Please refer to your notes from the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless Speakers Bureau engagement last Monday before completing your Journal #2.

Guidelines for the Service/Experiential Learning Reflection Journal

You will engage in an experiential learning journal reflecting on an experience of a Chicago Coalition for the Homeless speakers bureau engaged in-class last week. The speakers bureau will introduce you to people who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing homelessness. In addition to these stories of homelessness, you will learn of sustained efforts to address homelessness. You are invited to dialogue in an interior way with these stories – asking questions and being in touch with your thoughts, feelings, and insights.

Each journal entry should be at least two pages, typed, double-spaced, with a standard font (Times New Roman, Arial). Please write notes for your journal within 24 hours of your experience of the Speakers Bureau. This assures that your memories and perceptions are fresh and have the most detail. For each entry, type the following at the top:

Name:
Speakers Bureau with Chicago Coalition for the Homeless
Journal # 2

Save and post your journal to D2L with your last name and what journal number. For example for student, Maya Alberta, she would save and post Journal #1 as the following:

Alberta1

For Journal #2, she would save it as:

Alberta2

Finally, clearly label each section of the The Three Part System Of your entry:

Complete each of your journals using the Three Part System:

Part I. Objective Account

First, write an objective account of what happened in the Speakers Bureau. Describe evaluate, just write the facts of what took place in the video. Be sure to include the name(s) and at least three facts from the stories of the main protagonist(s) or speaker(s).

Part II. Subjective Account

Next, describe your feelings and perceptions about what happened as you experienced the speakers. This is your subjective account. How did you feel at different points during the presentation? Talk about your impressions, ideas, and feelings during different identified parts of the engagement. What was humanizing about the presentation for you? What was a dehumanizing part? What was life-giving? What was draining? What was confusing and/or disturbing?

Part III. Reflective Account

Reflect on how the speakers’ presentation relates to other course content thus far: course readings, class discussions, research, or other class material. Maybe a concept in class came alive for you or maybe you’d like to test a theory the next time you watch an assigned video. Perhaps an earlier day’s material is relevant to the presentation you just experienced. Cite readings, concrete points, etc.

If a particular week’s course material does not seem very relevant to the Chicago Coalition for the Homeless, try to respond to some of these questions or to a course-related question that you design:

How did this presentation challenge your assumptions of stereotypes?
What does this presentation tell you about yourself?
How has your understanding of homelessness or social change been altered by this presentation?