There are quite a few things I've been meaning to blog about but haven't had the energy to devote a full post to. I'm enjoying a lazy Sunday so I thought it would be a good time to tackle all the leftover stuff I have floating around in my head.
Check out the blogs of two of my teammates! Clarissa and Elizabeth have both been writing pretty regularly and might have some different perspectives on what our team has been doing. They're also both really cool so you should check out their photos and what they have to say.
Our project at the school is still going well. A few major things have happened since my last post though. First of all we found out that Larchmont (our school) is closing at the end of this year. There are a bunch of school board politics that seem to have impacted the decision but it basically comes down to the fact that the district is having serious financial problems. It's sad that a school with so much history and community support has to close and that the kids and teachers will all be split up. We were also hoping to do some work on their community garden but there doesn't seem to be much point anymore. For now we're hoping to make as much of a positive impact as we can during this project and then hope for the best when the students get split up into different schools.
We also had a scary moment last week when the school went on lockdown because of a shooting a few blocks away. The shooting was gang related and it really brought home the type of environment the kids are growing up in. They seemed pretty unruffled by the whole thing which either means the teachers did a great job of keeping them calm or they're just used to things like that happening.
I really enjoy working with the kids in the classroom and after school as well as talking to them at recces and around school. At times the school environment can be difficult because so much of it is dealing with behavior problems and treating the kids as a a group rather than individuals. I know so many of them would benefit from individual attention and need specialized services but it's just not possible to work one-on-one with all of them. I wish there was an agency like Family and Community Services at DePaul to do school-based and family counseling but there's no access to that type of thing in our area. I'm trying my best to give the students positive reinforcement and talk to them about how they're feeling each day, which I can tell makes them feel special and motivated to do well. They really are great and never fail to brighten up my day.
A lot of our weekends off are spent doing some sort of ISP (Independent Service Project). ISPs can be any community service that isn't related to our current project and we have to have a total of 80 ISP hours by the end of the program. So far some teammates and I have done things like set up, serve, and clean at a benefit dinner and worked at the Salvation Army to help low-income families apply to get Christmas presents for their kids. ISPs are a nice change of pace and a chance for us to get to know our community a bit better. I've really enjoyed the ones we've done so far and am looking forward to planning and doing more.
I definitely have more to say but as usual I'm running out of energy for writing and will have to pick back up another day.
As always, thanks for reading!
Monday, November 22, 2010
Saturday, November 13, 2010
We go to Larchmont every day. We go to Larchmont to learn and play!
Training is officially over and our first-round project has been underway for the past week and a half. It feels great to finally be out in the field and putting all the things we've been talking about in training into action!
There are a few teams left on campus but for the most part we said goodbye to friends on other teams who were off to work on projects in places like Portland, rural Utah, and the Mexican border. It was nice not to have to worry about packing and I'm enjoying having access to all of the amenities on campus (some teams are camping and I'm extremely happy to have a bed this round). We won't find out details about our next project until probably early December but we will definitely be traveling somewhere for it.
For now it's all about Larchmont Elementary School!
Silver 3 on our first day of school!
We spent Thursday and Friday of last week getting to know the school and students by visiting classrooms and introducing ourselves. Some teachers asked us to observe or help out with things right away but for the most part we wandered around and received a lot of attention from the kids. Larchmont has had NCCC teams for the past few years so the students are familiar with the program and what to expect from us. We were greeted with cheers of "Americorps is here!" and lots of hugs.
Hugs from students on the first day... they mobbed us!
The first few days were kind of chaotic and we were definitely a distraction to the kids but it was also a lot of fun to see how excited they are to have us there. The principal and teachers are all very welcoming and excited to have us as well.
This week we've had a more regular schedule and are assigned to specific classrooms to help out during the day. I'm with a 4th/5th split class first thing in the morning while they're getting ready for the day and doing independent reading and journal writing. The teacher works will small groups and I walk around to have them tell me about what they're doing and sometimes read a few pages out loud. It's encouraging to see how excited so many of them are about reading and brings back memories from my own book filled childhood. The classroom is well organized and the teacher does a great job of teaching two grades at once considering how difficult it must be. I don't always feel very useful in that class but it's a nice way to start the day and a chance to get to know students one-on-one. The most interesting class I work with are 3rd/4th grade special ed students. There are only about 10 students in the class and there are huge differences in their individual abilities. I come in while they do math groups and usually lead a small group while the teacher and aid work with the others. Some students are working on multiplication while others are working on number recognition which means I really have to tailor the way I explain things depending on where they're at. The teacher is pretty amazing at keeping students on task while making the classroom a fun and nurturing place. In the afternoon I'm with a 3rd grade class then a 2nd grade class. It's making me realize that I enjoy working with older students a bit more but the younger kids keep me on my toes. In these classes I mostly try to keep the kids focused and work with students who are struggling to keep up. The teachers definitely have their hands full and seem glad to have me there to pitch in where needed. After school we work with students on their homework and get the chance to get to know them a little better. A lot of them have rough home situations and you can tell they really like the positive attention we give them. Overall the days are exhausting and sometimes frustrating but I think we have the ability to have a positive impact during this project
I could write forever about Larchmont but will save some things for my next entry. I'm renewing my blogging efforts and will try to update more often so it's not so overwhelming to have to write about everything at once.
