Modules Supporting Latino Service-Learning

In 2012-13, Maritza Soto Keen (JW Fanning Institute for Leadership Development, and past Service-Learning Fellow) and Dr. Paul Matthews (Office of Service-Learning) worked with the Public Service & Outreach Communications office to develop content modules supporting faculty and students interested in engaging with Latino communities. These modules are intended to help build background knowledge and more effectively prepare students to work with the diverse Latino communities in our area.

Each module (below) includes a video that can be watched during or outside of class; links for additional, detailed information about topics covered; and sample reflection questions that can be used or adapted by instructors to discuss content with students.

Module 1: Latino Cultures and Cultural Values

Click Here for YouTube Video Module, Latino Cultures & Cultural Values

Sources and Resources for Additional Information:

Possible reflection questions intended for use with this module:

  1. What did you hear in this presentation that resonated with your experiences so far?
  2. What did you hear that did not seem to apply to the community or people you’re working with?
  3. When have you experienced interacting with someone who had different cultural values than you? What challenges did that present? What could help reduce potential difficulties?
  4. How can we strike a balance between understanding/expecting cultural differences, and simply stereotyping people?
  5. For each of these profiled Latino cultural concepts, give an example of how it might “play out” in the context of this course’s service-learning work:
  • Familismo
  • Personalismo
  • Respeto
  • Religión
  • Machismo/Marianismo
  • Fatalismo

If using the module BEFORE the service-learning experience:

  1. In what ways did the information from this presentation confirm, or challenge, your expectations or beliefs about the Latino community?
  2. How do the presented elements of Latino cultural values relate to, or differ from, your own beliefs and expectations?
  3. How might you apply the information from this presentation to your service activity? What do you still want to know in order to be prepared for this experience?

     

If using the module DURING/AFTER the service-learning experience:

  1. What individual variation within members of Latino communities have you noted?
  2. How have you heard terms like “Latino,” “Hispanic,” “Mexican-American,” etc. used in your work with community members? What “identity” terms are preferred by the people you’ve worked with?
  3. What information from this presentation seemed especially relevant to the work you are doing?
  4. How might you apply the information from this presentation, as well as your experiences in your service activity, to your future studies, engagement with community, and/or personal development?
  5. What are you still wondering about that relates to this presentation’s topics and/or your experiences? How might you find more information to help answer your questions?

     

Module 2: Latino Information and Demographics

Click Here for YouTube Video Module, Latino Information and Demographics

Sources and Resources for Additional Information:

  • For more on educational data by school, district, or statewide: Georgia Governor's Office of School Achievement
  • For additional reports and research about Hispanics/Latinos in the US on topics including demographics, employment, opinions, education, immigration, politics, and social trends, see the Pew Hispanic Center
  • For the most current data on communities, population, and indicators, see the US Census Bureau American FactFinder. (For Athens, search for "Athens-Clarke County Unified Government (balance)")

Possible reflection questions intended for use with this module:

  1. What did you hear in this presentation that resonated with your experiences so far?
  2. What did you hear that did not seem to apply to the community or people you’re working with?  
  3. To what extent have you seen this recent growth in Latino populations locally or elsewhere?
  4. What challenges exist when a new population like this moves in to a part of the country that has not had that demographic previously? What possible benefits are there as well?
  5. Take a look at the module on Latino Culture and Cultural Values. In what ways do you see an interplay between cultural values and the data presented here?

If using the module BEFORE the service-learning experience:

  1. In what ways did the information from this presentation confirm, or challenge, your expectations or beliefs about the Latino community?
  2. How might you apply the information from this presentation to your service activity?
  3. What do you still want to know in order to be prepared for this experience?

