Transcript Development of the Service Learning Course

Development of the
Service Learning
Course
Long Island L.E.A.D.S.: Our Families, Our
Communities
Cheryl A. Camenzuli, Ph.D.
Angela Zimmerman, M.P.A.
Molloy College
The development and implementation of this course were sponsored by a grant from the New York
Community Bank Foundation to the Molloy College Siena Women’s Center. The course was
administered in collaboration with the Molloy Department of Psychology & Counseling, and the
Office of Advancement Family Support Long Island Initiative.
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L: Leadership
E: Education
A: Awareness
D: Development
S: Service
Long Island L.E.A.D.S.
Course Objectives
When students have completed this class they should:
• Become familiar with the principles of Positive Psychology within an
applied framework.
• Become familiar with the principles of Asset Based Community
Development.
• Become familiar with Developmental theories of family interaction and
influences.
• Become familiar with principles of cross cultural influences on development,
family theory and interaction.
• Become skilled with the use of basic interview techniques.
• Become adept with principles of civic engagement and community
interaction.
• Become knowledgeable regarding local government and governmental
agencies working with/for families on Long Island.
FRAMEWORK
1. Positive Psychology
2. Asset Based Community Development
3. Family Support
• What is Positive Psychology?
• Positive Psychology is the
scientific study of the strengths
and virtues that enable
individuals and communities to
thrive. The field is founded on
the belief that people want to
lead meaningful and fulfilling
lives, to cultivate what is best
within themselves, and to
enhance their experiences of
love, work, and play.
http://www.ppc.sas.upenn.edu/
Asset Based Community Development?
It is the capacities of local people and their
associations that build powerful communities….
…In fact, as Margaret Mead notes, it is the only
thing that ever does…
So, what can we do with what we
already have to get what we need?
How do we define family?
“Families define themselves. Families are big, small, extended,
nuclear, multi-generational, with one parent, two parents, and
grandparents. We live under one roof or many. A family can be as
temporary as a few weeks, as permanent as forever. We become
part of a family by birth, adoption, marriage, or from a desire for
mutual support. As family members, we nurture, protect, and
influence each other. Families are dynamic and are cultures unto
themselves, with different values and unique ways of realizing
dreams. Together, our families become the source of our rich
cultural heritage and spiritual diversity. Each family has strengths
and qualities that flow from individual members and from the
family as a unit. Our families create neighborhoods,
communities, states and nations…”
http://www.earlychildhoodnm.com/index.php/familyengagement/what-are-familes
What is Family Support & Engagement?
 A shift in human services delivery that encourages public &
private agencies to work together and to become responsive,
flexible, family-focused, strengths-based, and holistic – and thus
more effective.
 A movement for social change that urges all of us – policymakers,
program providers, parents, employers – to take responsibility for
improving the lives of children and families…putting children and
families first.
• What is Brain Drain?
• The departure of educated
or professional people from
one country, economic
sector, or field for another
usually for better pay or
living conditions.
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http://www.merriamwebster.com/dictionary/brain%20drain
Brain Drain on Long
Island
Developing Partnerships
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Internal Meetings
Associate Dean of Academic Affairs
Dean of Social Sciences Division
Senior Grants Officer
IRB
Faculty from Psychology, Social Work
Presentation at Social Sciences Division
Meeting
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External Meetings with Agency Partners
Long Beach Reach
Family & Children’s Association
Hispanic Counseling Center
Glen Cove Youth Board
National Association of Mothers Centers
Littig House Community Center
Jewish Community Center, Oceanside
Rockville Centre Library, Family Place Library
The Early Years Institute
St. Brigid’s Casa Mary Johanna
Suburban Millennial Institute
Agency Questions
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What is your Organization’s Mission?
What are your greatest strengths and resources?
What would you say is your organization’s greatest legacy in the community?
Who supports your work – financial, volunteer, public will etc.?
What services and supports do you provide for young families and children?
Describe the families you work with – their strengths, challenges and needs?
How are families involved in the development and evaluation of programs and
services you provide?
What do you see as the greatest challenges in raising a child on Long Island?
What do you see as the most critical service gaps for young families?
What messages and recommendations would you like to share with legislators,
policymakers and stakeholders in our region?
Anything else you would like to add?
Family Questions
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Introduction – why we are here, what we will be doing with the information gathered
Reinforce anonymity of discussion
Questions:
• How long have you lived in the community?
• What are your greatest challenges in raising a child on Long Island? What are others experiencing?
• What supports do you have to raise youth child(ren) – including family members?
• What kind of support do you with you could have?
• What services do you know of in the community to help families support their children?
• What do you feel are the greatest strengths/assets/abilities that you have as a young family?
• Each of us is part of a community and has something to offer. How do you feel you do or could
contribute more to the development of your community? Why do you feel this is important to the
future of Long Island?
• What do you like best about the community that you live in?
• What do you like least about the community that you live in?
• What would make it easier for you and your family to stay here?
• What messages and recommendations would you like to share with legislators, policymakers and
stakeholders in our region?
• Anything else you would like to add?
Topics
• Positive Psychology (2)
• Asset Based Community
Development (1)
• Developmental Theory of Family
(1)
• Family Support (1)
• Family Engagement (2)
• Behavior in Context (1)
• Diversity (1)
• Interview Techniques (1)
• Applied Development (1)
• Facilitation Techniques (1)
• Agency Partner Presentations (3)
Syllabus
Grading
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Take Home Exam (15%)
In Class Exam (15%)
Portfolio (40%)
i. Interview transcriptions
ii. Reaction Papers
iii. Assignments
4. Presentations (15%)
5. Attendance/Classroom
Participation (15%)
What our
L.E.A.D.S.
students would
want you to know
about their
experience…
• Value the knowledge learned throughout
the class and the inter-connection of
theory (trans-discipline) weaved
seamlessly throughout
• Met community providers and families
that we might not have otherwise
encountered
• Tremendous exposure to a diversity of
people and perspectives that we did not,
heretofore, connect with in our
educational experiences
• L.E.A.D.S. helped me shift my personal
and professional view from a deficit
model to a strength-based approach
• We feel that our work in the course will
make a difference!
A Bone-Deep Longing…
Within each person lies a bone-deep longing for freedom, safety,
hope, self-respect, and the chance to make an important
contribution to family, community, and the world. To live fully, we
each need ways to express this powerful, natural longing. Without
healthy outlets, the desire for freedom turns into lawlessness, and
the need for safety and self-respect degenerates into violence.
Without venues to make an important contribution, hopelessness
translates into dependency, depression, violence, substance abuse
and other forms of self-abuse. No government program or religious
group can help people become self-reliant, contributing members of
their communities unless it is built on an understanding of this
powerful force inside each human heart.
- Claire Forest, Director, National Family Development Credential Program
Long Island L.E.A.D.S.: Helping Families and Communities to
Help Themselves
BECAUSE CHILDREN ARE THE FIRST COMMUNITY IN A CHILD’S LIFE…
Contact Information:
Cheryl Camenzuli:
[email protected]
516-323-3841
Angela Zimmerman:
[email protected]
516-323 - 4723