Education and the Juvenile Justice System

This past week has been significantly easier than my first two. I have become much more comfortable with interacting with our clients and their families, and for the past week and a half I have thrown myself into a stat project so I actually feel useful. Our office is trying to hire an education attorney, which fits perfectly into this week’s SSF theme, and I have been gathering school discipline data from Tennessee as a whole and Shelby, Davidson and Knox counties to demonstrate the inequalities in our school system. There are huge disparities in discipline rates across gender, race, and disability levels –the most shocking statistic showing that 53% of all high school black males with a learning disability will be suspended or expelled. Students that are struggling to keep up in school due to ADD, ADHD, dyslexia, or another disability – the population that should receive the most support from their schools – are punished disproportionately compared to their peers, especially if those peers are white.

Shelby County is one of the worst offenders – we suspend kids at 2.4 times more and expel kids 3.5 times more than the Tennessee average. We also have three times as many law related arrests and referrals to law enforcement as Knox County. The juvenile justice system should not be pulled into our school systems, especially when it is clear that black children are seriously over represented in these interactions.

After digging into this data, I turned to our juvenile court system to see how a child’s educational circumstances related to their legal outcomes. I expected to find a correlation between being expelled and being charged with a crime, but the strength of the relationship was overwhelming. In our court system, a child that is in the correct grade at school has an average of 3 complaints and 1 felony charge. If that child has fallen behind grade level or is no longer enrolled in school, the averages jump to 6.7 complaints and 2 felonies. After further analysis I found that with each grade a child falls behind, complaints increase by 1.4 and felonies increase by 0.4 – meaning that a child that is just two years behind has nearly twice the complaints and felony charges as a child at the correct grade level.

Along with these disturbing relationships between falling behind in school and juvenile delinquency, I found that our court matches the school system in that black males make up the overwhelming majority in every category. Within each charge type, black males receive harsher sentences than their white or female counterparts. There are very distinct differences in the 'before, during, and after' of the juvenile system due to race and gender, and the education system is feeding these inequalities by inappropriately disciplining these vulnerable populations. There are obviously systematic problems here that would take years to resolve, but hiring an education attorney that could fight unfair suspensions and expulsions as well as work to re-enroll our kids in appropriate education systems would be a great first step for our office.

Hannah Henderson Blog #3

Last week's Tuesday afternoon was definitely one of my favorites so far! Learning about the affordable healthcare services that are offered in Memphis was something that both was extremely interesting and inspiring (especially at Choices, which I had previously known close to nothing about), and something that hits very close to home, especially seeing as I work every day at the Church Health Center. I found the offerings that Choices provides to be really fascinating and purposeful, such as the doulas of all stages of pregnancy/whichever process one may or may not have a kid. I also felt like they purposefully created a space that was aimed at defying negative stereotypes of abortion clinics; the facilities were bright and clean, with cheery people, and they also offer many many services other than abortion procedures, and so I felt like the stigma of even walking in the door (despite the protesters) was very effectively minimized.

Although I did already know about pretty much everything the Church Health Center offers, I still found it interesting to hear from Stacy (I had only ever briefly met with or heard from her in the past), and hear her specific angle, particularly in the way that faith ties into the doctrine and the mantra of the CHC, which is something that I hadn't experienced very specifically here so far. I was also just glad that the rest of the Summer Service Fellows got a chance to see the Wellness center (many of them seemed very impressed, and were previously unaware that it was even there) and learn about the ministry of the CHC, because I obviously am very proud of all of the work that is done there, and want people who live in Memphis to know about all of the good it does.

This week at the CHC, Matt (the other intern) and I finished up calling people who had terminated from the MEMPHIS Plan and asking for their feedback on the Plan, which was a pretty interesting experience, just because it definitely put us both out of our comfort zones. However, we both knew that it would be something that would provide very helpful information to the Plan, as the goal is to always expand their base of clients and serve more people, but they need to know how to make it a positive experience. We honestly did not get many responses, which was another challenge, because people either had bad phone numbers on file (this happened a LOT) or didn't answer, or didn't have time when we asked if they could provide feedback. All in all, the information we gathered was pretty minimal, which was kind of frustrating because we did think that it had the potential to be a very impactful study, but most of our time was honestly spent listening to phones ring or getting shut down by busy people at work. However, we did get some good insight into why people had quit, and one of the main problems was that people felt that they didn't understand what exactly was offered and/or what they were getting into when they signed up for the MEMPHIS Plan, which is something that I think Matt and I will try to tackle in the future, by improving communication/the website. I think we will meet with our boss about that sometime early this week, which I am excited about!

