Reflection can be defined as a serious thought or consideration. I had a lot of time reflecting on my service learning. I completed my hours quickly because of how disgusted I was of Istrouma Early Head Start Center. The YWCA Early Head Start Program provides comprehensive, educational and health services for pregnant adolescents, children of adolescent parents, children with disabilities, and children living in poverty. Istrouma Early Head Start is first and foremost a child development program with the goals of promoting school readiness and effective parenting. All children served at the center are the ages of six weeks to three years old. There are five goals the center provides for the families. The first goal is that the children of the center will have access to high quality early childhood services. The second goal is that families will progress toward their goals in health, mental awareness, education and employment. The third goal is that the staff will leverage their personal and professional growth to assist children and families in realizing their goals. The forth goal is that community partnerships will be established and or mentioned to build comprehensive, integrated services for children and their families and increase community investments. The fifth goal is that the program that they will strive to strengthen the management systems and provide the support required to expand their services. I will Look, Judge, and Act on the services this company provides for poverty stricken homes and communities.

LOOK: Upon entering the center on my first day I was easily fooled by how nice and comforting the staff was and couldn’t wait to return the next day. I was given a tour and introduced to the staff. The first day I stayed there for a few hours and had a great chance of interacting with the kids. I observed the staff with the kids. I listened to how the staff talked the kids. I watched their interactions, their tone, their gentleness and even how impatient the staff was with some of the kids. I held a long conversation with one girl, that told me about her personal life and how much she did for the kids outside of work. Lets just say Barbara was the greatest member of the staff I met. On her off days she would help the parents of these kids by babysitting. She even used her money to buy diapers, clothes and food for the families. Jennifer was not so caring; she was there for a paycheck. She said, “Every week I count down the days until Friday, I hate working here.” I was livid, but did not respond to her comment. I continued to just watch their daily actions. Each day I went I became more and more obsessed with wondering how can I help these kids. I know its far fetched, I don’t have a job, I’m a college student and I’ve been robbing Peter to pay Paul. So the biggest questions are, “How can I help?” I began to truly SEE by actually observing and developing knowledgeable skills in paying attention to their actions. Any person in their moral mind would know that the things going on in this center was not true to the heart. I know that no one is perfect but you can strive to become better in every aspect of your life. “Though mankind is stricken with wonder at its own discoveries and its power, it often raises anxious questions about the current trend of the world, about the place and role of man in the universe, about the meaning of its individual and collective strivings, and about the ultimate destiny of reality and of humanity.” (Pastoral
Constitution on the Church in the Modern World, 1965). Where is this world going, how can we trust who we are leaving our kids with? The constant struggle I deal with on a daily basis is trust. We have to have faith.

Judge: After watching and observing this center, I am a concerned parent for the kids and workers of Istrouma Early Head Start Center. The location of the center was right in the middle of a bad neighborhood, the center was not in excellent condition, and it was infested with roaches. I literally watched roaches crawl form under one of the kids’ cots while they were asleep and I was immediately disgusted. Their schedule consisted of 10 hours and out of those hours the kids sleep for three. This center was supposed to be equipped with up to date electronics and material to enhance the learning of the kids, but it wasn’t. The parents were very young and most of the kids are cared for by their grandparents. The grandparents are more relaxed than an actual parent of the kid. Example: When I was a young kid my mom was very strict but as I grew up and had kids of my own, my mom is more lenient towards her grandkids. Grandparents are supposed to be just that, grandparents. One worker, lets call her Paige, she was asking all the other workers if they had any hydrocodone. I was floored that they were sharing prescription medicine. One other girl even said she can sell her some. This environment for kids that are already introduced to exceptional poverty shouldn’t have to leave their homes and still be ignored. The staff at this location is a disgrace. During my visit there, my thoughts were to be able to interact with the staff and the kids. The director of the staff had me cleaning all the outside toys, because she felt that one kid was sick and everything should be sanitized. I did not volunteer to help at your center to clean up for you or to do your dirty work. I was furious and wanted to leave, but I knew that I needed to complete my time. I didn’t want to cause any confusion with transferring to a different location or company. I just sucked up my feelings and cleaned every bike and toy that was on the yard and I felt highly disrespected. I can tell that the toys on the yard was not cleaned in a long time but I just did what they needed me to do. “If we don’t work, we don’t realize our full humanity.” (John Donaghy, 2013). The staff here is not doing their job. We must walk by faith and find our true calling. If taking care of someone else’s’ kid is not your calling, then you should find something different. This center is loaded with kids thriving for attention and most of the day the kids are sleep or they are playing outside for 2 hours at a time. Never judge a book by its cover, this center had an awesome cover.

Act: I’m concerned about how to act on this situation. I don’t have a lot of patience, I like things to happen quickly. The little time I was there I put my all into caring for the kids that I encountered. My action I feel I can take is by continuing my education and eventually being able to help low income families. I can not change the quality of the daycare but I can only put my faith in God. “We are called to ACT for the realization of God’s reign on earth.” (NAFRA, 1999). Since I cannot change what is happening at the center I cannot possibly help in different ways. I want to bring the center items to assist in learning, but I feel the staff will not use the items appropriately. I know that I should not think that way but I want to make a change for the kids and help them out. God wants us to take care of our children and I thought by taking care of any kids in need can fill the obligation of ACT. We are all called to SEE with faith, JUDGE in faith; and ACT in faith. Faith will lead you to the finish line.

The National Fraternity of the Secular Franciscan Order - USA. (1999). Retrieved April 22, 2016, from https://www.nafra-sfo.org/

Gigacz, S. (2007). 'See, judge, act' more than truth by consensus. Retrieved April 22, 2016, from http://www.eurekastreet.com.au/article.aspx?aeid=3055#.VxqePGNlmi4

Donaghy, J. (2013). The Methodology of the Aparecida Document: See – Judge – Act. Retrieved April 22, 2016, from https://catholicsensibility.wordpress.com/2013/11/24/the-methodology-of-the-aparecida-document-see-judge-act/

Vatican Pastoral Constitution on the Church in the Modern World. (1965). Retrieved April 22, 2016, from http://www.vatican.va/