Tallahassee's Outdoor Classroom
From WMS0108 to Tallahassee's Outdoor Classroom
If someone would have told me, “Rebekah, this semester every obstacle possible will come your way at the same time you’ll be homesick,” I would have simply laughed in their face and walked away. That person would now be getting to have a great laugh.
My semester began one day in Miami when I received an email from Heather Lang explaining the outline of the class and offering help to find a more suitable class if this wasn’t the one you were looking for. I thought to myself, “How cool! I’ll get to become a part of a new community.” I spent my summer up here at Florida State University and soon came to realize that there was nothing to do in Tallahassee other than going to the club and getting “smashed.” I wasn’t into clubbing and getting smashed so I found very little to do. I thought that a community service based class would be a great option for me because it would better familiarize me with the Tallahassee Community.
At first I faced great difficulties with trying to be placed with an organization. The first one I was assigned to was It’s Meow or Never for Ferals, INC. (IMON) which I thought would be a great option for me since I love animals
and worked with a similar organization in Miami. IMON is also a grassroots organization so I thought maybe I could offer some ideas that would help get the program to expand more. I soon realized I was greatly mistaken and that this organization was nothing but an unorganized disaster. After many complaints to Ms. Lang I was re-assigned to the Tallahassee Museum that accepted me with open arms. There I met one of the coordinators, named Laura Agustine who was absolutely delightful.
As a class we had to complete five hours of community service with our organizations, which was fine with me but didn’t give me enough time to truly learn about the museum and the problems it faces daily. It was great that the class was community service based until it came to having to do assignments based off of our experiences. The greatest difficulty for me was trying to do a eight to ten page research paper on a problem I made up myself and wasn’t able to truly take the time to fully research and understand. From so little time spent with the museum I wasn’t able to grasp much knowledge. That is one aspect of the class I would change, I wouldn’t base every assignment off of the community service. Instead I would try finding other assignments that would go along with the volunteering or require students to complete more hours.
As a student, my writing style changed significantly during the course of this class. I went from having some idea of what was expected of me to not really having a good understanding. I thought that I was explaining and expressing myself enough but my grade showed otherwise. I also thought I knew what I was doing on each assignment, but again my grade showed otherwise. It was as if a part of me was expected in my work as a writer that I hadn’t yet discovered or were comfortable with. After this class I have definitely learned that some teachers really do want a piece of you in your work.
Overall, I am greatly appreciative of all the knowledge I am leaving this class with. Unfortunately I have not yet found my place in Tallahassee but I have not given up trying. The Tallahassee Museum was a great place to volunteer at but just wasn’t my calling. Maybe it was unrealistic of me to think I’d find it in a semester when most of the time I was traveling back home at least once a month. I did come out of this class with a new friend, Iris (pictured above) who as I mentioned to Ms. Lang in a conference was afraid of ending up with a cat. But who wouldn’t want a cat that eats all their phone chargers and headphones?
P.S When and if you receive an email during the summer from Ms. Lang, don’t freak out and think you’re going to die from the workload nor assume she’s Asian. Ms. Lang’s a pretty awesome teacher with a spunk and cool tattoo! Just don’t talk in class!