Julie Coen third post

Hello all! I can definitely say that this was my busiest week yet. I worked Monday through Sunday in order to prepare for, and then help carry out, First Congo’s last monthly distribution of Food for Families. It was intense to see the incredible range of people in need and so amazing to watch veteran volunteers work together in order to handle the crowd and efficiently transport both people and boxes. Even when I needed to leave the makeshift assembly line to do something much simpler, like watching the main hallway, I enjoyed talking to everyone waiting for their name to be called and playing with one boisterous little boy.

However, there were difficult moments. As expected, it was quite overwhelming to work in a room with literally hundreds of families plus volunteers and pretty tiring to sort and carry so much food over and over. I especially struggled at one point when we ran out of finished boxes of food and had to immediately pack approximately fifty more. Between the understandable impatience of those waiting, the confusion caused by each mistake since we were moving so quickly, and the men who were convinced both that my name was honey and that I couldn’t possibly lift the boxes, it was a tough several minutes, probably for all involved. Still, it wasn’t long before we were able to get things moving smoothly again, and I think it’s safe to say it all ended extremely well, as everyone left with huge smiles and plenty of food. I will be helping with paperwork soon to record more exact numbers, but I do know that we gave out thousands of pounds of food to 350 or so families in just a few hours.

We also prepared for the imminent future by reminding everyone that this program will be changing slightly starting next week and then changing significantly as soon as the Food Justice Ministries is able to move into its new space. Basically, individuals will be able to come in weekly rather than monthly for less food at a time but more food overall. This will increase convenience, reduce money spent on delivery, and even better distribute the pressure that this program is under. In these ways, it’s actually a really good thing that today we completed the last monthly Food for Families. We are now really ready to expand into all the possibilities of our new space and the programs planned for it. It’s going to be awesome!

Alex Friedman- Post #3

I can’t believe how fast the summer is going!  I hope everyone is having a great experience so far.  I couldn’t be happier at the Exceptional Foundation- it’s been so much fun.  Now, after completing three full weeks of camp, I feel like I know the participants really well.  There’s been a pretty consistent group throughout the summer, but there are still new faces each week.  I served as a floater (worked in all three rooms) during the first week, but now I have been consistently in  “Willow House.”  I love it! 

The highlight of this last week was definitely the Color Run.  Every Wednesday from 10:30 to noon is Messy Day.  Typically, it’s on the playground area and we do water fights, water balloons, and sprinklers.  However, this past week was a special Messy Day; we got the actual powder from the Color Run events.  The kids were a little apprehensive at first, but I knew it would they’d love it. I actually just did the Color Run in Memphis a couple weekends ago, so I showed the participants some pictures before we started.  It turned out to be a huge success.  We set up an obstacle course around a section of the parking lot and gave each participant a couple bags of colored powder.  They were terrified at first, but once they started throwing it at each other, they wouldn’t stop for almost two hours!  It was so awesome to see all the participants of all ages get a little competitive and bond with each other during the activity.

This last week did present some challenges that I had not yet experienced.  There were a lot more behavioral issues this week.  I figured this was because the participants are getting a little more comfortable in the environment, so they are misbehaving and not listening as well.  Also, now that participants have been around each other more, it’s very evident which ones bother each other and instigate problems.  In Willow House, there have been a few consistent offenders that have caused me to write incident reports.  For example, an older girl pushed a younger boy from behind at the bowling alley, and in turn, he used bad language in front of the entire group.  Those two had consistent problems throughout the day.  It was really interesting to observe their interactions.  Individually, they are both really pleasant to be around, but somehow when they’re together it produces conflict.  I have noticed that almost all of the participants have a certain factor that throws them completely off track and causes either over stimulation or them to become worked up.   We’ve tried our best to separate the participants who have these negative influences on each other, but it’s also really important to teach them the importance of coping and finding solutions.  Finding that balance has been a little difficult.  I don’t want to put anyone in an environment that induces stress, but I also don’t want to teach them to run away from uncomfortable or challenging experiences, because the purpose of this camp is to enrich their lives by improving their social skills. 