If using the module DURING/AFTER the service-learning experience:

  1. In what way(s) is the Latino population you are working with representative of the national or statewide statistical portrait? (age, origin, socioeconomic status, educational attainment, etc.)
  2. In what ways is it different?
  3. Given the large and growing number of Latino youth nationally and locally, what implications does this have for opportunities and challenges in the field you are working in?
  4. How might you apply the information from this presentation, as well as your experiences in your service activity, to your future studies, engagement with community, and/or personal development?
  5. What are you still wondering about that relates to this presentation’s topics and/or your experiences? How might you find more information to help answer your questions?
Module 3: Latino Education

Click Here for YouTube Video Module, Latino Education

Sources and Resources for Additional Information:

  • For more on educational data by school, district, or statewide: Georgia Governor's Office of School Achievement
  • For additional reports and research about Hispanics/Latinos in the US on topics including demographics, employment, opinions, education, immigration, politics, and social trends, see the Pew Hispanic Center
  • For national information on the Latino "educational equity gap", see the Latino Education Equity Index
  • For a local UGA center researching the educational achievement gap, see CLASE
  • For an example of some of the barriers to higher education faced by undocumented students, see thislocal newspaper article; and to see what some faculty and community members are doing to support such students, see Freedom University's website and related articles like this one from NPR
  • To learn more about Latino students at UGA, check out student organizations such as the Hispanic Student Association or LISTo

Possible reflection questions intended for use with this module:

  1. What from this module resonated with your experiences so far?
  2. What did not seem to apply to the community or people you’re working with? 
  3. What experiences have you had in working with people who are learning English as their non-native language?
  4. This module cites research that Latino parents and families highly value education, yet the stereotype persists to the contrary. What are some of the reasons why a teacher might believe that a Latino parent doesn’t care about their child’s education?
  5. While programs like after-school tutoring can help improve the education of English-learning children, some suggest that these are essentially "band-aids" that mask some of the larger, societal inequities in our educational system. Why? What support for this assertion do you find?

If using the module BEFORE the service-learning experience:

  1. In what ways did the information from this presentation confirm, or challenge, your expectations or beliefs about the Latino community?
  2. How might you apply the information from this presentation to your service activity?
  3. What do you still want to know in order to be prepared for this experience?

If using the module DURING/AFTER the service-learning experience:

  1. In what way(s) is the Latino population you are working with representative of the so-called “achievement gap”?
  2. In what ways is it different?
  3. How might you apply the information from this presentation, as well as your experiences in your service activity, to your future studies, engagement with community, and/or personal development?
  4. What are you still wondering about that relates to this presentation’s topics and/or your experiences? How might you find more information to help answer your questions?
Module 4: Latino Public Policy Issues

Click Here for YouTube Video Module, Latino Public Policy Issues

Sources and Resources for Additional Information:

  • For data and information on immigration policy, see the Pew Hispanic Center or the Migration Policy Institute
  • The Pew Hispanic Center also has information on state-by-state trends, as well as country of origin profiles of US Latinos
  • For Georgia-specific legislation and trends, see GALEO
  • See data on language use by US Hispanics
  • For an example of some of the barriers to higher education faced by undocumented students, see this local newspaper article; and to see what some faculty and community members are doing to support such students, see Freedom University's website and related articles like this one from NPR
  • To learn more about the "deferred action" for immigrant minors, see the Homeland Security page
  • For an overview of the history of transportation equity and its affect on Latino ne, see this case study report . 
  • Because immigration reform is under discussion at the national level, you may want to also seek out current information on topics relating to the DREAM Act, immigration reform, etc. through current online and other news sources

Possible reflection questions intended for use with this module:

  1. What from this module resonated with your experiences so far?
  2. What did not seem to apply to the community or people you’re working with? 
  3. What experiences have you had in learning another language? How do those experiences shape your understanding of bilingualism and language use?
  4. What experiences have you had in trying to get around town without a car?
  5. What indications have you seen in your work with this community, that the issues in this module (immigration policy; language policy; transportation) are important to this community? In what ways do these issues specifically impact the people you are engaging with?

If using the module BEFORE the service-learning experience:

  1. In what ways did the information from this presentation confirm, or challenge, your expectations or beliefs about the Latino community?
  2. How might you apply the information from this presentation to your service activity?
  3. What do you still want to know in order to be prepared for this experience?

If using the module DURING/AFTER the service-learning experience:

  1. In what way(s) is the Latino population you are working with representative of state and national immigration trends?
  2. In what ways is it different?
  3. This module suggests several reasons why immigrant parents and children might not take part in outreach activities offered by a school or program. How do these mesh with what you’ve seen in your work with this community? 
  4. How might you apply the information from this presentation, as well as your experiences in your service activity, to your future studies, engagement with community, and/or personal development?
  5. What are you still wondering about that relates to this presentation’s topics and/or your experiences? How might you find more information to help answer your questions?