Let's Go Camping (post 3)

Hey again everyone! I hope everyone is having a great time at their sites and had a wonderful 4^th of July. It is crazy to think that we are already halfway through Summer Service.

It has been great to see how many of the kids at REP have bought into the summer program we have for them and are eager to b active learners. Initially when we started, many of the kids were very resistant against us teaching them during their freedom of summer break. But instead of responding to the kids with frustration and impatience, we kept trying to encourage them to keep at the work they were given and when they did their work correctly we would give them high-5s and praise (and even candy for the elementary school kids). I began to notice how my students, especially the elementary school kids, were responding positively to this. Now whenever they finish their work, they are quick to run up to me and ask me to check their work and even give them more problems to practice. I have even noticed on a couple occasions when we would take our break between classes, I would have a student or two stay in the classroom to finish the work they have.  It really showed me how kids in general respond to the environment and attitude the adults in their lives present. If we want to provide an effective learning environment for kids, we must create an open and constructive environment where they feel safe and encouraged to voice their ideas.

This week’s topic definitely hits home for me especially with my site. The current discussion around illegal immigrants and refugees is such a complicated and difficult topic. Often times there seems to be no right answer or solution. We see people from different countries and regions like Central America, Syria and Iraq, as well as Somalia who have had to leave their home due to violence and major instability within their country. This forces them to find refugee in different countries through legal and illegal means. Although many are fleeing for a better life or even just ensuring that they will be able to live, the new waves of refugees and illegal immigrants can often challenge the laws and provisions that the other countries have set up. Many of the kids who come to REP are refugees from Somalia, who have had to leave a country that has no central government or rule and is divided and ruled by different clans that use violent measures to demonstrate their power and control. This debate over immigration and refugees can sometimes be decontextualized to just a legal issue but this debate transcends beyond that and also looks at humanitarian and human rights issues. 

P.S. I am going to camp with some of the kids, hence the title