Immersions

The Service-Learning Office is planning upcoming immersion visits to provide an opportunity for faculty and staff to learn about specific agencies, what services they provide and how they utilize volunteers and service-learning students. Immersion visits provide a starting point to brainstorm ways MCC students could help meet the needs of the nonprofit while meeting requirements of specific classes.

Such visits could lead to stronger partnerships among the Service-Learning Office, MCC students/faculty and community agencies or organizations, providing a hands-on tool for students and faculty to meet course objectives with real life experiences.

Poverty Simulations

Are you looking for something new for your class for the Summer or Fall Quarters?

Here is an opportunity to provide more diversity topics in your courses!

Americorps*VISTA’s from the Service-Learning Office will come into any class and provide an hour long poverty simulation.  This lesson is a great to teach diversity, especially economic diversity.

We have performed this for a variety of disciplines, including Human Relations, Education, Financial Planning, Business, Nursing, and the Industrial and Commercial Trades.  The goal is to help students understand poverty, even if they have never experienced it,  but may work or live with people in different financial situations.  Some students acknowledge that many Americans are just one pay check away from living in poverty and this exercise taught them the importance of budgeting. 

After the simulation for Nancy Conrad’s Education class students said: “the simulation was eye opening” and “everyone who takes multi-cultural classes should do it”.

The simulation is divided into parts. 

Part 1

We ask about some thought/stereotypes that the class might have about people living in poverty and then we present the facts about poverty.  We have been collecting  current statistics about poverty that focus on Omaha and in Nebraska so that it is more applicable to their experiences.    I also have nationwide statistics if you would want that to be the focus. 

Part 2

We do the actual simulation.  Students pull a “person” card that tells them who they are, whether they have children, and what type of how they are employed  Then they pull a job card that gives them their salary.  There are other handouts that show transportation costs and housing options.  Once they choose those, we ask the individuals to write a budget for a month.  We go through three months usually.  (Say month one is July- what are you going to do with your children now that they are not in school,  month two is December, when utilities are more expensive and the holiday festivities are to be covered.) 

Part 3

When we have finished our three months of budgeting we have a class discussion on what was learned.

We can gear the simulation to specifically fit the outline and activities of several course disciplines.

Click here to see our PowerPoint (Omaha)

Click here to see our PowerPoint (Fremont)

Poverty Simulation Reflection

If you want to include a simulation in your classes this quarter, or if you need more information, please call Jennie Tullos at 402-457-2637 in the Service-Learning Office or email her at jtullos2@mccneb.edu

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Last Updated Monday, August 29, 2011 9:15