Giving underprivileged kids the chance to learn new skills they might not otherwise have access to was my goal behind choosing this activity. I had never taught children before, which is why I knew that this was going to be challenging for me. Education inequality is the topic I have chosen to concentrate on. During this service, I teach underprivileged, young kids math, english and drawing on the weekends. This gives me immense satisfaction and makes me feel like I am somehow giving back to the community I reside in. Education is an integral part of livelihood. I believe it shapes us as well as our morals. Hence, I choose to spread the education I gain, in order to form more morally high-minded individuals.

LO4 (Show perseverance and commitment in CAS experience)-

I started volunteering at the shelter home in the first week of August. The first time I went, I was completely captivated by the enthusiasm and respect that the children showed towards me. Due to this, I felt more encouraged to keep going and teaching them. I persistently went there on all weekends no matter what. I would reschedule my day according to the class schedule and take out time for the shelter home. I would try my best to make sure that the kids understood everything and only then I would leave even if I was getting late.

LO5 (Demonstrate skills and benefits of working collaboratively)-

I worked collaboratively alongside a few other volunteers at the shelter home. Some of the volunteers were of my age group while others were older. We divided our tasks amongst ourselves to avoid any miscommunications and loss of time. This was a little tricky at first since we also had older volunteers with us and I had never worked with that age group before. At last, we managed to smoothly divide the tasks and teach the children productively. This act of working collaboratively taught me that in order to keep things smooth and in flow, we need to apply this skill in real life.

LO6 (Engagement with issues of global significance)-

Throughout this experience, I engaged with issues of global significance, such as the issue of quality education. I made sure to combat and be considerate of this issue while performing my experience. While teaching these young minds, I was contributing to society and the global community. There is a lack of quality education in our world which hinders the growth of our community and promotes other issues such as poverty and hunger. I, as an individual, wanted to do something to contribute to the end of this problem and for that reason I decided to volunteer at this shelter home. 

LO7 (Recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions)-

This experience made me recognize and consider the ethics of choices and actions. I can say this because this experience involved the ethics of perseverance and determination. It also required me to demonstrate the ethics of teaching the children correct things. For this, I had to constantly remind myself that I was teaching children who have never been taught anything before, hence I had to prepare myself in the same manner before each session. I had to make sure I did not miss any sessions to avoid loss of learning. I also made sure that I was well prepared and knew all the content that I had to teach before each session to avoid any errors. 

 

All in all, the experience of volunteering at the children’s shelter home developed a lot of skills in me. It gave me the opportunity to be able to empathize with young minds and understand them. I showed determination and perseverance towards this experience by being punctual and regular. I also learnt how to work collaboratively with others in order to give the children the best education possible. I engaged with issues of global significance, such as quality education which indirectly helps improve other global issues such as poverty, hunger and quality of life. At last, I recognized and considered the ethics of choices and actions by preparing myself before each session of teaching the children.