Furthermore, another challenge has been balancing the line between serving as an authority member towards the older participants, while maintaining a level of respect.  I have worked at similar camps and organizations the last few years, but always with younger kids; with younger participants, it’s a lot easier to maintain a certain level of authority and control.  However, at the EFWT, with older participants, I have made a strong effort to maintain a high amount of respect and awareness for participants older than me.  I never want them to perceive my actions as condescending.  I have tried to reconcile these concerns by making a conscious effort of giving the older participants a little more responsibility or freedom in choice.  So far it has not been a huge problem, so I hope it will continue to move smoothly.

Respect toward the communities we serve is a very important aspect of service.  In general, I feel that that specific concept is sometimes lost.  For example, I have heard people complete service work and discuss how they felt so bad, and they can’t imagine how tough life might be for those populations.  The awareness and realizations are important, however those people receiving help don’t want to feel pitied; they want to be respected as people too.  This has been so evident in my work.  I try to treat the participants, especially the ones around my age, just like I would treat my friends.  A couple of them have even made a point to thank me, and one even told me that no one ever treats her normally, and how it was so nice to be treated just like an average twenty five year old for once.  This has been very encouraging to me, and it’s made me realize that no one wants to receive over-compensated treatment or pity; rather, they want to be treated with respect and like any one else would be treated. 

SIDE NOTE: I'm not sure how I forgot to include this, but another crucial part of the week was the fact that I am now a certified EFWT van driver.  Yes, I drive the fifteen passenger van full of participants to the different sites.  

Tori Conklin: Post 3

            Camp is one week away! I am very excited for the day that all of my hard work Googling and Pinterest-ing comes to fruition. As for this week, we have been finalizing our activities for each day during camp. We have taken a new direction with the camp this year; rather than focus only on the opportunities Memphis has to offer for our athletes, we have decided to educate them on the World around them. By picking 5 countries, we have isolated different areas of the world to study and most importantly explore. However, since Memphis is the only city many of our athletes will experience in their lives, we have planned for a few field trips to explore and connect with the community. In my experience with the camp last year as a counselor, I remember being worried that the workers at our field trip sites would not interact well with the athletes. Many people have the tendency to treat our athletes as children during their first interactions, and it becomes frustrating for many of them—especially those with only physical disabilities. Despite this fear, I think it is important not only for our athletes to experience new places, but for the Memphis community to interact with the population SO Memphis serves in equalizing planes. We are just another tourist group.

            On Thursday, we had our first volunteer meeting at the Mellow Mushroom. I was so glad to finally have the opportunity to meet the people I would be working with to make the upcoming week spectacular. We have about 30 athletes attending the camp and 16 counselors. I believe I am the only one currently in college; we have recruited our volunteers from local high schools in the area. Some of our volunteers are as young as 10! It may seem unusual to give such responsibility to a person so young, but I have noticed in SO that families are the only thing keeping our programs going. Many of the volunteers have family members registered with SO and thus have years of experience interacting with the athletes that proves to be invaluable. As a relative late-comer to the organization (I only began working with SO when I came to Rhodes), I have a certain disadvantage when it comes to relationships. I have a ton of names to learn, but more importantly, a ton of relationships to build. I couldn’t be more excited though! The volunteers are great: creative, full of energy, and ready to roll. All that stands between me and camp is a little scheduling and shopping! 

Grant Ebbesmeyer: Post 3

I’m not sure about everyone else, but for me this week has been very busy! It’s great to be fully immersed both at my site and in the larger Summer Service experience. At the same time, though, it’s crazy to think that we’re already almost half-way done serving at our sites for the summer. The first half has flown by for me, and I know that the second half will as well.