Until later, thanks for reading!
There are a few teams left on campus but for the most part we said goodbye to friends on other teams who were off to work on projects in places like Portland, rural Utah, and the Mexican border. It was nice not to have to worry about packing and I'm enjoying having access to all of the amenities on campus (some teams are camping and I'm extremely happy to have a bed this round). We won't find out details about our next project until probably early December but we will definitely be traveling somewhere for it.
For now it's all about Larchmont Elementary School!
We spent Thursday and Friday of last week getting to know the school and students by visiting classrooms and introducing ourselves. Some teachers asked us to observe or help out with things right away but for the most part we wandered around and received a lot of attention from the kids. Larchmont has had NCCC teams for the past few years so the students are familiar with the program and what to expect from us. We were greeted with cheers of "Americorps is here!" and lots of hugs.
The first few days were kind of chaotic and we were definitely a distraction to the kids but it was also a lot of fun to see how excited they are to have us there. The principal and teachers are all very welcoming and excited to have us as well.
This week we've had a more regular schedule and are assigned to specific classrooms to help out during the day. I'm with a 4th/5th split class first thing in the morning while they're getting ready for the day and doing independent reading and journal writing. The teacher works will small groups and I walk around to have them tell me about what they're doing and sometimes read a few pages out loud. It's encouraging to see how excited so many of them are about reading and brings back memories from my own book filled childhood. The classroom is well organized and the teacher does a great job of teaching two grades at once considering how difficult it must be. I don't always feel very useful in that class but it's a nice way to start the day and a chance to get to know students one-on-one. The most interesting class I work with are 3rd/4th grade special ed students. There are only about 10 students in the class and there are huge differences in their individual abilities. I come in while they do math groups and usually lead a small group while the teacher and aid work with the others. Some students are working on multiplication while others are working on number recognition which means I really have to tailor the way I explain things depending on where they're at. The teacher is pretty amazing at keeping students on task while making the classroom a fun and nurturing place. In the afternoon I'm with a 3rd grade class then a 2nd grade class. It's making me realize that I enjoy working with older students a bit more but the younger kids keep me on my toes. In these classes I mostly try to keep the kids focused and work with students who are struggling to keep up. The teachers definitely have their hands full and seem glad to have me there to pitch in where needed. After school we work with students on their homework and get the chance to get to know them a little better. A lot of them have rough home situations and you can tell they really like the positive attention we give them. Overall the days are exhausting and sometimes frustrating but I think we have the ability to have a positive impact during this project
I could write forever about Larchmont but will save some things for my next entry. I'm renewing my blogging efforts and will try to update more often so it's not so overwhelming to have to write about everything at once.
Until later, thanks for reading!
Monday, November 1, 2010
"If this isn't nice, I don't know what is"
Written 10/26/10
Here's another entry started after morning PT before my "real" day starts and posted later.
I'm actually really enjoying getting up so early, working out, then being ready for my day by 7am. Being active in the morning just kickstarts everything and as much as I shudder about going out in the cold and having to sit on wet grass for stretching, I'm glad this program includes so much structured physical activity. I'll probably think differently when it starts getting really cold or I have a project somewhere freezing but for now I'll stick with the positive sentiments.
Speaking of positive sentiments, lots of great things have been happening over the past week. Sometimes it's easier for me to organize my thoughts by writing lists so that's what I'll do here:
- Camp Mendocino was everything I was hoping it would be. The redwood forest was beautiful and I really enjoyed being away from it all for a few days without technology or a whole lot of responsibility. There was plenty of time spent relaxing and playing volleyball and ultimate frisbee but we also packed a lot of structured things in. We did a full day service project doing maintenance for the camp and my team got to do things like split wood, dispose of old paint, sort metal, and move giant tractor tires. It was fun to do such a variety of things and it was great to see how well the team could work together. I also really enjoyed using the wood splitter to cut massive pieces of redwood and flexing my muscles a little. It was our first time doing actual physical work since getting here and it was so satisfying to finally feel like we were getting things done. We also did a lot of team bonding activities including the ropes course. I had a great time on my first ropes course and especially enjoyed the zip line through the forest and over the river at the end. At night we had some camp fires and games with other teams and on the last night we did skits which was pretty entertaining. The kids from the San Francisco Boys and Girls Club must love going to Mendocino during the summer and I'm glad we were able to pitch in to keep things nice for them while we were there. And now some photos!
