Ann
Cooper
WST
4022
October
28, 2012
Meredith
Tweed
Service Learning Journal
It has definitely been a struggle
for us to communicate as a group throughout the semester and the past two weeks
have really put us to the test. I have
learned from Professor Tweed that there is an ongoing issue with women’s
studies groups, and those of similar beliefs, struggling with leadership
roles. It would appear that sometimes
are worst adversary can be ourselves when it comes to working as a group to
teach others about the plight of girls and women.
After several false attempts to get the
group going we have had to re-assess our internal communication, as well as
with our community partner. As a result
of the changes in our communication I do feel that there has been some growth
in the honesty of our communication as a group.
While everyone is “adults” and working for the same cause it is still
sometimes difficult to share and take concerns and constructive criticism with
group dynamic and individual work. I
personally have grown in my comfort with taking criticism and standing up for
what I think needs to be done for the better of the project and the group.
I found a connection to our groups
struggle with leadership in our in class movie “Miss Representation.” The video gave the experience of a young girl
running for a mock presidential race and the responses from her, as well as her
competitors were interesting. Not only
did she find that she was having a difficult time getting support from her
female counterparts, but also her male competitors recognized that the girls
were harder on a female running for the position. While we were not running for a political position
amongst our group I do think that it is important that we be supportive of each
other, especially when being role models for the girls of the YWLP.
The Allison Torres reading, which was
used as a part of my rationale for the lesson plan for UCF days, writes about
the importance of building strong and supportive relationships (221). I noticed that while we struggled at first,
that we have grown through this experience and are working on our group
relationship. At the actual event we
were all working well as a team, working well with our community partner, and
with the girls. It was important and is important for each individual to see
herself as an essential component of a well-oiled machine (Torres, 221). In addition to watching our group grow and
build relationships I was able to watch the girls at the human pyramid work as
a team, literally have to build a strong and supportive structure as a
team. Each girl was an important
component to the pyramid and they all realized that they were each important,
particularly when we were debriefing.
In the end our efforts, though not
always consistent, did pay off. I feel
that the girls enjoyed the experience as well as learned from it. I also feel that each of the group members is
learning something about themselves. For
me it is taking feedback and giving feedback at the appropriate time, as well
as the importance of time management when working individually and as a group.
Work Cited
Torres,
Allison. “At Home in My Body.” Body Outlaws: Rewriting the Rules of Beauty
and Body Image. Ed. Ophira Edut.
Emeryville, CA: Seal Press, 2003. 219-224. Print.
Newsom,
Jennifer S., dir. Miss Representation. Girls
Club Entertainment, 2011. Film.
No comments:
Post a Comment