Probably my biggest project this week was working on re-doing the intake and assessment forms for families experiencing homelessness in Memphis and Shelby County. MIFA runs the central intake site for all of these families, so I got to work closely this week with a few people from there. Right now, when families come in and say that they are homeless, there are three packets of forms that they must fill out. My project was to condense these into one packet, while still gathering all of the required information. It was a lot more difficult and time-consuming than I thought it would be initially, but it was cool to know that so many families in need will utilize this new packet. Hopefully it will make it easier for them to access the services that they need. I’m sure that I will need to do more work on it, but I was very happy to complete a draft to send over by the end of the week.

I have been thinking a lot recently about our discussions about health this past week, because it relates to my service site so directly. One of the most important goals of our organization is to get people housed quickly, so that they can get the medical help that they need. Many people who are homeless for long periods of time have mental illnesses and substance abuse issues (oftentimes directly related, in an attempt to “escape” from mental illness).  Additionally, many people who are homeless may go to the emergency room to be treated from an issue, only to be temporarily treated and then soon released back onto the streets, where they cannot heal properly. Because they cannot fully heal this way, many people who are homeless must return to the emergency room many times in a year, costing hospitals a lot of money.

While these are clear health problems, it is very difficult for them to be managed or treated while a person is homeless. Because of this, our organization follows the “Housing First” philosophy, which means that sobriety or cooperation with treatment programs cannot be requirements for a person to receive housing. Instead, we work to quickly get the most vulnerable people housed, and then get them the help that they need. Many studies have found that housing people in this way reduces the costs of homelessness by large amounts. I’m glad that I have learned so much about these things already at my service site. I’m excited to learn even more!

Alexis Franklin: Post 3

Hey everyone,

I hope you all are still enjoying your different sites. This week was the last week for smart camp. I enjoyed this camp series over strong camp because I got to see where the kids stood intellectually which was very interesting and exciting for me. A good handful of the girls were above average for their grade level, some were average, and a few were below. For this series I only worked with 6-8 year olds and a little with 9-11 year olds. 

For my sessions with 6-8 I taught them about non-traditional or non-stereotypical jobs that women have or may not be exposed to. To make the lessons more interactive I had them play charades with the different careers. We also played “Who am I?” where I would describe a typical day of a certain job and they had to tell me what career I was describing. They really seemed to enjoy it. The last session of this topic I asked them to draw a picture of what they wanted to be when they grow up and they had to present it to the group. I heard everything from nurse to doctor, to business owner to veterinarian. One girl said she wanted to be a Pump it Up worker because they have the coolest job ever. Another girl said she wanted to work at Marshalls because her mom worked at Marshalls. I love that she wants to be like her mom when she grows up, but I couldn't help but worry that she was limiting herself. Not that working at Marshalls is a bad job, she just has so much potential to be whatever she wants to be. I know that she is too young to be worried about this just yet, but I’m a worrier so I couldn't help it. 

With the 9-11 group I did a session focused on science project type stuff. We made soap powered boats and water powered boats. I didn't think the girls would like this session too much because it was educational, but they were all asking me questions on the mechanics of the boat and were engaged in the activity all the way through which surprised me. 

On Friday we had an Expo for the parents where they could come and see the projects the girls did during smart camp. We had different tables set up with projects such as the boats and the pictures the 6-8 drew. A camper was designated to each table to be the spokesperson and inform the parents about the specific project. The girls also had a lemonade stand and a cookie sell. It was hilarious to see how seriously they took their profits. Everyone did such a good job with executing the Expo and I’m so proud of all the hard work the girls did to make it successful. I loved seeing how proud the girls were of their work. It made my heart happy.

Erin Deery Post #3

     I hope that everyone had another good week at their sites! For me at least, this past week seemed like the busiest week of the summer so far. On top of the regular client load that comes to the office in search of aid from house flooding and house fires, there were also two major events held at the chapter this week. One of the Red Cross's biggest partners, FedEx (because FedEx is basically a part of everything in Memphis), just donated supplies to build 3,500 shower kits to use in our shelters. FedEx executives rolled up to our chapter toting towels, wash clothes, soap, shampoo, toothbrushes, and Ziplock bags to help assemble the kits. It was incredible to see how selfless these people were not only with their money, but with the time that they took to assemble the kits and pack away all 3,500 kits into our inventory. 

