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Andrew ’13 (back row, 3rd
from the right)
posing for a picture with his after school class.
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I am a big fan of
obscure and seldom known holidays that fall throughout the year. Just ask my
roommates and they’ll tell you just how “obscure” I am. I brought one such
holiday to my after school program and they seemed to rather appreciate my quaintness.
The particular holiday was also close to a similar holiday, Caldecott Award Day. Still I thought it
was a day worth celebrating so I paired it with the World Read Aloud Day. The books we would be reading that day aloud
would all be Caldecott Award winners. If you’re unfamiliar with what the
Caldecott Award is, it’s awarded for only the most distinguished American picture books
for children. Many Caldecott Award winning books are often turned into movies
such as: Jumanji, Polar Express and Where the Wild Things Are. To my chagrin
many of the children had never read these books, but only watched the movies.
That’s just backwards! Granted that the movies in this case offer more story
and details than these children's books can, but nonetheless I believe it is essential
to read these books as they are classic examples of American Literature. So I
printed out Where the Wild Things Are
and Polar Express and my 6-8th
grade class took turns reading it aloud to a couple of younger children while showing the pictures in the book. It was actually my student’s initiative
to do this specifically with younger kids so I welcomed the proactive thinking
and happily obliged. Later on in the day I explained what the significance of
the Caldecott Award is and the criteria that has to be met to win it and a few
of the previous most famous and recognizable winners. Then as an artistic
exercise I had them design their very own awards and asked them to come up with
a name of the award, criteria for how to win the award and then design what the
award should look like using the vast arts and crafts supplies at my disposal.
What I got in return was some really creative and well thought out awards and
their imagination/creativity coming to life. Awards like: The Flappy Bird
Award, The King's Crown Award, The Book Worm Award and the Reading Rainbow
Award. Their designs and prototypes were awe-inspiring to me as they took it
very seriously while having some fun in the process creating new
awards to be handed out. They then proceeded to give their awards to books in
our library that fit their criteria, forever claiming the prestigious award.
Throughout my year of service I have had many sleepless nights and long days of preparation in order to deliver quality educational enrichment to these children that experience a lack of anything close to resembling quality in their schools that just churn out homework and state tests. From what they have told me, school has changed a great deal since when I was in their shoes. That’s a shame that school is no longer a place for them to have fun while learning but a place where they’re pressured and stressed out to pass rigorous state tests for funding. Not once this year have I regretted missing out on sleep (I’m a night owl) or working the long hours because I thoroughly enjoy what I do and the activities I plan. My attention to details and meticulousness in planning daily lessons is fun to me. I want each lesson I plan to reach every student in some way and engage them in ways that they aren't engaged at school. I know I am delivering on my promise to these children because of how happy they are when they come in, how many of them come back day after day and how interested they are in wondering what they’ll learn today.
In closing, you might be asking yourself "how do I know I am doing well on my delivery of educational enrichment activities?" Once, I took a few days of personal time off. I came back the following week and they popped their heads into the classroom to see if I was there. Sure enough, I was and they yelled up the stairs, “He’s back!” and ran in and told me that I am not allowed any more vacations. The one thing they said they missed the most when I wasn't there… was the Cool Facts and This Day In History excerpts I find and write out daily for them on the board. Sometimes it the littlest things in life that bring the simplest joys in children and I couldn't be more content with that!
Throughout my year of service I have had many sleepless nights and long days of preparation in order to deliver quality educational enrichment to these children that experience a lack of anything close to resembling quality in their schools that just churn out homework and state tests. From what they have told me, school has changed a great deal since when I was in their shoes. That’s a shame that school is no longer a place for them to have fun while learning but a place where they’re pressured and stressed out to pass rigorous state tests for funding. Not once this year have I regretted missing out on sleep (I’m a night owl) or working the long hours because I thoroughly enjoy what I do and the activities I plan. My attention to details and meticulousness in planning daily lessons is fun to me. I want each lesson I plan to reach every student in some way and engage them in ways that they aren't engaged at school. I know I am delivering on my promise to these children because of how happy they are when they come in, how many of them come back day after day and how interested they are in wondering what they’ll learn today.
In closing, you might be asking yourself "how do I know I am doing well on my delivery of educational enrichment activities?" Once, I took a few days of personal time off. I came back the following week and they popped their heads into the classroom to see if I was there. Sure enough, I was and they yelled up the stairs, “He’s back!” and ran in and told me that I am not allowed any more vacations. The one thing they said they missed the most when I wasn't there… was the Cool Facts and This Day In History excerpts I find and write out daily for them on the board. Sometimes it the littlest things in life that bring the simplest joys in children and I couldn't be more content with that!
Andrew James - Mercy Center - Bronx, NY
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