This paper is a reflection of my volunteering experience with The Arc of Tricitie’s February Sweetheart Dance. The dance was held on February 20, 2017 from 4 P.M. until 9 P.M. Prior to volunteering for this event or taking the practice with persons with special needs class I did not have much experience with the special needs population. The most interaction I had had with the special needs population was in high school, but it was not on a regular basis. Many of my thoughts and feelings were changed after volunteering for the Sweetheart Dance.
I was nervous and worried about the event, simply because I did not know what to expect. Most of what is depicted on social media and television is negative, or steered toward creating a sense of hopelessness
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Those attending the Sweetheart dance were well behaved. This was shown clearly at the beginning of the night. Everyone was lined up and waited their turn to pay to get into the dance. When the pizza arrived and we started to hand out food to each person. I was able to notice that most of them were able to not only be well behaved, but were also able to take direction. Before handing out the pizza each individual had to hand in the ticket that they received from registration. With that ticket they would then tell us what kind of pizza they wanted. The line was organized and everyone waited their turn. To our surprise we did not have any over eating, we thought there would be simply because it was the one thing we were warned about. These everyday tasks and behaviors that we practice every day I thought would be very difficult for individuals with special needs. Being able to interact with these individuals I was able to see for myself that I was wrong and that it may be difficult for any individuals with to take directs or behave accordingly, regardless of special …show more content…
Those who did need a little help with getting out of their comfort zone did not require that much of a push. Others would simply grab their hands and they would start to dance out on the dance floor. The photo booth was a fun and well organized activity. The people taking pictures used the photo booth props accordingly and made it fun. The dancing was fun, most everyone participated and were very outgoing. The friendliness of everyone made this volunteer project a great experience. When clean up time came around I was so happy and surprised to see how many people came together to get the party cleaned up. Some individuals who helped take down decorations were bringing the decorations to me faster than I could put them away. They also helped with taking the decoration to the cars as
Li was the sixth of 7 brothers,[3] born into poverty in the Li Commune near the city of Qingdao in the Shandong province of the People's Republic of China. He often had to support his extremely poor family. Li's early life coincided with Mao Zedong's rule over the new Communist nation. Li had a strong desire to serve China's Communist Party. He was quite politically devout, eventually joining in the CCP's Youth League. At the age of eleven, he was selected by Madame Mao's cultural advisors to attend the Beijing Dance Academy, where students endured 16-hour-a-day training. He attended the Academy for seven years. The regime in Beijing Dance was harsh, starting each morning at 5:30. Li performed well in the politics class,[4] but did badly in ballet. This changed when he met
Tacachale Center is a community for adults with developmental disabilities. I learned about Tacachale from a classmate and was compelled to visit the community after learning about its mission to promote independence and the individual potential of the residents. As a volunteer, I did crafts with the residents and helped serve snacks. I learned from the staff that most residents were abandoned by their families and that visitors were not common. Although most of the residents are unable to clearly communicate, it is easy to realize how much they appreciate the volunteers and enjoy interacting with new people. Through this experience, I learned that I posses a strong interest in working with underserved populations. I am drawn to people that
Precision Dance Center is a dance school that is located in Charlotte, North Carolina. They are specializing in tap, jazz, contemporary, lyrical, hip-hop, and ballet for ages 3 and up. Precision Dance Center is where stars are born. The PDC Competition Team is a 2014, 2015, and 2016 National
In ninth grade, my mother suggested that I volunteer with peers at my high school who are special needs. She thought it would be good for me to meet other people my age who have their unique struggles in school, much like myself. I protested originally, but little did I know I would love volunteering with my peers, regardless of their disability. During this time, I signed up to volunteer with a local organization called Buddy Ball. At Buddy Ball, I had the opportunity to teach children with disabilities ages five through twenty-one baseball. When I volunteered with my peers, I mainly saw high schoolers with severe autism, intellectual disabilities, and emotional disturbances, whereas with Buddy Ball most of the participants had severe autism, intellectual disability, muscular dystrophy, cerebral palsy, spina bifida, epilepsy, or a multiple of disabilities. Both of these experiences allowed me to gain knowledge of a variety of special
Over the course of this semester, I have had a valuable experience observing the children in the special services classroom at Coulter Grove Intermediate School in Maryville, Tennessee. During this observation, I did not only spend time observing the developmentally and physically disabled children that went to the school, but also their neurotypical peers that were put in the classroom as “peer buddies”. Peer buddies acted as friends to the disabled children in the classroom in order to expose the children to those with different abilities and challenges to them. The special services department covers the whole school, but I concentrated my attention on the children in the lower grades. These children were mainly white, but there was one young African-American girl. While the racial divide was uneven, the divide between the genders was around equal. Since the special services classrooms concentrated on children who needed more attention than children who were developing normally, there were more teachers than there is in a typical classroom. The number of teachers in the room varied throughout the day, but there were usually three or four in the classroom at any given time. I spent most of my time observing in the classroom, but also spent time in the cafeteria and playground, which opened me up to even more opportunities observing neurotypical children. In this final application paper, I will summarize my observations and analyze how exactly they match up to what we have
Six years ago, my life was changed forever. It was the summer leading into the sixth grade, and my mom asked me if I would like to help at a summer camp for special needs people. Honestly, I knew that I would be working at this camp no matter what my answer might have been. As I anticipated the first day of the week long event, I grew anxious; I was frightened by the unknown. Even though I've lived with someone with disabilities my whole life, my ten year old mind had no clue what the campers themselves be like. Despite my fears, this short five day week was one I would never forget.