     While this was happening downstairs, upstairs health care organizations from all over the Mid-South met with Meritan, a company that helps people living with disabilities and the elderly. The meeting discussed with companies the best ways to care for these kinds of patients, and ways that disabled or elderly people can be active in the community. One of the main points of the meeting was how this population of people thrives when they have a purpose in their community. After people retire, they often don't know where to devote their time and are looking for a place to feel needed and helpful. My boss explained to me that this is one of the reasons so many retired people enjoy serving at the Red Cross. For many of them, the Red Cross has been a part of their lives in the past, either during a time of war, as a veteran, or during a natural disaster and they find it extremely fulfilling to have the opportunity to impact others lives the way that others impacted them. This chain reaction to me is why service is such a wonderful thing. When someone helps you, you are inspired to help another person. Even simple acts - writing a card for a veteran or handing out food and water to a family whose house flooded - make this community a better place to live.

     This Saturday morning, I'm not going to lie I was not excited to get up and be at the chapter at 8 a.m. It was the weekend and I thought that I would've rather been sleeping than helping with New Volunteer Orientation. While one of the staff members was teaching the class, I called the new volunteers to the back one by one to get them loaded into the computer system and set up interviews later that week where they could come in and discuss what kind of volunteering they would like to do at the Red Cross. It was pretty repetitive at first when I was just asking for names and phone numbers, but when I started asking about their volunteer interests, I had some great conversations with the volunteers about why they were choosing to devote their time to the Red Cross. 

     One woman has a son in the Army that is deployed in Turkey right now. She described how stressful it is on the entire family to have a family member fighting. She is not only constantly worried about his safety, but also is only able to communicate with her son every once in a while. She heard about how the Red Cross helps families keep in contact with family members in the armed forces and knew immediately that she wanted to help be the middle-man for families that were going through the same experience as hers. 

     Another man, recently retired from law enforcement, told me that he heard about the Red Cross through a friend who said that it had helped him "see the good in people again." He described that as a law enforcement officer in Memphis, it is easy to get caught up in the magnitude of crime. He said that when you can understand why someone committed a crime, it is easier to empathize with the person; but too frequently crimes just seemed random and that is the most difficult to deal with. He described how being in law enforcement, he always had to be suspicious of people, but now that he is retired, he wants to be around people that only have good intentions. He described how refreshing he knows it's going to be seeing families faces light up when he can be there in their times of immediate need. I was thrilled with his passion and excitement for helping others. His and the other woman's stories not only made Saturday one of my best days at the chapter so far, but also made me extremely appreciative for the diverse network of selfless people that surround the community here.

Conor Monks blog post #2

Hey everyone,

My first few weeks at the Boys and Girls Club at the Ira Samelson Branch have been a challenge to say the least. It is the first time I am working with young children and my first time working with large groups of them. I am noticing a few common themes with most of the children at the club.

One thing I have noticed is that most of the kids seem to be behind what I believe their grade level should be. I do some games with the kids after my nutrition class. One game is called "categories" where I say a category and tell them to name a certain amount off things from that category in a certain amount of time. For instance, I could ask them to "name 3 US presidents." With the 4th and 5th graders, many of the children couldn't name that many presidents, and collectively as a group of 15 kids they could only think of 3 US presidents. There were many other instances similar to this and it really was eye opening to me. I was pretty frustrated that the kids could not name what I believe to be simple things. There are also times I will do games that involve spelling with the kids. I run into similar issues where I had a few children that are going into 5th grade that could not read any of the words I was giving them. A lot of these words were pretty simple also. It appears that a great deal of the kids are already behind grade level, and it will be pretty tough to catch up. Already at such a young age, the disparity in education seems to be presenting itself.

