Carmel St. Ann's, The Ohio Trooper's Fund,
W.A.R.M., and the Dave Thomas Foundation for Adoption. It has been
held at the Columbus Zoo for the past seventeen years. The event is
held in heated tents and is a local food extravaganza. While parents
sample food from over 30 different local restaurants and listen to
local live music, the children have a heated indoor play area, free
pizza, and activities provided by the Zoo. Each parent checked their
child in with security and was given a wrist band with the child's
name and parents contact information. The entrance and exit to the
play area were monitored by the zoo staff. The Children's Open had
coloring, hula hoops, animal encounters, laser tag, bounce house, wii
Just Dance, face painting, and the Heroes Alliance.
As part
of the Heroes Alliance I spent the day interacting with children ages
5-12. The children were excited to meet and greet their favorite
heroes but also were enchanted by being able to play games and spend
time with Superman, Batman, Black Canary, Robin and Supergirl. Some
children were shy at first and would parallel play, (169)
choosing to color at the far end of the table or to wii Just Dance
across the room. One of the older girls who was familiar with the
wii game became an organizer and took it upon herself to help the
younger children so the group could get a higher score. This
cooperative play was really intriguing to watch because the
children did not need the superhero to lead the dancing, but wanted
the heroes to dance with them (169).
One
group of girls made up their own game, placing hula hoops on the
ground and jumped from hoop to hoop. They requested that I jump
with them and while we were jumping from hoop to hoop I was asked
what my favorite color was, if I watched cartoons, if I could really
fly and other questions. While you try to stay in character, the
girls just wanted to talk and were happy to have me ask the same
questions and were happy to find similarities in favorite colors and
favorite cartoons.
During
the event the heroes were able to rotate through the different
activities and as the day progressed and children were dropped off or
picked up the environment was always active, fun, and surprisingly
not very aggressive. The cost of the tickets were $35-40 per adult
and free for children under 12. I do not want to make the assumption
that the families that participated in the Chilly Open were from a
middle to higher socioeconomic status, however with the
noticeable lack of violent, aggressive behavior it could be inferred
that it may have been the case (220).
http://www.wendyschiliopen.com/
Heroes
Alliance
Helping
Hands Center
2500
Medary Ave, Columbus, OH 43202
Heroes
Alliance Contact: Aaron Einhorn
Feb.
11th, 2013 8:34am- 11:15am
The
Helping Hands Center is a non profit school in Columbus, OH that
focuses on meeting the educational and therapeutic needs of children
with Autism and other developmental disabilities. The center offers
school instruction from preschool to 8th grade, before and
after school care, and summer camps. The class rooms are small and
most classrooms have a 1:2 or 1:3 teacher to student ratio. The
Helping Hands Center also offers counseling for parents and provides
developmental evaluations for autism spectrum disorder.
The
Heroes Alliance was contacted by one of the directors and was asked
to come into the school and interact with the children. Heroes
Alliance was given the use of the gym and each grade would visit the
gym and have fifteen minutes to interact with the heroes. The Heroes
Alliance decided the best thing would be to read a short Superman
picture book to the children, lead them in a song with hand motions,
and allow the children to pose for photos and hugs. Each classroom
is given an animal name at HHC and the heroes were able to greet each
class by their name. The more verbal children were surprised that
the heroes knew their class name and this delighted students and
teachers alike. Superman read his picture book to the class and I
led a song that incorporated hand movements and humming. This turned
out to be a real hit as the children who couldn't vocalize were able
to still move their bodies or hum. There is a wide range of autism
and each child is affected differently. Some children were shy and
hid behind their teachers, while others chose to sit facing away.
Superman almost got knocked down several times by children running up
for hugs while others just wanted to touch the costumes, capes and
wigs. While the three hours was physically and mentally exhausting
it was an honor to be invited to work with the Helping Hands Center.
The Heroes Alliance has been asked to participate in Walk Now for
Autism Speaks Columbus in the fall and I look forward to
participating in the event.
http://helpinghandscenter.com/
Part 2
The
aspect that I enjoyed the most with the Heroes Alliance was the
variety of activities the group chose to support. While the group
does do some self promotional events, there is a wide variety of
groups who ask the Heroes Alliance to support their event or cause.
