My service learning experience started by taking me to a part of the city that though I knew to some extent, was not entirely familiar with. The south side of the city my not be the most economically enriched area, but as far as heart goes, south Providence has plenty. Even before reaching the school itself I could see this. I walked down the street from a friend’s apartment being greeted with smiles and a sea of friendly gestures from many of the people I walked past. I already had a really good feeling about the whole situation. As I approached the building I felt my stomach sink. The building could, to say the least, use a bit of work inside and out. But inside the school itself was the exact same as the streets outside. Structurally there need to be a lot of work done, but as far as the people, all the children couldn’t seem happier. They would all smile and wave whenever someone new walked down the hall saying hello or good morning. It was great. Of course there were a handful that didn’t follow suite, but there are always a few. Of course the sweetest, most caring faculty member in the school, was the one that I would be working with. We’ll call her Miss Beyonce. Miss Beyonce was the head of VIPS for the school I would be working with. She told me that I would be assigned to a young first grader that was falling very behind. We’ll call him Kanye. Kanye was a great kid. Very eager to learn which I was excited about. My biggest fear going into this was to have a kid that doesn’t want to learn, because that has to be the hardest. So I was grateful for that. Then there was also some interaction between the teacher, Lady Gaga, and the rest of the class, the Wu-tang Clan. Everyone in the class seemed great. Of course they were loud and rambunctious, but what little kid isn’t? Statisticly speaking, the only two white people in the class we the teacher and I. Something that I immeadiately noticed were the amount of posters on the wall were in both Spanish and English. It was something I didn’t think was so praised. There was also the same in all of the hallways. The teacher I could also tell enjoyed being there. Every time she would discuss the progress of Kanye once he was amongst the Wu Tang Clan, she would always smile and say how happy she was to be doing what she was doing. I can tell that pride, of both and community and a culture, as well as morals of how to grow into good people. Everywhere throughout the school there were sign of encouragement motivating them that they are the best and can do great things. And on top of that, all of the signs we also in Spanish. They don’t want these kids forgetting who they are or where they’re from and they should be proud of it. There is a very large emphisis on respect in the classroom. Lady Gaga leads the class in a very old fashioned sense of sit forward with no talking out of turn, not in a mean old lady way, but in a practicing of manners and being well respectable people.
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Andrew,
ReplyDeleteThe school where you volunteered for your Service Learning Project, sounded very similar to the school where I did my tutoring. It was also an inner city school and the building was very old as well. Repairs were needed inside and outside of the school and it was very small with a limited fenced play area. The students also appeared happy, like the students at your placement, however, I felt like the students were being short changed. I wondered to myself, are the schools in white neighborhoods as decayed as the ones in multicultural areas? Theorist Jonathan Kozol seemed to believe that they were not. He noted that these steep discrepancies were related to economic factors, like a serious budget crises. Yes, there has been economic ups and downs from year to year, or from decade to the next, but, you cannot convincingly explain the permanent short change of the city’s students which seems to take place routinely in good economic times or bad.
You mentioned that your biggest fear was going into a school and working with a child that did not have an interest to learn. Theorist, Allan Johnson, notes that the strange and unfamiliar brings out some innate human tendency toward fear of the unknown and intolerance of difference. The fear you initially experienced seemed to subside, once you became more comfortable with the school, teacher, and students.
You also mentioned that there were a number of posters on the wall in both Spanish and English and there were signs that the school was encouraging and motivating the students. I also observed that in my school placement as well and I felt that it helped to establish an atmosphere of caring, acceptance and continued growth.
-Amanda L.