On another note, my healthy habits class seems to be a hit with the kids. They love to come to my class and I think they are getting some good lessons from it. I have every age group twice a week. So once a week, I will do a lesson on a food topic. And the other time, I will make some food with the kids. It is a struggle to keep the kids interested for the lesson just on food, but I have been able to create some fun lessons. During the cooking lessons, we have made pizza, a snack quesadilla, and pancakes. I have tried to introduce foods that are not common to these kids but are affordable to access. Everything has been a healthy alternative to other snacks and a few of the children have said they made the food with their parents as well.

Round 1 with the Kids (post #2)

Hey I hope everyone has had another good week at their sites!

            This past week was the first week of the summer school program we had at REP. It has been great to see all the kids who are coming and all the joy they have. It has been so great to get to work with them and build a relationship with the kids. Although it has been great working with REP, I have noticed that there are two main problems I have had trouble with. The first, which can be expected, is that it is so hard to keep the kids focused on the lesson for the day. For example in my math class I teach I have kids from 3^rd grade to 5^th grade and many of the kids are at different levels in math so it becomes difficult to teach a class that will be engaging for everyone in the class. But more often the not I have noticed that when I try to teach a lesson I have different kids complain that its either too difficult or easy, and instead of staying focused, many of the kids start to talk to the other or even sneak out of the classroom and roam the halls. It feels like every 5 minutes I have to chase after a new kid and get the whole class to focus again. It has been a challenge for me to find a way to keep the kids engaged in the lessons but at the same time beneficial for them.

            Another challenge we have had with the summer school program is getting the high school students to come to the program. Many of them who come to REP during the school have not showed up. Instead many of them have opted to get summer jobs or just spend their summer at home. Although it is important to understand that some of them may need the money that they are earning from their jobs; my boss, Cam, is concerned that the high school students will prioritize their jobs over preparing for school in the fall and even college. Unfortunately many of them are behind in their math and English levels and need to spend extra time outside of school in order to be where they should. Cam has tried to offer the high school students an alternative time when they could come in so that it would not interfere with their work schedule, but that has not proven successful either. It has been hard convincing them that the time they put into getting ready for college will provide them a greater payback then the money they will make in the summer.

            Although this past week has shown some of the challenges I will be dealing with and how I will need to look at them from different perspectives, REP has been great and has taught me a lot so far and I’m eager to see what else I will learn.  

Allison Rogers Week 2

Being at the Memphis Gay and Lesbian Community Center (MGLCC) the past few weeks has shown me that the non-profit world was not as glamorous or exciting as I had previously thought. During my time at Rhodes so far, I had garnered ideas of what non-profits were like, without much direct exposure to them. Even while volunteering regularly at the MGLCC, I feel I lacked a general understanding of how non-profits function. While the MGLCC seeks to better the lives of LGBTQ+ people in the Mid-South through support and social groups, HIV testing, and education and outreach, what many people don't know about the center is that the staff and volunteers serve many Queer homeless youth who need access to food, transportation, and steady income. 

These homeless youth, having no where else to go, seek refuge at the center during the day. This has certainly taken some getting used to, as the MGLCC that I remembered was much quieter and peaceful during the day, but the youth bring a ton of energy to the space, which has been a welcome change, but also a challenge. When interacting with the youth, I was very curious about their lives, but held back for fear of asking rude or invasive questions. I wanted to hear about their lives and where they stayed at night, how they avoided the police and other potentially dangerous situations. The more I thought about it, the more guilty I felt that I hardly knew anything about them. On Thursday night, I found out the answer to one of my questions. Two of the youth stayed at the center until 8:30pm, a half hour until closing time. As I was taking out the garbage and tidying up the center, they started to put their few belongings into their filthy backpacks and head out the door. I noticed one of them had a sleeping bag. When they left the center, they prepared for the 4 mile walk to Overton Park, where they stayed for the night. 

I couldn't stop thinking about their situations and how they became homeless in the first place. I asked one of my coworkers if she ever gets upset thinking about them, and she said she used to cry constantly about it. As a community center, the MGLCC is not able to take them in or provide housing for them, although the staff give them monthly bus passes and offer them food from the pantry every day. But as much as the MGLCC does for Queer homeless youth, there is still so much that is lacking in their lives. They don't have jobs, a roof over their heads, or any sense of security (except when they're at the center). It is heart breaking to see that there is only so much that one organization can do. When I first learned about the role of non-profits in major cities like Memphis, admittedly I romanticized their role and assumed (very naively) that they could single handedly solve social problems such as LGBTQ homelessness. Of course, the MGLCC cannot take on such a huge task without the help of other individuals and organizations, but they certainly do the best they can. People depend on the MGLCC, and many of them talk about the center as their home, and a few have said that the center saved their lives. 

