Creating This Project

Okay, so I didn't really "create" this project.  I simply took this idea and applied it to my community.  The research for this project, however, was a bit interesting.  It's interesting how something like reading can help kids stay in school.  I was surprised to see that fourth graders who don't read proficiently are more likely to drop out of school.

The project went well.  While I wasn't sure this would be a good project at first, the research convinced me this would be a great project to work on.  I really wish I was better at presentations (creating and presenting them) because I am not great at those and I don't particularly like doing either.

Anyway, please vote for our Little Free Library project (this name isn't original, either)!  Reading is important because we all need to read and we all need an education.  It also would be nice to be able to see different kinds of literature in the area.

Reflection

You often learn more about yourself by your actions.  If you don't know who you are, you might learn something about yourself if you help others.

Presentation

The presentation to present our project is doing well.  The outline of the speech is almost finished and the presentation is looking good.  I really wish I could write a better speech, though.  I am not very good at writing speeches and I'm not very good at giving speeches either.  Everything needs to be proofread before I give the presentation.  My group and I need to go over the speech together.

Reflection

You want to do well in life--that is your goal.  You don't want to struggle and have a hard life.  It is important, however, to do something in your life that will benefit others to make their life better.  Do well in life, but don't forget to help others do well.

Reflection

When there is an issue, it is typically not the issue itself causing someone troubles.  It is a person's attitude and how they view the issue.  If one has a problem, one's attitude could change the problem so it is no longer a problem.

This Project. . .

This "library" project is a bit different from the other projects.  This project focuses on literacy, a problem not commonly thought about in the US due to the 99% literacy rate here.  Most people in America can read, but how many of these people read proficiently?  The only way one can improve in something is to work on it!  This project could also be done anywhere in the world to encourage reading.  This project may work better in places with higher literacy rates, but it doesn't mean you can't do this project somewhere with lower literacy rates.

My group hopes this project will be chosen as the official Bridge Idaho service-project in our school.  We believe in education and we will make a great presentation because we really want people to read!  I feel passion is the key to getting this project chosen.  Passion should be the driving force in everything we do and hopefully we will be able to demonstrate it in our presentations!

Reflection

You can see, but you may not have a vision.  Having a vision is having an idea or goal in mind.  If you don't have a vision, you are going around "blind" but you can see the things going around you.  This is worse than actually being blind because you can see what you could improve, but you don't do anything to act on it.

Project Choice and Ideal Outcome

I decided to make these little "libraries" for a project because this project was something that stuck out to me a lot.  Every time I think about my trip to Canada, the speech that talked about this project is the one that sticks out to me the most.  I greatly enjoyed that speech, as I thought it was one of the more interesting speeches at the conference.

I hope this project will influence people to read and to share books they enjoy!  People could read books not offered at local libraries.  Because people could keep the books, they may freely lend the books to those they know and encourage others to read them.  If adults find a book they enjoy, hopefully they will share it with their children and vice versa.

Reflection

I like this quote a lot, actually.  Innovation doesn't happen if you continue to do the same things.  Something MUST change for anything else to change.  New things happen because somebody thought of a different way to do something.

Reading

On a weekend trip back in May, I went to a conference where this lady discussed literacy rates in Canada and how she combated it.  She told us about how she created boxes in public areas and filled them with books.  This was essentially a library, but there was no need to "check" any of the books out.  Anybody could take a book and keep them forever if desired.  If one decides to keep the book, however, the book needs to be replaced with another book.

I believe education is important, and I thought this project was a great way to get people to read.  According to dosomething.org, "Kids who don't read proficiently by 4th grade are 4 times as likely to drop out of school."  The National High School Center states the following:

"The correlation between graduation rates and literacy rates are alarming. The National Assessment of Adult Literacy reports that 19% of students that dropout are only able to perform at basic or below-basic levels when presented with prose literacy tasks like reading editorials, news stories, and instructional materials"

If we could encourage reading by offering free books, then perhaps literacy rates would increase and dropout rates would decrease.

Reflection

Being able to do something doesn't show who you are as much as actually demonstrating what you do.  This quote reminds me of the quote, "Actions speak louder than words."  I feel the messages of the two quotes are similar.  They state your actions determine who you are better than your thoughts alone.

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Works Cited:

"Banned Books Club." DoSomething.org. DoSomething.org, n.d. Web. 19 June 2015.

Salinger, Terry. "High School Literacy." The National High School Center. The National High School Center, n.d. Web. 19 June 2015.

Welcome to my Blog!

"The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically.  Intelligence plus character--that is the goal of true education."  --Martin Luther King, Jr.

Education is important, especially in today's society.  It is difficult to get a good job without a college degree.  Nowadays, it is near impossible to get a job without either a high school degree or a GED.  For example, to work at McDonald's, you are required to either be attending high school or to have graduated from high school to get the job.

My service project will focus on some aspect of education that may include one of the following:

• Literacy
• Music education
• Learning opportunities in general

Reflection

"Without deep reflection one knows from daily life that one exists for other people."

This quote from Albert Einstein states something people should already know.  People may change themselves to get approval from another person.  Another way to look at this quote is that we exist to help others.  People are complex and do exist for other people in one way or another.