Volunteer on class trip to Green Apron Culinary School
Tyanne George
I volunteered to go on a trip with a kindergarten class of P.S. 198 to the Green Apron culinary school to make pizza. They also paired me with a student with autism that needed help. I truly felt as though I was a big help to this community as I made sure all students were always accounted for and my student with autism was given all the help she needed. I kept her engaged and asked her to repeat certain words that tied into what the class was learning. For example, dough, sauce, cheese, and showing her the motion of rolling out the dough. I felt a connection with the people I worked with, as they appreciated my help and commended me for my resilience in an outside environment and being able to adapt quickly and efficiently. “As socially conscious individuals, it is important for us to support marginalized communities and work towards social justice.” (Supporting Social Justice through Volunteering and Community Development - Blog News, 2023) It is important that we keep culture alive, and we learn from these cultures as well. One student had an idea that pizza belonged to the Italian community, and I confirmed their ideas and educated them on pizza native to Italians. I learned that it's good to help and educate all kinds of people if you have the knowledge. I also learned that it is up to this generation to help strive to keep cultures alive. I was very open-minded to the service, and I loved how I could connect with a child that has autism and help them understand culture as well. It is honestly an experience I would have a thousand times again. The kid I was paired with connected with me and was eager to learn and enjoy pizza. “Community development plays a crucial role in promoting social justice. It focuses on empowering communities, fostering inclusivity, and creating sustainable change.” (Supporting Social Justice through Volunteering and Community Development - Blog News, 2023)I truly believe this as demonstrating and teaching while the students were doing the steps to making pizza, they felt comfortable which brought about inquisition on the culture behind pizza. Ways that I would envision empowering and giving a voice to the people I worked with would be to encourage them to continue practicing how to cook and specially making pizza at home so they can learn to make many more dishes from different cultures as well. There were also only Spanish-speaking students on the trip, and I also tried helping and educating them. For example, I would say sauce in English, then Spanish, sauce—salsa.” Instead of feeling awkward about speaking another language, if you were respected for who you were… it would open more opportunities.” (Carlson frank 2:32) I agree with this as I felt comfortable talking in both languages. On a societal level, more workshops or cooking classes that educate the upcoming generations would improve the lives of the people I worked with.
References
Supporting Social Justice through Volunteering and Community Development - Blog News. (2023, July 7).
PBS NewsHour. (2015, January 23). Say what? Half the world’s languages will vanish by the end of the century. PBS NewsHour.
https://www.pbs.org/newshour/arts/new-documentary-explores-languages-peril-around-globe