Diana G.

Mejia

Instructor: Deborah Francis

Essentials of Humanities

December 4, 2018

Civic Engagement Activity

My Civic Commitment activity was at The Children's Center Kearns Location on Friday,

November 30 for three hours. The Children’s Center at Salt Lake and Kearns Locations is an

agency that provides help to children and families that are facing difficult situations. Parenting is

sometimes a difficult task, and this center provides families with the necessary skills to have a

well-being life. Children attend the center three hours a day from Monday to Friday. During this

time children have activities to learn positive behavior, share with other children, communication

skills, express feelings, respect personal space.

I was volunteering two teachers in charge of a group of children between 3 and 4 years of

age. In the center the groups of children are small. The group that I support was formed by seven

children who regularly attend the center. My participation consisted of supporting the children's

activities such as snack, play time, lunch, reading books, and encouraged them to keep the

attention of the children to the teacher. One of my duties was to help the teachers keep the tables

and floors clean after the little ones had taken their snack, lunch and especially after they played

with a bucket of sand and toys at one of the tables in the classroom. It was very fun for me to

follow the instructions of the teachers, play with the little ones, sing, and dance with them.

During a club fair at Salt Lake Community College, I met Leslie Durham, Manager of

Community Relations and Volunteers, at The Children’s Center. She told me about the work the
center does, and I about their need of volunteers at their two centers. When I decided to

volunteer at the center, I contacted Leslie. I expressed to her my desire to serve as a volunteer in

this place because these provide a beautiful help to children and their families. According to the

text, the English philosopher John Locke (1632-1704) expressed "... improving the social

environment would work to perfect the human condition" (Gloria K. Fiero, p.302, 2017). My

desire to volunteer in this place was to contribute a small grain of sand to create along with the

teachers, even if only for a few hours, a safe environment for the little ones in the center. Each

activity that the teachers schedule for the children has the purpose of helping them to develop

qualities in their behavior that will help them to relate in a healthy way in their family and social

environment. Through games, the little ones learn and reinforce their behaviors.

My participation in The Children's Center made me a more responsible citizen because

by taking part in this volunteering I realized some of the needs of the children. When I know the

needs of other people, I can take civil responsibility to cover those needs by acting on their

welfare. It made me very happy to create a relationship of trust with the children.

The text mentions "Whether people become brutish or otherwise depends solely on their

experiences ..." (Gloria K. Fiero, p.301, 2017). I think that the little ones are very honest in their

feelings, they just need to learn to express their emotions in a certain way that liberates them

from acting with brutality. At the same time, they learn to have more pleasant experiences in

their relationship with others. I am also full of pleasant experiences to live, play, and sing with

the teachers and children, which makes me stay away from the brutality.

I consider it very enriching for the soul to feel that I can earn the trust of the little ones

who have suffered very difficult situations in their lives. In turn, they feel security in others.

Happiness can be found in detail as simple as feeling a little hand that seeks refuge in mine or a
little face telling me to accompany him to play. Then I can feel that children are on the road to

freedom.

I absolutely enjoy this experience. It is beautiful to help others. When I give service to

others, I am the one most benefited by the experience that leaves me. For me, it is very nice to

see the faces of the children when feeling the security of expressing themselves through simple

songs or fun dances. It is very exciting to share the achievement of the little ones when they

achieve a goal, or when they manage to make a skill. I will continue again as a volunteer

providing help to these children and above all, learning from them.

Civic responsibility gives me a good experience that allows me to be better human

beings. It is difficult to imagine how much child's self-esteem strengthens when he receives a

smile and reinforcing his learning by playing and singing. In this way, I not only help others and

myself, but I also contribute to the welfare of the community.

References

Fiero, Gloria K. Landmarks in Humanities. McGraw-Hill Education, 2017.