I had discussed with Aaron Einhorn about the relevance towards PSY
2340 and was very intrigued by the planned visit to the Helping Hands
Center. My interest in autism first peaked during the Fall 2012
semester while I was enrolled in PSY 1100. The Diagnostic and
Statistical Manual of
Mental
Disorders
had just released updated information on autism. One of the most
drastic changes to DSM-V was the labeling of Autistic Disorder,
Asperger’s Disorder, and Pervasive Developmental Disorder Not
Otherwise Specified (PDD-NOS) to Autism
Spectrum Disorder or ASD.
This created a two day class discussion on Sternberg's
triarchic theory and
Gardner's eight type of
intelligence (189) and how
society frames intelligence with 1 in 150 people showing some sign of
ASD
(181). While I had
encountered several people with was called Asperger's, I had never
encountered autism in a child. The visit to the Helping Hands Center
allowed me first hand experience with autism and I was able to view
the entire spectrum. Our textbook did not prepare me for the
overwhelming differences I would experience at the HHC. Students are
placed in classrooms based on their evaluation and the difference
between Asperger syndrome
and autistic disorder.
The children with Asperger syndrome were more engaged overall but
some were not interested in either the story or song and chose to
hide or use a different method of communication. One child spoke
only through a teacher and another used his ipod exclusively for
communication. The classrooms with autistic disorders could be
either very vocal with screams, loud vocalizations, or banging.
There was repeated gestures like head or hand shaking and several
students had fixations. One child knew his favorite ball was inside
a storage bin in the gym and when his class arrived, he took off for
his ball. The teachers were able to convince him that it was not
time to play ball but the level of focus was amazing. Several
children throughout the visit were fixated on superheroes. One six
year old boy, high on the autistic
disorder spectrum, would
not talk but ran right up to Superman and placed his hand on the S
and clung the entire visit. Our textbook discusses how autism can
be detected as early as age one (181). The last class of the day was
a group of eight children, all between one and three. The story and
song plan went right out the window and the heroes and teaches sat
down on the floor to interact on the student's level. A teacher got
out a few balls and we spent well over our fifteen minute window
playing with the children. It was both a heartbreaking and wonderful
experience to see children this young affected by autism.
The
Helping Hands Center is set up like any other grade school. The
grade school classrooms use the same materials and textbooks as other
schools, allowing each student to have a least
restrictive environment.
The students also have music, art and language classes just like
other public schools. While the students may not score high on a
Stanford-Binet
test for intelligence, Gardner and Sternberg allow us to reclassify
their types of intelligence through other means.
Part 3
Do
you think Service Learning is an effective type of learning? Why or
why not?
Service Learning is an effective type
of learning because it allows the student first hand experience of
the concepts and terms that we are using in class. I compare it to a
hard science lab. A student does not need to make scents in Organic
Chemistry but it is nice to see and experience the classroom concepts
in a real world setting. As someone who learns hands on, this
solidified the concepts in the book better than the mini lectures or
soft chalk exercises.
Do
you think you learned more or less from Service Learning than from
other types of learning? Explain why you think so.
I believe that I learned more about
early childhood development than I would have by just following the
class. However because my Service Learning was focused on early
childhood, I felt that I was missing the reinforcement from later
developmental periods. I wasn't focused on the later development
periods and this was reflected in my second midterm grade.
What
was the most important thing you learned from others during your
participation?
I
learned the importance of accountability in a group setting. One
hero by themselves may look strange to an outsider but two or more
heroes becomes an accepted activity. The group relied on the members
to arrive in street clothes and change once we were on site.
Costumes needed to be clean, pressed, and in good condition. Polish
and professionalism is extremely important in a non profit group like
the Heroes Alliance. The group is asked to bring a set number of
members and when one does not show up, it can hurt the organization
you intended to help. Due to the nature of the events, you can not
show up on any chosen Saturday to be a hero, the events are few and
far between and it is important to follow through with a commitment.
What
did you learn about yourself through your participation?
I learned to be more outgoing and
less shy when talking to children. Previously I would avoid children
because I was not sure how to interact with them. With the skills I
was taught by the Heroes Alliance I feel confident that I can
interact with children in costume. Unlike many of my classmates I
can not have children and do not have much experience with early
childhood development. The service learning project allowed me to
interact with children on my own terms. I learned that they aren't
as scary as I previously thought!
Do
you think you will continue with similar service activities beyond
this class? Why or why not?
