“Love’s bridge” (self-initiated project)

Planning stage

Project/Activity: “Love’s bridge” (S)

Date: February - May 2011

Goals: To help children from unfortunate families with their lessons, to attract volunteers to this project, to bring real benefits to children, to motivate children to study.

Personal Challenge: To change my attitude to these children, to be useful, to act as a teacher, to overcome myself.

Learning Outcomes: Teaching skills, feedback from children.

1. Is this activity a new role for me? Yes, it’s a new role for me. It is a first time I am acting as a tutor, surely as a volunteer.
2. Is it a real task that I am going to undertake? Yes, it is. Cause there is a determine aim to help children with determine problems in studying.
3. Does it have real consequences for other people and for me? For me I think it is a sense of the significance and usefulness of my work. For children consequences are: firstly - knowledge, then, a sense of that there are people who care.
4. What do I hope to learn from getting involved? I want to know how volunteers organizations work, its aims and objectives.
5. How can this activity benefit other people? I think due to it children can get necessary knowledge, communicate and develop
6. What can I reflect on during this activity? Probably I’ll think how I can help these children more, than in this organization.

Reflection

1. What did I/we do and where did I/we do it? I was acting as a tutor (volunteer) in a little premise with children of different age.
2. What did I/we hope to learn? I wanted to know how volunteers organizations work, its aims and objectives.
3. How successful have I/we been? I think I was successful, cause children understudied the material I explained.
4. What difficulties were encountered and how did I/we overcome them? Some children didn’t know even bases of subjects, like multiplication table, etc. When I tried to explain something, it was very hard to move on. Some of them understand it is a must to know and tried to learn, but not all the children were so conscious.
5. What did I learn about myself? What did I learn about other people? I learned I can explain clearly and can tolerate.
6. What abilities, attitudes and values have I developed? I tried myself in the role of tutor, my attitude to children from dysfunctional families changed (appearance does not always correspond to the content), I started to value my family more.
7. Did anyone help me? Whom have I interacted with? Nobody helped me, I just interacted with children and with the head of this centre.
8. How did this activity benefit other people or institutions? It is beneficial only for children, cause they get new knowledge.
9. What would I change if I were to do this again? Nothing.
10. How can I apply what I have learned to other situations? Volunteering is congenial to me. I’m ready to spend time, forces and emotions for other people.