Expanding Education (Kate)

One thing that I have truly come to love about our "Traditions of Giving and Serving in American Life" course is how applicable it is to my other classes and fields of study here at Valparaiso University. I am currently enrolled in a course titled "Who's Your Neighbor?" which seeks to discuss social responsibility in an unjust world by determining what we truly believe the word "neighbor" is defined as. Our class that is funded by the Learning by Giving Foundation allows me to truly develop my idea of neighborliness; I can intertwine the discussions I am having in both classes to create a rich and holistic approach to the other. Our English 396/LS 610 class gives way to teaching me just how important the idea of philanthropy and giving can be when you determine who a neighbor is within the context of your own life. Our current social and political climate has evolved our understanding of the humans we encounter each day and has ultimately changed the way we define what a neighbor looks like, sounds like, and acts like. Since the class is based around the tradition of giving within American life, we can examine how the idea of philanthropy has evolved to it's modern identity, much as the term neighbor has evolved. I am able to combine the conversations that I am having when evaluating agencies and mission statements to the conversations in my other class where I am deciding whether or not groups of people have actively worked together enough to be neighbors. I feel that I am gaining so much by being in a class that helps to define the ever-changing stance of donations and giving because it allows me to create new definitions for terms and ideas I am using in classes that are far different

“Misunderstood: America’s Working Poor” (Nura)

Wanting to contribute to helping those who find themselves in less fortunate situations than are own is a part of our country’s DNA. Giving and serving is indeed a tradition in American life and the English 396 bearing this theme is therefore relevant and extremely meaningful in understanding the greater landscape of philanthropy and the details in the dynamics of service thought and culture.

Our efforts to see and hear the plight of others do not always ring true to resembling the reality of everyday life for those people living in America’s poorest living conditions. One of the greatest setbacks to breaking the barriers that separate the economic classes is by generalizing and stigmatizing their situation. The misconceptions that exist about people who are poor and most in need of assistance, whether federal or not, only holds us back as a community and as a country. Here are 5 myths of the working poor put together by OxFam:

(More information can be found here: https://politicsofpoverty.oxfamamerica.org/2016/09/5-myths-about-the-working-poor-in-america/ )

Myth #1: Most workers in low-wage jobs are young or starting out at the entry level.

Myth #2: Most employers provide workers with earned sick time after a certain tenure on the job.

Myth #3: The low-wage workforce cuts across all populations: race, gender, age.

Myth #4: Working longer and harder will pay off.

Myth #5: Most jobs pay a living wage.

Blog Introduction (Debra)

My name is Debra Miller, and I am a sophomore at Valparaiso University.  This semester I am taking Professor Buinicki’s English 396 course titled Traditions of Giving and Serving in America.  This course is unlike any other English class that I have taken before.  Like a traditional English class, we read a variety of novels and essays, but these readings supplement a very special component to this course; thanks to the Learning by Giving foundation, at the end of the semester, our class is able to donate $5,000 to a Porter County charity of our choice!

Of course getting 17 college students of varying ages and backgrounds to agree on a charity is no easy task, especially when the pool of charities from which we are choosing is compiled of so any deserving causes.  That is why we have started this blog- to document the interesting, extensive process of researching, selecting a charity, and rewarding the grant.  This blog will embody the thoughts and experiences of the students taking this unique course.  I am so excited to continue with this giving process, and I can not wait to read what the rest of my classmates write about!