The end of round 1 is in sight and none of us are looking forward to it. In all the paperwork we've filled out there is a column for "pluses" and "even better ifs", all our EBIs are- we want more time! 6 weeks of school and only 21 days in the classroom because of holidays and parent-teacher conferences. Even in that short amount of time we've bonded so closely with the kids. There's not a kid I don't look forward to seeing each day... but I know I have my favorites, as I'm sure every teacher does, who will stick with me.
I think the most frustrating thing to see in this project was how the school system is set up. In pre-k they're learning their letters and sounds. In kindergarten they should be able to read some simple words and by 1st, reading little reader books. But most of the kids don't go to preschool so they're already starting out a year behind. By the time they get to 2nd grade they're so ticked off and annoyed about being behind and the teachers singling them out that they turn away from education. They've been told so many times that they're not meeting the expectations and then they give up. So many of these kids are so smart and can do the work when I'm standing next to them. They can show me how to do everything and explain it to me, but as soon as I walk away they get the road block up. I understand that when they act out they’re just seeking attention in any form because they’re parental relationship leaves something to be desired. That is why I’m so glad that for some time, no matter how short it was, we were there to provide stability for them. Keep them responsible for their learning, homework and behavior. And give them a new friendly face to go to school for every day.
This week I stood on my own in the classroom. We had a sub who was basically a babysitter with a sheet of lesson plans. She just passed out papers to a math section the class hadn’t learned yet and then sat down at the desk while the class went crazy with complaints. So I had to take charge and teach. I taught my kids how to estimate measurement and then how to actually take measurements. I taught them how to do paragraph editing and refresh them on their letter writing skills. We read aloud, played word games and reviewed spelling words. We did art crafts and journal writing. And after all that, I went out to recess and ran around the black top with them. I love the way a kid’s mind works when playing. We were on the playscape and they all decided that I was It. So I had 4 girls on each arm pulling me around and around because, obviously, we were in a tornado. It had sucked me up and when I was done spinning in the middle of the storm, it spat me out and I was the “un-dead person” and they all had to run away from me screaming. My little girls love to balance along the edge of the playground box or play ring-around-the-rosey. I still don’t understand the fun of that game, but I think I have run around in a circle about 500 times because of it. All my boys like to play basketball or pretend they are panthers and chase the girls around growling at them.
I can’t believe it’s already time for us to leave the school. It seems like we just walked in the door for the first time to chants of “hey, AmeriCorps! Hi, AmeriCorps!” like it was our name. I feel like we’ve had a successful first round. We left our mark on the campus and on kids. Hopefully they’ll grow up and remember their AmeriCorps helpers from grade school and be better people because of it.
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