Dance Attended: Friday April 28th County Dance in WB112 – Fundraiser for OSU Equestrian team 7:45-11:00pm
On February 9th, 2018 the official King and Queen of Hearts Dance took place. Many students from grades 6-8 where excited to hear the news of the dance, and many people bought tickets in sight of this news. The doors opened from 7:00pm-9:00pm, the actual dance took place in the Pottsgrove Middle School gym. As you walked through the door you could either buy a ticket there or hand in the ticket you bought beforehand, but no matter what, you always got a slip to vote for the king and queen of hearts. There were three different boys and three different girls to vote for. As you handed in your vote you must of walked past the table where all the crowns and sashes were. There were three crowns; two for the princess and one for the official
Ballet originated in the Italian Renaissance courts of the 15th Century. At large events and especially weddings, noblemen and women were entertained with dancing and music, which created a detailed performance. Ballet began as a way to fill in time between courses at banquets. This way of entertaining guests became a fashion. For the royalty it became an elegant hobby that showed off their talent and their wealth.
Christmas dance was a lot of fun! Nancy came over to my house and did my hair before the dance, so my hair looked so gorgeous. I ordered my dress online, and I loved it so much. It was a little darker than I expected it to be, but it was still super cute and sparkly. I LOVED THE SPARKLES! The dance was fun and the only irritating part was the people that stood around and stared at everyone dancing. I don’t understand why people go if they aren’t going to enjoy themselves. It makes no sense to me. But the important thing is that I had a lot of fun with my
At 10:30 a.m. on Wednesday, November 23rd, 2016 I was given the opportunity to be an audience member of a contemporary dance performance titled The Love Project. The dance revolved around the theme of being in love. The piece was choreographed by the artistic director of Stand Up Dance, Meagan O’Shea and was performed by Patricia Allison, Miyeko Ferguson, Alya Graham, Maxime Nadeau, and Shakeil Rollock. The multiple musical pieces that accompanied the dance were by Patrick Watson, Bon Iver, The Barr Brothers, Andrew Bird, Lori Clarke, Schubert, Couperin, TV On The Radio, St. Dirt Elementary School, and Sigur Rós. The dance was first performed for the public (non-school related viewers) on Friday, October 23rd, 2015, 7:00 p.m., at Theatre Direct
The practice for this special night happened during school and to be honest I was very worried about going up and walking in front of hundreds of people. Im grateful that we practiced beforehand because it made it harder for me to get nervous so I could enjoy the night. When we would go line up for us to walk in I got paired with one of my friends so
The Homecoming dance was actually fun for me. I wasn’t shy for once. I’m normally saying I don’t dance. I was dancing to the cha-cha slide and the Cupid Shuffle. I’m normally not interacting with other people. I always think I’m gonna make a fool of myself that I don’t even try.
The scorching sun was gleaming through the window, of the older and damaged school. The crowd was screaming unclear words. The little space I had on the sidelines was slowly disappearing, as people push ambitiously to see the little girls dancing happily on the stage. I kept wondering what will happen when the dance recital is done will we just get ice cream or a treat like what we normally do? Or will we celebrate? I tried to think happy thoughts, but The music was blasting in my ear and I could not hear when my dance instructor happily shouted
With sweaty palms, a racing heart, and shaky knees I wait with the infinite patience only a 7 year old can achieve for the girl in front of me to begin the long trek to the center of the stage. The burlap is scratchy under my feet and the beautiful sparkly gold costume I was so excited to finally put on is giving me hives it’s so itchy. Although the so called stage is really just a 9 by 12 foot stretch of burlap fabric, our “audience” is as big as you can imagine the size of a crowd thrilled to watch seven year-olds dance would be- huge. After wishing to be one of the girls on the rough fabric stage located in the center of our local Thai temple for years, seeing it from the other side made me think maybe I didn’t want to step out there after all. Sure, I used to run out on stage when I was four to dance with all the pretty older girls and of course it was cute then, but I’m older now and if I