One of the many roles that the center plays in the youth's lives is case management. Because many homeless youth who visit the center live with psychological and mental disorders, the staff tries to find government programs that support people with disabilities, and at the very least, secure some form of income. Although the youth services manager at the center works closely with the youth, good intentions and high hopes are often crushed under piles of paperwork and strangled by bureaucratic language and regulations. One caseworker remarked that "they try to make things complicated for the youth because they don't really want them to get the benefits." This struck me as particularly poignant - the MGLCC is not the only organization in Memphis to address the needs of people experiencing homelessness and disabilities, but it can be frustrating to be forced to work within systems of oppression rather than being able to change them. The MGLCC is an impressive organization and I'm so honored to be a part of it. Being in the non-profit world is challenging and not gratifying at all at times, but Memphis, and the world at large, needs these organizations that grapple with intense moral and ethical issues while also meeting people's immediate needs on a daily basis. 

Camille Smith, Post #2

Long story short, after a turn of events last week, my job at Agape has changed. Instead of working in the apartment sites, I’m now spending four days a week at Georgian Hills Elementary, a school in the Achievement School District in Frayser. I’m working alongside the Agape connectors whose job is connecting social services to the students and their families, emphasizing the family unit and linking them to resources. By intervening in instances of behavioral issues, anger, and lack of parental engagement, the connectors alleviate teacher’s concerns so they can focus on simply teaching the students.

Just from being in the school and observing, I’m learning so much. It’s clear that the faculty and staff at Georgian Hills really appreciate what the Agape connectors do for their students. And for good reason, too. The connectors I’ve met are service-minded, enthusiastic people who are intuitive to others’ needs and good at connecting (hence their job title) with the students. Last week, I helped one of the connectors chaperone a field trip to the Brooks Museum. While I spent most of my time talking one-on-one with the students in our group, I admired how the connector was able to bring the group together and interest them in pieces of art by turning it into a game (“how many paintings of farms can you find?”) and even using the art as a learning opportunity (“Look around guys. See where it says B.C.? That means before Jesus was born!”… The kids found this fascinating.) It takes real skill to bring together an entire group of kids, and by observing both teachers and connectors, I’m learning about cultivating relationships of mutual respect that’s necessary to gain interest and attention from students. In my new job, I’ve also enjoyed assisting teachers in their reading and typing classes. It’s allowed me to get to know some of the students as well as gain tutoring experience, which I’m quickly discovering is not as easy as it sounds. Students sometimes give up, don’t want to listen, and occasionally bury their head in their hands as a sign for you to leave. However, the occasions that a student understands the task at hand make all of that worthwhile. On Friday in an education-based typing class, after explaining odd and even numbers to one student, the amount of excitement he expressed when he understood it (even exclaiming to his teacher at another table: “I know odd and evens now!”) was really encouraging.

            Despite that I’m now working mostly at the schools, I’m continuing to assist with the reading program for the apartment sites, printing and ordering books and compiling a skills based curriculum. This has been somewhat challenging because my ability to design the program for Hickory Hill is limited by the fact that I am not at the apartment sites to implement it. I send out the behind the scenes materials and hope that I have communicated the curriculum well enough for it to be carried out. However, this situation has been teaching me a lot about flexibility and doing my best to work with what I have. It’s also helped me recognize that service comes in all shapes and sizes—it does not necessarily equate to the opportunity to use your talents. It rarely looks like another bullet point to add to the skills list on your resume while simultaneously feeling good about helping others. Sometimes, it looks like you standing by a printer that’s running out of toner while searching for more staples, hoping that you’ve printed enough books to send off to the kids. Maybe it’s a monotonous task, but it’s something that’s needed. And that’s what’s important.

