Pre-Reflection (Delta Senior School)

I am going for this service project because I want to be able to give back to the society using the knowledge which I have gained during my studies in Ngee Ann Polytechnic. I believe that service learning is essential as we do not just live a vocational life, but a civic one where we as people of a society should be concerned about those around us and help one another. Whereas living just a vocational life where we only care about our personal interests would result in an incohesive society.

For this service learning project, I will be helping students from Delta Senior School (DSS). Students from DSS are between the ages of 17-21, which is the same age range as me. However, the students have mild intellectual disabilities with an IQ range of 50-70. I will need to be considerate and patient when interacting with these students as they might not or will require a longer time to understand things as compared to others.

I feel excited going into this service learning project as I want to be able to use my skills and knowledge to help make others’ lives better. It has been a long time since I have given back to the community, with the last I can remember being volunteering to teach the elderly about technology at a local community centre. However, I am also worried at the same time as for this project I have to work in unfamiliar territory with people that have mild intellectual disabilities. I am scared that I might lose my patience and that I must be considerate with what I say to them as they will interpret it differently.

For this project, I can contribute by firstly using my IT knowledge to help the DSS students and teach them if necessary. Secondly, I can use my past experiences in service projects to approach this one. For example, I have learnt to be patient while teaching others, especially when they do not understand something, and I must come up with another way to teach it. Other than mentoring the students in the project itself, I have also signed up as a food server. Although it is not much, I will ensure that the DSS students will have an enjoyable experience through the food and make it memorable for them.