Day 1: Service Learning

Okay, so I can't describe the experience that I had today.
I'm volunteering at the Wilson Charter School helping a 6th grade class with math. During the orientation, I was very impressed with the professionalism of the staff and how happy they were to be doing their job, but these were just administrators, not teachers. They seemed to really care about the wellness of the school. I was excited to start because the people who are involved at the Wilson School are there for the benefit of the Broadmoor neighborhood.

For those of you that don't know Broadmoor was a neighborhood that was completely flooded after Katrina and the government basically wanted to cross the neighborhood off the face of the earth. The neighborhood didn't let it happen and rebuilt the area based on their own determination. The environment of the staff seemed extremely open and willing to work. I thought this until I went there today during the school hours.

Right off the bat, I heard teachers continuously yelling at these students for reasons unbeknown to be. It seemed as if every teacher was hollering about something. But I wasn't ready to judge yet. So I went to my 6th grade math class to help them work on their skills. The teacher super nice and she seemed to really care about her students. So she gave me a group of kids to work with who needed extra help.

These students are amazing. I told them that I wanted to be their friend and that I'm not here to be a teacher just someone who you can come to for an hour and get out of class and hang out with. They worked really hard and did everything that I asked them. Until one of them started asking me about my education experience. One girl asked me what high school I went to and I told her, "Ursuline Academy." She said that it is her dream to go there but she knows she will never be able to go to a "good" school because of where she lives and the school that she is at now. These words are so harsh. I tried to encourage her to work hard because anything is possible. I told her that if she wants to go to Ursuline all she has to do is put the determination into it and make the best experience out of grammar school.

Then the children told me that they don't like their teachers because they are always hollering at them. One child even told me that "The reason we act so ghetto is because when the teacher takes away our games or yells at us, the only way we know how to respond is like our parents. All they do is yell at us, so that's what we do back. We don't wanna do it that way but that's how it be." They also said that their teachers treat them like they are dumb and that they are afraid to come to study sessions or special ed classes because the other students make fun of them when they are taken out of their regular classes. They said they go to their special ed teacher because all he does is give them the answers and they memorize it and then they get A's but they never actually learn it. So I told them to bring any other subject that they need help with and we can take five extra minutes to go over it because I can't have these children not learning when they want to. I even told them that if they need a tutor after school they can call me because I care about these kids already after their first day. I want them to do whatever they want to do and go to whatever schools they want to go to but obviously somewhere someone told them that they can't.

It was heartbreaking to think that somewhere in their lives, someone told them that the school they go to isn't good enough and that they will never be able to go to a school like Ursuline. But really what makes Ursuline different than any other school? Its possible to succeed anywhere but the difference is the environment. These kids aren't getting the positive environment that they need to succeed. I think that's why this school depends heavily upon student volunteers. They are so grateful to have students come and just listen to them talk about their teachers and their classes. I know that their teachers mean well and that they want them to succeed somewhere but the students don't know how to respond to it.

So I need some advice guys. I want to be there for these kids but I don't know how I by myself can change the mentality of these adorable children. All they want to do is learn but they don't know how to and it breaks my heart.

As I left they asked me to bring them with me back to Loyola. I seriously wanted to cry. This experience is going to be one of the most challenging things I have ever done.