For myself, I had the privilege of speaking with one boy for more than an hour and a half about world history and alternate histories. Beginning with the American Revolution and the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776, our talk moved to the Civil War, World War I, World War II (particularly the events at Stalingrad and Leningrad) and concluded with a discussion about Stephen Harper's superfluous spending. We had some great discussions about the "what ifs" of all these events. For example, what would be the ultimate outcome of WWII had France and Britain recognized the Confederate States as an independent nation during the American Civil War (and subsequently assisted them in defeating the Union forces)?
I consider myself fairly knowledgeable in North American and European history. It is a bit of a hobby of mine. However, I found myself being corrected time and time again in some of my details (especially dates). It was a very interesting conversation and I learned a lot of really cool trivia that I had no idea about before. Oh, did I mention? This boy is 12.
CSLN also actively participated in Autism Ontario's Karate Program. Over the course of 8 weeks we were able to see great improvement in the kids who attended. Plus, we learned some karate along the way!
Throughout our experience at Autism Ontario, CSLN service-learners discussed how our volunteering made a positive impact on the community and on ourselves. Many volunteers found it was a great learning experience as they had never worked with autistic children before and, in one case, did not really know what autism was. Volunteering with this organization was not only a lot of fun (eg. hanging out with the kids ) but it also fostered in us a greater sense of appreciation, tolerance and empathy for a brain disorder that most do not have much experience with.
-Michael Salna