            I would also like to comment on the connection between my experiences and our fellowship discussions on transportation and access to food. On Thursday, Breanna and I accompanied our supervisor to an open house event at Georgian Hills for the students’ parents. Before arriving, I imagined at least fifty parents crowded around a school-provided chicken dinner, excited to sign their kids up for more activities because that’s what open house events looked like at my elementary school; parents were eager to keep their kids educated and involved. At Georgian Hills, I was surprised to find that only one parent showed up in the first two hours of the event. Listening to my supervisor talk to some of the other staff members at the event, the issue of transportation came up. Because of lack of transportation, an interfering work schedule, or both, some parents cannot attend open house events. The school faculty members also discussed how to create incentives for parents to attend, and providing dinner was one of the solutions brought up. If parents cannot be very involved in their child’s education, maybe the chance to get a free meal as well will allow them to overcome some of the intervening obstacles. But of course, the issue is complex and multi-faceted, and therefore, will take more than a free meal to turn open house into a well-attended gathering. It’s been interesting to learn about these issues like food and transportation during our Tuesday fellows meetings and to witness their significance when it comes to parental engagement in education.

            So far, these past three weeks have been rewarding, challenging, educational, fun, and eye-opening. I look forward to all that’s in store for the remainder of the fellowship! Below are a few pictures of Georgian Hills Elementary, including the outside of the school on a rainy day and a bucket drumming class taught by one of the connectors.

Breanna Sommers Post 2

Since taking Intercultural Knowledge and Competence with Dr. Davis, I realize the importance of stepping out of one’s comfort zone to have conversations about race, privilege, and intersectionality. Agape’s staff is predominantly black and 40 of the 45 interns are also black. This experience as a demographical minority has been eye opening and enriching. I grew up in a small southern suburban town with very few people of color and I chose to go to Rhodes, another place lacking in ethnic and racial diversity. Before starting my work with Agape, I had never spent so much time in a setting that was not specifically designated a ‘white space.’ My organization was not specifically created to cater to my needs, but the needs of millions of Memphis families, often ones of color, who are at a socioeconomic disadvantage and in need of wrap around services.  

Part of my job includes interacting with the black high school and college interns to implement a literacy program at two apartment complexes in Frayser and Raleigh. When I met the individuals that I would be working with in Frayser, I instantly noticed that they were evaluating me. I did my best to be friendly, but reserved so that I could earn their trust. It was vital that they knew I wanted to authentically work and collaborate with them. I wanted them to be sure that I was sincerely invested in the Frayser/Raleigh community and did not see this as a resume booster.

After visiting both of their sites multiple times to observe and evaluate the literacy program, it seemed that I was making slow, but positive progress towards mutual understanding. I did my best to engage the interns on a personal level through conversation and tried to find common ground with each of them. I share a passion for Tennessee Football with one intern and a love for education reform with another.  

However, on my second week, a person in my office gave me a daunting task. I needed to cover for the interns’ supervisor at the Frayser site and ensure that a day of summer enrichment camp went smoothly. I walked to the apartment complex on Monday morning and I knew as soon as I walked in that I needed to earn their trust a step further. While I think they knew I was a generally nice and competent person, I also knew that they did not want to receive direction from me, the nobody who had never seen a full day of camp, was white, and was not from Memphis. Camp got off to a slow start, but as we worked together to create a meaningful day for five energetic six year olds, they saw I was willing to do whatever it took to make the day successful as a team. We laughed about the craziness that ensued when you have rambunctious elementary students and they provided the authority because the students knew, respected, and trusted the interns more than me.

This past Friday, I had a particularly interesting conversation with one of the interns. She explained to me that she did not realize the full implications of her race as a black person until three months ago when she was mistreated and judged as a waitress at a local restaurant.  Our conversation was extremely profound and I felt in that moment that I was finally using all of my academic knowledge about race, class, gender, and sexuality in an authentic environment. We discussed hate crimes, the fundamental attribution error, and politics. This was not an assignment for class and I was no longer safe in my academic sphere of mutual understanding. I felt fully comfortable asking her follow up questions and we both shared our frustration with racial injustice.