Until next time...
XOXO Service Girl
Tuesday, September 13, 2011
Will work for...a catcher's mask!
On Monday I completed my second day volunteering at the Lyn Treece Boys & Girls Club. I think I am finally getting the hang of the bus system; I get to take the same bus from the same stop at the same time both ways. I am starting to get in a routine of helping each of the two groups of children do their homework and study for tests from 3 until around 4:30. Helping some of the children can be very challenging because they struggle with a lot of the work and are not up to grade level. I would say that ninety percent of the children actually seem to resent the fact that they are being forced to do all their homework before they can play. The kids resent it but I personally think that the homework time is the best thing that could happen for them because it is pretty obvious that their parents do not encourage let alone force them to do their homework. I love it when I am able to teach one of the kids how to do something that they didn’t know how to do when they started their homework. The club is located in what seems to be a run down and poorer section of town where most of the kids seem to be high risk for dropping out of school. I think that the club could really be beneficial in keeping these kids off the streets when they get into junior high and high school and helping them succeed later in life if they maintain a membership. I have attracted myself a little shadow that never leaves my side while I am there. I really try to give her as much time and attention as possible because I get the impression that she doesn’t get much of either at home. There is another boy that won’t do any of his homework unless I sit there with him forcing him to stay on task and do each problem. During playtime I had two boys throw basketballs at each other and then throw pool table balls across the room; it was really scary and I wished that I would have had some safety gear but thankfully they stopped when I asked. The day went well overall and I can’t wait for my next day!
Until next time...
XOXO Service Girl
Until next time...
XOXO Service Girl
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I think it is really cool that you are able to work with the children down at the boys and girls club. I’ve been down to that one a couple of times and always been struck by the number of kids that don’t see the point in school and don’t want to stay in. The work the club does is pretty neat in their lives.
ReplyDeleteI used to play basketball down there and I know how important that is to many of those kids, so I think it is cool how they reward them with that when they finish their work. As for the girl that follows you around, continue to pay lots of attention to here. I’m sure she’s very needy, but even if she wasn’t, you’ll have a massive influence on her. Children respect older people, but when they’re obsessed with obsessed with you, you can have a huge influence on them. Good luck. :D
Back home I would tutor the little boy across the street from me and I can relate to what you are doing. Like the little boy you discussed, he too would get nothing done unless I was sitting there forcing him to. It is so hard to not get frustrated with them because you know they can do it they just lack the discipline. It was awesome working with him though because he got more and more interested in math and did really well the next year in school. I think it is sweet that you have become a role model for someone. In my opinion, it is always a great feeling to know you are making a difference in someone’s life! It is sad that these kids don’t have that great of family lives and it’s nice that you can almost be a big sister to that little girl. I hope everything continues to go well for you there. (:
ReplyDelete-Emily
I love kids till they start talking and running around breaking stuff, but I always like teaching kids new stuff. It makes me feel like I actually did something right, and participated in building society. I feel like when I communicate with kids, I have to think like one, and that's kind of hard if you're surrounded by adults all the time. Like kids are spontaneous and care-free, adults are really uptight and generally have more issues than kids. But yeah you're right about that they should be told to do HW. I'm minoring in psychology and one basic thing you learn in psyc 101 is the concept of reward and punishment. You have to tell the kids what's good and whats bad, and when doing good you reward them and when doing bad you punish them ( not beat them but take away their toys or make'em write something on the board). Good luck
ReplyDeleteFirst of all, I enjoyed the "xoxo service girl" sign off. Nice touch there. Anyway, the work you're doing at the boys and girls club sounds really cool. I can only imagine how hard it must be to make these kids excited about completing homework though. Helping them with school may not be something they appreciate now, but I'm sure they will be so grateful for the volunteers at the boys and girls club years later when they can get a job because they chose to pursue an education.
ReplyDeleteThats really sweet that you have a "little shadow"! Though I'm sure it's hard to know that she may be being somewhat neglected at home, I'm sure it's such a comfort for her to have someone to look forward to seeing every week!