Whitany Lewis Final Reflection

4/21/2014
Writing For Social Change
Wolcott

Over the course of this class I have learned a great deal about writing for social change.
However before I can explain what I have learned, I must first explain what writing for social
change is.
In order to fully understand what writing for social change is, we must take a look at the
works of Grabill and Kristof and WuDunn. Now on to the hard question: what is writing? This
question has been asked of every speaker that we have had to pleasure of meeting this semester.
The amazing thing I that writing had a different meaning to each of the people that we met.
According to Grabill writing is anything that can be used to produce change. For example he
believes that information like birth records, sidewalk maps, and bus schedules are all writing
because they can be used to express an idea for change. Basically Grabill feels that the
information that is used to support traditional writing is also a form of writing.
According to Grabill anything can be writing. Grabill was pretty much alone with this
sentiment among our speakers. We pointed out to the majority of our speakers that they were
actually participating in writing, but they did not feel the same. Most of them partook of the
boring writing that Grabill discussed. Their work didnt feel like writing because it was filling
out forms. That work is no less important than the work of people like Kristof and WuDunn ho
write physical books as social change. For example there is a group in Orlando that completes
paperwork for veterans to receive identification cards and health benefits. They only complete
paperwork, but they make a huge difference in the lives of the people that they assist. That leads
me to the subject of social change.
Whitany Lewis Final Reflection
4/21/2014
Writing For Social Change
Wolcott

Kristof and WuDunn addressed the social change aspect of writing for social change in
Half The Sky. This book discussed and offered solutions to the issues facing women in third
world countries. This book alone appears to be the traditional image of writing for social change;
however the book introduces new forms of social change. For example several people were
interviewed after they created organizations and collected money to support students and keep
them in school. This book tells of women that have started schools, hospitals, and the businesses
to ensure that the young girls of third world countries have a chance at a normal life, free from
rape and early abusive marriages.
Half The Sky also expressed the gruesome details of what a rape victim endures, in most
cases these women and girls are expected to commit suicide. By writing this book Kristof and
WuDunn not only highlighted the social change of others but they also allowed themselves to be
vessels of social change. This shows that bringing attention to a problem is a form of social
change and working to solve that problem is definitely social change.
Now that we have a clear understanding of what writing for social change is, I can
discuss the service learning project that I worked on for this class. I worked with Anna and
Catherine to develop a 90 day social media calendar for the Radha Krishna Organization. The
Radha Krishna Organization is based in Guyana and encourages children, especially girls to
pursue an education. Not only are the children taught to empower themselves, but also their
community. The children are encouraged to volunteer in their community as a form of service.
The children are taught to embody the motto of the Radha Krishna Organization: The World
Does Not Need Our Service, We Need To Serve. The children are taught about the Hindu
religion, and they are also taught various skills that will ultimately make them well rounded
Whitany Lewis Final Reflection
4/21/2014
Writing For Social Change
Wolcott

individuals. I chose to work with this organization because after reading Kristof and WuDunns
Half The Sky, I know that if the children that this organization targets do not remain in school,
then they will ultimately not reach their full potential.
During our initial research we found that the Radha Krishna Organization had a presence
on social media, but it was not very effective for their cause. My group decided that the social
media calendar would be the best project to attempt because it would leave a sustainable
template behind when the project was over. By leaving behind something sustainable we have
basically ensured that the social media account will be better utilized.
According to Bowden and Scott service learning is not simply volunteering with an
organization. A service learning project involves learning what the organization needs and then
providing that service. The service does not include working on the ground level of the
organization, but working on the administrative level (Bowden & Scott, pg.6). I agree with them
completely. Because the Stanford Model was used, we did not have to travel to Guyana to work
hands on with the children; we instead worked behind the scenes and helped to create a
sustainable social media page so that the organization can receive better recognition. This
recognition would in turn help the children by providing more donations.
For this service learning project not only did we have to work with the organization, we
also had to work with one another. I personally am very skeptical about group projects because I
usually have to do all of the work. To my surprise my group was amazing. We decided to each
complete a social media calendar for one month. For any work that only required a single
document, we opened a Google Doc and worked on it together. The Facebook page that we
Whitany Lewis Final Reflection
4/21/2014
Writing For Social Change
Wolcott

created allowed us to collaborate freely with one another. For example, when we completed our
social media calendars, we posted them on the Facebook page. By posting our finished product
on the page we were able to provide feedback on the calendars. Anna also posted the final
project on the Facebook page before we turned it in so that Catherine and I had an opportunity to
review it and provide negative or positive feedback.
Our entire service learning project relied on infrastructure. We created a Facebook group
so that we could post our individual social media calendars and receive feedback. Using social
media helped our group to collaborate despite having busy schedules. We did not have to meet
face to face to organize our project, we were able to brainstorm ideas and help one another via
the Facebook page. With that being said the infrastructure that we utilized was Facebook.
According to the information given by Grabill, Facebook fit the profile of an infrastructure
because at the particular time that we were using it, the system was: embedded, transparent,
reaching, and learned as a part of membership (pg. 29).
Facebook as a website is embedded in the internet. This particular page on Facebook was
embedded within our group because it was our only means of communicating outside of class.
Also this page was the only place that we would physically exchange ideas. That leads me to
transparency. The Facebook page was very transparent, because none of the ideas that we
brainstormed were deleted or moved. This was a good thing for our small group of three;
however this feature may not be appealing for a large group sharing ideas. Our page had reach
because it could have included any person that we wanted it to. The information was only
understandable if you were a member of the group, which means that it was learned as a part of
membership.
Whitany Lewis Final Reflection
4/21/2014
Writing For Social Change
Wolcott

All of those characteristics make our groups Facebook page infrastructure. Our class
blog can also be considered infrastructure. I think that we initially did not understand what
Grabill meant by infrastructure because we do it every day. Just like some of our speakers did
not believe that they were writers when in reality they were doing some form of writing every
day, multiple times a day.
After completing this project I have realized that service learning projects should be
included in every writing class. My reasoning for this statement is that I learned a great deal from
working with the Radha Krishna Organization. The skills that I now possess could be gained in a
writing classroom, but they would probably be forgotten before they are put into practice. By
allowing students to work with the community in a writing class, they are provided with a safe
environment to complete work. Not only that, but they are also provided with a professor to
oversee the work. Both Coogan and Cushman make strong cases for service learning projects in
writing classes. Both of these writers chronicle the process of service learning and the growth
that was a result of that service learning. The growth that was the most substantial was within the
writers not the community. The writers gained knowledge of how to interact with people of
different backgrounds to achieve a common goal. For example Cushman tells a story of how she
accidentally offended one of the women that she was trying to help, She had no idea that the man
that the womans boyfriend was flirting with her. However that single mistake could have caused
major problems for the project as a whole. Cushman learned from that experience to tread lightly
with the significant others of the community members that are being helped. These are the types
of lessons that students should learn before they leave the writing classroom. Cushman was a
graduate student working towards her Ph.D. when she made this mistake. This mistake could
Whitany Lewis Final Reflection
4/21/2014
Writing For Social Change
Wolcott

have ruined her entire future, however if she had learned about these types of relationships with
communities first hand while still in the writing classroom, this mistake could have been avoided
completely.
To conclude, the readings from this semester have taught me a great deal about writing
for social change. After having this class, I now look at writing for social change totally
different. I will no longer view writing as only an essay or a poem, but now I know that anything
can be writing. That is what service learning projects in the writing classroom can do for
students.