Beautiful forest
Open air cabin I stayed in... it got so cold!
Splitting wood
Disposing of paint wearing our nifty coveralls
Dominating at the 4-legged race!
My team on our last day at camp... a little worse for the wear but we made it!
- Getting to know my team at Mendocino erased a lot of the doubts I initially had about them. It was amazing to see how well we worked together during the service project and we were also able to have a lot of fun through it all. We have some differences but are all generally on the same wavelength about most things which I didn't expect to have happen. I'm hoping the good vibes continue throughout the year because right now things are going really well.
My team (Silver 3) in downtown Sacramento during a Scavenger hunt
- The most exciting thing is... we found out our first project! My team is staying in Sacramento for the first round and will be at an elementary school that's only about 5 minutes away from campus. I had mixed feelings about not traveling yet but it will be nice to have the stability of being here and not having to deal with difficult housing situations quite yet. Ending training and starting our first project is already a big change without also having to pack to go somewhere completely different. Most teams will have a project in Sacramento this year and I think first round is a good time to have it. It will also give me the chance to get to know the area better and connect with the community. The school we'll be at has it's share of problems but also has a committed principal and engaged parents, which makes a huge difference. We will be working in the classrooms as aids as well as tutoring one-on-one and running recess and after-school programs. With the budget issues in California schools have had to let a lot of their non-teaching staff go which is why we're especially needed to supplement what the teachers do. I'm very excited to be working with kids and think this project will be a great start to the year.
Today we're doing tool training where we'll learn how to use tools common on construction projects. We also have several other trainings about working with project sponsors and stress management. The rest of the week is also full of training sessions. After the excitement of last week having to sit in a classroom all day might be difficult but I'm also really interested in some of the topics coming up.
Here's another entry started after morning PT before my "real" day starts and posted later.
I'm actually really enjoying getting up so early, working out, then being ready for my day by 7am. Being active in the morning just kickstarts everything and as much as I shudder about going out in the cold and having to sit on wet grass for stretching, I'm glad this program includes so much structured physical activity. I'll probably think differently when it starts getting really cold or I have a project somewhere freezing but for now I'll stick with the positive sentiments.
Speaking of positive sentiments, lots of great things have been happening over the past week. Sometimes it's easier for me to organize my thoughts by writing lists so that's what I'll do here:
- Camp Mendocino was everything I was hoping it would be. The redwood forest was beautiful and I really enjoyed being away from it all for a few days without technology or a whole lot of responsibility. There was plenty of time spent relaxing and playing volleyball and ultimate frisbee but we also packed a lot of structured things in. We did a full day service project doing maintenance for the camp and my team got to do things like split wood, dispose of old paint, sort metal, and move giant tractor tires. It was fun to do such a variety of things and it was great to see how well the team could work together. I also really enjoyed using the wood splitter to cut massive pieces of redwood and flexing my muscles a little. It was our first time doing actual physical work since getting here and it was so satisfying to finally feel like we were getting things done. We also did a lot of team bonding activities including the ropes course. I had a great time on my first ropes course and especially enjoyed the zip line through the forest and over the river at the end. At night we had some camp fires and games with other teams and on the last night we did skits which was pretty entertaining. The kids from the San Francisco Boys and Girls Club must love going to Mendocino during the summer and I'm glad we were able to pitch in to keep things nice for them while we were there. And now some photos!
- Getting to know my team at Mendocino erased a lot of the doubts I initially had about them. It was amazing to see how well we worked together during the service project and we were also able to have a lot of fun through it all. We have some differences but are all generally on the same wavelength about most things which I didn't expect to have happen. I'm hoping the good vibes continue throughout the year because right now things are going really well.
- The most exciting thing is... we found out our first project! My team is staying in Sacramento for the first round and will be at an elementary school that's only about 5 minutes away from campus. I had mixed feelings about not traveling yet but it will be nice to have the stability of being here and not having to deal with difficult housing situations quite yet. Ending training and starting our first project is already a big change without also having to pack to go somewhere completely different. Most teams will have a project in Sacramento this year and I think first round is a good time to have it. It will also give me the chance to get to know the area better and connect with the community. The school we'll be at has it's share of problems but also has a committed principal and engaged parents, which makes a huge difference. We will be working in the classrooms as aids as well as tutoring one-on-one and running recess and after-school programs. With the budget issues in California schools have had to let a lot of their non-teaching staff go which is why we're especially needed to supplement what the teachers do. I'm very excited to be working with kids and think this project will be a great start to the year.
Today we're doing tool training where we'll learn how to use tools common on construction projects. We also have several other trainings about working with project sponsors and stress management. The rest of the week is also full of training sessions. After the excitement of last week having to sit in a classroom all day might be difficult but I'm also really interested in some of the topics coming up.
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