What I learned in AASL submitted by Zon

What I learned in AASL 

The other day, I was asked by a classmate who knows that I was in charge of recruitment in Japan, before coming to Extension, “How can you write about the experience in AASL class in your resume?” 
I gave a quick answer at that time, but I would like to write again about what you can learn in a class called AASL because it is a good opportunity to review my experience. 

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Even though AASL (Academic Advancement through Service Learning) is defined as “A class to learn English through Volunteering,” the actual contents extend beyond this. The class consists of lectures and volunteer experience, and its lectures are more like a sociology class than an English class. Therefore, the key point for us is to connect the conceptual things we learn in the classroom with what we experience in our volunteer work. Also, it is important to maximize the “takeaway” for the whole class by stimulating our discussions. 

The topics we discussed in the class so far are as follow: 

-Importance of “Why” (and What): 
Recognize the “why you do it” which is fundamental and makes you do what you want to do. 

-What’s my Lens? (Single Story): 
About a prejudice and a bias. Recognize the “Lens” which you see things through. 

-Community Revitalization: 
Learn the process, the difficulty, and the key success factors of the community revitalization through the local case. 

-Volunteerism: 
Understand the Volunteerism, an American culture of using someone's resources to help the other people. 

-Social Justice: 
Learn the process of thinking what to change. 

-Leadership: 
Learning what the leadership is, what the leadership types are, and what our leadership types are. 

Personally, I consider “Community Revitalization” to be the core of the discussions we have in the class. Then, it is good to connect the other factors, such as Volunteerism, Leadership, and Social Justice, to the concept of community revitalization. For instance, in the process of the revitalization, the citizens, the government, and the companies should coordinate their efforts. And a nonprofit, as a catalyst, can connect each player’s Volunteerism to circulate the resources and therefore enhance the process. It is like an engine that powers the circle of the revitalization. In addition, leadership is necessary in that process, obviously, and the direction and the strength of the leadership is determined by none other than the “why”, 
and sometimes the bias and the way of thinking about the Social Justice) which the leader has. 
Besides, in the volunteer experience, you can go to a thrift store, elementary schools, etc. you can actually join to the cycle of improving local communities. For example, in thrift shop, you can play a part in a role of offering some resources which some people don’t need any more to other people. In elementary schools, you can offer your reading skills as a resource to kids who need the opportunity to improve their literacy over their summer vacation. To be honest, I personally wasn’t interested in volunteering before this quarter, but I noticed the significance through the experience and the discussion in this class, and this is one of the best benefits I have got from AASL. 

In addition to this, I would like to add some ideas from the “micro” viewpoint. The team work with my classmates is so precious to me. I could not get the ideas I described above without my classmates. In this class, we construe abstract concepts through discussions about various texts and videos. In those discussions, sometimes I come to comprehend difficult concepts with the words of the teacher or the classmates, and the other time I may help the classmates to comprehend some concepts with my words. Fortunately, because the atmosphere in the class is really active, and because we trust and respect each other, we have a lively exchange of opinions every time. Even though my speaking skills are low, the more opinions I give, the more stimulus I can provide the in-class discussion with, and the more things I can learn from my classmates. Again, the team work with your classmates is precious and finding out how you can contribute to the “team” is the key point.