Adem Dzananovic

Dr. Green
EXPL 292
28 January 2016
Community Service and Service Learning
I would not consider myself a saint or one that has done a significant amount of
community service or voluntary service to the public. In my opinion, there is never a certain
amount of service on can do to others or the community. I have participated in a few
organizations and clubs throughout my middle school and high school education that gave me
the ability to go out and help others. Some of these organizations and clubs include the
Harlem Key Club, NHS (National Honors Society), and other less known programs that
facilitated food and help to the ones in need. I also was fortunate enough to volunteer in
numerous sports related programs that helped youth soccer players as well as the less
fortunate.
My school, Harlem High in Rockford, IL, was known for having one of, if not the best,
programs for the specially educated. They had specifically trained staff that worked several
different classrooms with dozens of specially educated students varying from 8th grade to 12th
grade, or high school seniors. This attention to the less fortunate advocated great learning
opportunities for the less fortunate, and the staff as well as the entire school. While the
mentally disabled students had their own classes and programs, no one considered them
segregated from the school. This allowed the entire school to gain some life lessons that
could not be taught in a classroom with an instructor at the board. Not to say people felt sorry

for them in a negative way, but people learned to see how precious their lives were and how
fortunate they were for their health. While some of the students in these programs were born
with these disabilities, a couple were actually in severe incidents or accidents that resulted in
tremendous damage to the brain with in turn set them back on an intellectual level and altered
their mental capacity. One of the exceptional feats of unity our school may have presented its
students was the opportunity to work with these students and organize events such as a
simulation of the Olympics where these mentally challenged students had the opportunity to
take part and compete in various activities and sports. As a soccer player and team captain of
my high team, I found it my duty to reach out and help during this event. Several of my
friends and I agreed to help coach and run these soccer matches during the event, and
honestly, it was a phenomenal experience that I was grateful to take part in. I could not
recommend participating in this event strongly enough. The excitement and enthusiasm on
the faces of these children made the 10 hour work days fly by and at the end of the day, rather
than feeling exhausted, I found myself longing for the opportunity to do it all over again.
The other volunteer opportunities, while they cannot compare to the Special Olympics,
consisted mostly of running soccer camps for younger children. I participated as a mentor
where I helped out the main coaches as well as helped train the younger children, who for
some of them, have never kicked the ball before. I helped out my school camp for two years
and helped out Barrington FC out for four years. These experiences helping out young
children simply made me feel good, because it Simply is Good (SIG) as Adam Davis would
state in his essay What We Dont Talk About When We Dont Talk About Service.
While many people, maybe even the majority, believe that voluntary service, or

community service, is always good and there is no alternative, Adam Davis argues how
sometimes, service can be negative, or to specifically state it in his words, service is not
simple (SINS), no matter what we pretend (Davis 7). His arguments on why people perform
community service can be categorized into five reductive reasons: (1) we are Gods children;
(2) we share the earth; (3) I find myself in you; (4) I win praise by serving you; (5) I suck.
Adam Davis describes peoples eagerness to serve others due to their religious
background. The first two points Davis mentions are related and coincide with one another.
Davis states that service derives from the belief that we are children of God... and just
because I happen to have more by the way of earthly goods than you at this moment, and so
I will share (Davis 2). Davis is referring to people only conducting service due to the fact
that they believe that is what God wants them to do. While this may not seem like a negative
reason for conducting service to others, Davis is trying to say that people only do it to get on
the good side of God, so to speak. This way, maybe they will get more fortune later in life or
even in the afterlife.
The third reason Davis mentions to why people voluntarily help others is because they
know what it is like to be in need. People identify with each other and are therefore more
willing to help each other. They choose to serve you because [they] see you suffering, and
[they] cant help but imagine [themselves] suffering (Davis 2). While this reasoning may not
appear to be negative right away, Davis states that the server emphasizes her own good
rather than that of whomever she serves (Davis 2-3). The server is only doing it because they
believe it will not happen to themselves due to the service. Davis considers it quite a selfish
act for the server.

The fourth reason Davis mentions Service is Not Simple (SINS) is the fact that many
people help other to win praise from their peers or equals. They are strictly helping other not
for the reason that they care, but to gain social status and appear to be a better person than
someone else. This issue has become more and more common in contemporary society and
quite honestly, is a disgrace to the honest humble soles that offer so much for nothing in
return. The people that do it for praise are the people that go around talking about how great
they are for helping the less fortunate.
The fifth and final reason Davis talks about service not being simple is the thinking that
people suck. Davis says, Now it is not love that explains humble service but guilt (Davis
3). People have done horrible things or sinful things in the world, and they know it. Davis
states that by serving I acknowledge my consciousness of my sinful nature and mitigate it
somewhat (Davis 3). It simpler terms, people know they suck, so let them help others so
they suck less. This theory are relates back to the first two, where people help others for good
karma points with God.
In conclusion, when one sees others helping the less fortunate, it is not safe to
immediately assume they are helping others from their humble roots. Often, and more
commonly in contemporary society, it is difficult to identify ones true motives for helping
others. According to Adam Daviss What We Dont Talk About When We Dont Talk About
Service essay, an individual can service others for a plethora of reasons. Some of these
reasons are: (1) we are Gods children; (2) we share the earth; (3) I find myself in you; (4) I
win praise by serving you; (5) I suck.