They Say, I Say

Dave Eggers says in the article, “Serve or Fail,” that college students should not only participate in volunteer work, but also get credit for doing so.  His third point was that volunteer services are a great opportunity to contribute what they know to the real world before their graduation day.  His tone of voice is very serious with a hint of sarcasm.  He really tries to prove his points by representing opposing arguments, but coming back with a strong rebuttal to support his position.  He appeals to emotion and logic a lot throughout his article. He says, “But exempt community colleges and you would still have  10 million college students enrolled in four-year colleges in the United States…America would gain 60 million volunteer hours to invigorate the nation’s nonprofit organizations, churches, job corps, conservation groups, and college outreach programs.”  This logical explanation appeals to the audience since Eggers has the correct statistical backup to support why he feels so strongly about volunteer services.  His tone of voice gives off the emotional appeal as well.

An unknown author says in a different article, “’Service Learning’ more than a fad,” that volunteering is a way to connect to the real world and strengthen one’s learning.  The article also includes that the person participating in the service learning will develop a stronger purpose for themselves after seeing the differences that they are capable of making.  The author also points out that many people lost motivation to help our culture because of the recession.  The article quotes the president of Winona State University, Judith Ramaley, who says, “What's happened [in the wake of the Great Recession] is that we have lost the sense that we have any control over our destiny.” Based on this quote, the rhetorical style that the author is using would be pathos.  When she brings in the subject of the recession, it pulls at one’s heartstrings that are affected by this.  Knowing that someone believes there is still hope by helping out others is an emotional way that will appeal to someone reading about service learning.

The Monitor’s Editorial Board says in another article, “How to Reduce Student Dropout Rates: Link Volunteering to Studies,” that volunteering has statistically proven that schools that have stressed service learning have had less dropouts.  They quote, “service learning weaves volunteering with specific academic instruction.”  Also, like the other 2 articles, the author mentions how this type of learning connects “school work to the real world.”  This piece appeals through logos since they mention many statistics and percentages that support the idea that the more volunteer work, the less dropouts. 

If I were to join in on the conversation about service learning with these three authors, most of my main focuses would match theirs.  I would stress the fact that volunteering does connect one’s prior knowledge to the real world and forces students to share what they know with people who could use that information.   Secondly, I would mention how although the idea of making service learning mandatory in schools is very positive, forcing students to do so might discourage them.  Students might see it as another task to “get out of the way”, when in reality educators want them to see it as a good use of their time.  Also, besides the fact volunteer work will give one a purpose, I would include that it will too higher one’s self-esteem and feel as though they have done something meaningful for someone other than themselves.  Most of the points that the authors brought up are strong and I agree highly with them.

After reading all three articles, most of the information brought up was mentioned from all three authors.  They all agree on the fact that service learning is a positive way to get students involved and connect schoolwork to the real world.  They also all agree that dropout rates are significantly lower when service learning is encouraged more.  One thing that they differ on, again, is that there is a possible chance that making this type of learning mandatory will have a “reverse psychology” effect on the students and make them not want to participate.  However, based on these three articles and reading the author’s very similar points, it is safe to say that service learning will not only help the one’s in need, but also the giver by making them feel like they have purpose, knowledge, and independence.

Letter to Self- Advice

Dear Ava,

      Why did you make plans with both your boyfriend, Matt, and best friend, Shannon, on the same day already knowing you made plans with Matt first?  That could’ve easily been prevented, and since you didn’t have the courage to speak up and say you already had plans, you promised both people something that you knew wasn’t going to happen. 

      It isn’t too hard to speak up, especially when these people are supposed to be close to you.  When Shannon asked you to go out for coffee that Sunday morning, the first thing on your mind should’ve been that you already told Matt that you could go out to breakfast with him.  After realizing this, you should have told Shannon that you had plans with Matt. Another thing you could’ve done was pushed back breakfast with Matt a little later so you had time to have coffee with Shannon in the morning.

      Sure, there is always the excuse of “Well, Matt is more understanding than Shannon, so I figured if I just went along with Shannon’s plans, Matt wouldn’t mind changing our breakfast date to a different morning.”  Yes, this might be true, but if this type of behavior keeps occurring, Matt is going to start feeling less important, even if you aren’t trying to give him that message. 

      The real problem here isn’t learning how to manage your time better, it’s getting the courage to speak up for yourself before you get the people you care about upset with you.  This situation could have been easily prevented, but instead you told both people you could join them for the morning, and in the end, they were both hurt when the truth came out.  Matt felt less important, and Shannon thought it was ridiculous how you couldn’t set time aside for her, just to have coffee. 

      If the reasoning behind this mistake was because you thought Shannon would be mad if you didn’t follow along with her plan, then you might have some things to think about.  If you were to have keep blowing Matt off, he would’ve gotten the impression that his time, quite frankly, met nothing to you.  After awhile, he probably would’ve dropped you real fast.  If you truly believe Shannon wouldn’t have understood that you already had plans, there might be a bigger problem.  Maybe the issue wasn’t about pleasing your friends, but it was realizing who they really are.  Think about it.

                                                                                          Sincerely,

                                                                                          Yourself