Service Learning Project

For our service learning project we completed three different tasks that encouraged and educated the public, sent concerned letters of what we are passionate about to our senators, and we also preformed a civic duty ourselves.

For our first task we decided to educate the public about the elections that was current. We made a poster that was displayed the candidates visually and what they had to say about the hot topic of pro-choice. This topic clearly affects both the church and the state. Should the state have anything to say about if the rights of having an abortion should be legal or should the church tell you if having an abortion is spiritually okay? We wanted to let the public to decide themselves. Our poster was not opinionated to one side or another, if fact the point of our poster was to get people thinking about what they think is important and to vote for what they think is right. Our question that was promptly displayed in large print and centered of the page was “Is pro-choice a priority to you?”

Our second task that we completed was voting ourselves. We felt that if you told people to vote we should also follow what we were teaching. Voting is part of our civil right and something that we have been both a part of since we were 18 years old. By voting we felt that it is important to be an American citizen.

            Our third task was writing to our senators about subjects that we are passionate about. We attached where and what the subjects of the letters were about below. In the three letters they discussed issues that are hot topic for both church and state. In these letters the subjects that were addressed were the following:

Ask Congress to Improve Women's Access to Emergency Contraception

A new bill in Congress - the Emergency Contraception Education Act - would increase women's understanding and awareness of emergency contraception (EC).

EC is a safe, effective way to prevent unintended pregnancy in an emergency if taken soon after sex. When taken correctly, this medication has the ability to help a woman greatly reduce her chances of becoming pregnant.
Improving public education and awareness of EC could help reduce the estimated three million unintended pregnancies that occur in the U.S. every year.
We need your help to advance this important bill. Ask your members of Congress to cosponsor this bill.

Fake Clinics: Stop Preying on Women
Many "crisis pregnancy centers" (CPCs) use misleading and downright deceptive advertisements to lure women into their organizations and promote their anti-abortion agenda.

Women facing unintended pregnancy deserve facts and options, not manipulation and misinformation. 
The Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act would finally hold CPCs accountable for false advertising. The bill would allow the Federal Trade Commission to penalize CPCs that advertise abortion-care services or counseling that they do not offer.
It’s time for Congress to protect women from false advertising. Please urge your members of Congress to cosponsor the Stop Deceptive Advertising for Women’s Services Act and prevent CPCs from deceiving women.

Protect Women from Pharmacists Who Refuse Birth Control
The anti-choice movement has found out how to get between women and their birth control: pharmacists.
Led by extreme groups like Pharmacists for Life, anti-choice opponents are getting pharmacists to deny women their prescription birth control or access to over-the-counter emergency contraception. Even worse, women report being harassed and lectured by their pharmacist. Some women have not even been able to get their prescription returned!
The birth-control pill was approved 50 years ago. Protections for women’s access to birth control are long overdue.
Help us get a national law in place that would put an end to denials and delays at the pharmacy counter. Call on your members of Congress to cosponsor the Access to Birth Control Act! .

Theresa’s Reflection

            The impact that we provided on the greater good was not too much. I do not think that was the point of the project though. I feel that if Matt and I made someone think about subjects on church vs. state and the issues that are brought up in this topic are powerful. Many people have a lot to say and are very opinionated. I feel that people can talk and talk about what they think is right but your voice is mostly heard through voting. By the posters that Matt and I made I hope that we encouraged other people to vote for what they believe in.

            As a future teacher I would love to have the students do service learning projects. I know that they will not be able to vote in elementary school like my service learning project was but there are many ways that students their age can impact society. I can have students perform smaller projects in order for the students to see the results. This in turn will make the students understand that they can make a difference in society and take pride in themselves that they were able to complete the task. 

Matt's Reflection

            The effect our service learning project had on the greater good may have been minimal but we did hear from others in the class that our blog had prompted them to reflect on the issue.  I think this is an issue that many people don’t think about often or many don’t think that it is that big of an issue.  I think that this is a very important issue since, I believe, as did our founding fathers that we should be free of any government policies that involve any religious beliefs.  Religion should be an individual belief that we use individually and we should let others be free to do the same.  
            I would like to do something like this again but I would hope to have more time to spend on it and maybe involve my 10 year old son.  I hope to get involved in Habitat for Humanity and helping build or repair homes for people in need.  I would be interested in teaching this to students but I have to say I may be concerned about how big of a project it would be.  I may have to wait a couple years and get my feet under me in a classroom before I had my students perform a service learning project.

 To get involved with the pro-choice effort click here!