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 3rd grade to 5th
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.
It's really interesting to hear about the variety of issues that you face during your time at REP. While it sounds like your boss is a dynamic and invested leader, I can imagine that it's frustrating for him and you both when you feel like there may be insurmountable obstacles, such as setting up a program for high schoolers that they will actually attend, or getting your kids to even just physically stay in the classroom (couldn't believe that part), let alone get them to listen or care enough to learn the lesson that you are spending time and energy on. I am impressed with your patience, and hope that you are able to make strides in the classroom and find solutions to these complicated problems!
ReplyDeleteThis comment has been removed by the author.
ReplyDeleteI'm so happy you're working at REP! I have volunteered there a couple different times and I am really impressed with the program. You're so right; it's amazing to see the joy and energy the kids bring to the program. Also, it's eye opening to hear about the problems you've noticed. I cannot imagine the obstacles most of these adolescents have to overcome while balancing extremely large work loads; it reminds me that my daily struggles are very trivial. Personally, I find it interesting to hear about REP, because I noticed some similarities to the program I am working with. Both are day programs to enhance the quality of life, choice, and access of the participants. I'm really interested to hear more about the progress of REP. Keep it up!!
ReplyDeleteI understand how difficult and upsetting it is when people don't take advantage of the services you are trying to offer them. Although our situations are fairly different, I've had similar experiences at my site. Sometimes, even though we are able to provide housing for a person who is homeless, they don't want to take it. Because they have been living on the streets for so many years, it seems more normal to them than living in an apartment. Ultimately, we can't force them to live in the apartment. However, most of them do end up being convinced by a social worker to live there for a few nights, although some go right back to the street soon after. It's so difficult and upsetting to work so hard for seemingly nothing! It's certainly an interesting challenge to try to help people, while still leaving life choices up to them. I hope that you can figure out something that will work for your site!
ReplyDeleteMihret,
ReplyDeleteI am fascinated by your blog! I have always believed that it takes a special person to educate young minds, and your post has solidified my belief even further. Children are a handful, but the added stresses these children have faced in their lives must make the gift of an education a hard one to accept. They have faced many challenges, but I can see you and the REP team are ready to handle it. I am impressed with your dedication and patience, and I look forward to hearing more about your innovations to keep them interested in the material or even just persuade them to show up! Perhaps you and Conor could swap some ideas. I would love to hear from you to help with my camp in a few weeks too!
I understand your frustration and the joy your kids bring you. Keeping everyone engaged is definitely not an easy task and I think you are doing a great job at it even though it is hard sometimes. I think once the summer progresses the kids will become a little more focused. Maybe incorporating games or activities with incentives would get everyone involved and engaged. I'm excited to hear about the rest of your summer adventures with REP!
ReplyDeleteMihret --
ReplyDeleteWorking with kids is always so fun, but definitely challenging! Captivating other people's attention for long periods of time is something I'm struggling with too. We teach all sorts of certification and awareness classes at the Red Cross, but even adults have a hard time paying attention the entire time! I usually help out with Orientation and Disaster Overview classes and it is disheartening when you're trying your best to relay important information and people are on their phones or are not engaged. My boss encourages us to focus on the most important information and if we are having trouble getting people's attention, have people in the audience answer questions or echo information back to the presenter.
The struggles you are facing with high school aged children sounds frustrating, but is certainly understandable, especially if the families need extra income for a few months. Not only reaching out to the high school students, but also their parents about how receiving higher education will benefit the family more in the long run than a minimum-wage summer job seems like a challenging proposal, but a point that needs to be made. Good luck with the rest of your week!