Since I have participated in three
events with the Heroes Alliance, I have now qualified for full
membership status in the HA and I already have several events on my
calender for the rest of the year. Participating with the Heroes
Alliance allows me to donate time to many organizations across Ohio.
As a student, I have time flexibility but not the financial means to
donate to multiple causes. As a member of the HA, I feel like I am
able to make a difference to an organization and to have an enjoyable
time while in costume. It is amazing to see a child's face light up
when they spot you in costume and even cooler when they take you by
the hand.
What
changes or improvements would you suggest for the Service Learning
project?
The
biggest improvement that could be made on the Service Learning
project is to really treat it like a hard science lab. Ten extra
hours is equal to lab credit in most science classes and I thought
that overall the class should be worth 4 credits instead of 3. I
certainly worked just as hard in chemistry as I did in PSY 2340.
A
second suggestion would be to really use the entire semester of PSY
2340 for a college wide project. With 20 sections per semester at 25
students each class, this is a workforce of 500 students. Organizing
them into a college wide service learning project working for the
City of Columbus would be a great way to reach out to the community.
Part 4
Do
you think that the experience would have been the same for you if you
had done it five years ago, or even last year? Why or why not?
This
experience would not have been the same for me five years ago or even
last year. I graduated from Otterbein College in 2001 with a
degree in History and spent the past ten years as a territory
training manager for a large retail company. I was home three days a
week and would never have taken a class that required me to volunteer
my time because I didn't have much free time. Now that I have made a
career change to nursing and working part time, I have the gift of
time to spend on class requirements.
One
issue I see with the Service Learning project is that you can not
teach compassion or passion. Often people will volunteer their time
to an organization that they feel passionate about. I had cervical
cancer and enjoy cycling so it was easy for me to fund raise for the
Pelatonia and bike the 180 miles. However I was turned off by the
suggested service learning opportunities as I did not feel
comfortable working with children and as a nursing student, I already
spend time with the elderly. I do not agree with some of the
Salvation Army's policies and on a moral ground could not volunteer
at that organization. I wanted to do something that I was interested
in and I am glad that I was able to not only find something I enjoyed
but something I became passionate about.
What
personal developmental factors influenced your approach to the
assignment and your participation and appreciation of it (e.g., your
own gender, SES, ethnicity, Erikson stage, etc.)? How did they
influence your approach, experience or appreciation of the
assignment?
Initially
my approach to the Service Learning assignment was extremely
negative. It was hard to see the cost benefit of giving up my free
time to work with organizations or groups of people that I did not
feel comfortable working with. I felt that as a white female in my
mid 30's I already had donated time to charities that I felt a
connection with and was passionate about. It was frustrating to not
be allowed to use a charity that I already had a relationship with
but I understand now the necessity of placing the individual into an
unfamiliar area. If I had used one of my current volunteer
activities, I might not have appreciated the outcome and not been
able to fully enjoy the experience.
I
am extremely grateful that I was able to work with the Heroes
Alliance as my Service Learning opportunity. I had spent the past
year thinking about volunteering with the group but could never quite
fit them into my schedule. The biggest take away that I learned is
that every member is needed and it is critical to the mission to have
solid participation. The visit to the Helping Hands center took much
more than the recorded time commitment. It was in the morning during
a work day and it required getting up extra early to get into hair
and makeup, and making sure that I had packed a change of clothes,
lunch and dinner and my school books. I live in Delaware and did not
have the time to go home between the visit and classes. If I did not
have to do this event, previously I might of said “maybe” and
then not shown up. Experiencing the reaction of the students to the
Heroes make me realize how important it is to make events like this
one fit my schedule even if it means a 12 hour day for me.
According
to our textbook, I am currently in Erikson's 6th stage or
Intimacy vs. Isolation (293). I have a tendency to continue doing
what I am comfortable with and do not often step outside my comfort
areas. The Service Learning opportunity forced me to meet different
types of people that I would not normally encounter in my life. The
Heroes Alliance has both liberal and conservative, and young and old
members. People of all walks of life I wouldn't normally associate
with were drawn together under one banner of spandex waving capes.
It is nice to create new associations and friendships with a common
interest and I look forward to developing and maintaining those
relationships. I have committed to the Heroes Alliance for Walk for Wishes Columbus, Walk for Autism Speaks in both
Columbus and Cleveland. Feel free to wave if you are there, I'll be
the one in the cape.
