Weekend Visit

This weekend was a good one for me, in that the week leading up to it was a very hectic one, but the weekend was much more relaxed. That's because I was fortunate enough(or unfortunate, depending on how you look at it), to have been cast in two one act plays that the drama club put on this past Friday. However, that did mean a lot of work for me this week, as we had a lot of rehearsal time in order to make sure everything was top notch for the performances, and that meant twice the amount of time as others that were only involved in one. I had many nights of coming from work, grabbing a quick bite to eat, and then going to rehearsal for a few hours before I could even think about starting my homework. That's not to say I'm complaining, as I wouldn't have signed up for this if I didn't love it.
Thankfully, all that hard work was not for nothing, as the plays turned out wonderfully, and the audience loved them. Particularly the second one I was in, which was a spoof of the Harry Potter series in which we attempted to tell the entire story in 40 minutes. I played Hagrid and Dumbledore, and it was great fun. Following the good vibes of a good performance, I was also lucky enough that my parents came up to see them, and then visit for the weekend. Though it had only been a week since I saw them laat, it was still nice after this stressful week to have a taste of home. We toured all around the greater Burlington area, enjoyed the outdoors while we still could, ate some delicious food, and had a nice time. It was really something I needed, especially right before the last week of classes and with finals right around the corner, as it gave me peace of mind, and will help me focus on what needs to be done before I can get back home.

Problem Walk

Yesterday, in my placement at Winooski High School, we did an interesting activity that I had never experienced before. The students in the Community Based Problem Solving class were brought on a walk around Winooski, given a post it note and a pen, and told to write down any problems that they saw. The idea was to get students thinking about ways to improve their community, as the next step in the class is to move on from making change within the school, to making change in the community. What better way to realize what can be changed, than to get out into the thick of it, and see what is needed to be done?
The students' ideas ranged from reducing the amount of litter found in the area, to making some of the buildings more beautiful, to increasing parking spaces for the school, to improving sidewalk coverage in the area, and much more. The students, having been members of the community for quite some time, definitely were able to find a lot that they could improve. At the end of the walk, each student said one thing that they noticed, perhaps to jog ideas for other students in the future.
This walk got me thinking, not in the way of searching for problems and intending to fix them, but helping me to realize that this is definitely something I am interested in. That is, giving young adults the tools that they need to help make a change in their own lives and in their community, and whatever kind of work that entails both on my end and theirs. I would love for it to have some sort of conservation focus, as I do care a great deal about ecosystems and the like, but really anything relating to improving the world is something I would like to be involved in. I'm not sure where I could accomplish this, but I know this is something that needs to be involved in whatever I end up doing with my life, whether career based or on the side.

Where to go?

Yesterday, as per my usual weekly routine, I found myself in Winooski High School, in the Community Based Problem Solving Class. I greatly enjoy my time spent in this class, and I find myself wishing I could attend it multiple days, but unfortunately my schedule does not allow it. Therefore, I must make the most of it while I am there. I feel as if I am integrating into the class, and am not excited for the end of the semester, when I will no longer be able to be a part of it. For the time being, I will not consider that possibility though.
As usual, I was bouncing around the classroom, going from student to student, and determining what they needed assistance with. Whether it be guidance back on the track for work, formatting their blog, proofreading a post, or helping with creating titles. I really enjoy it, because I like interacting with all the different personalities, and helping out in whatever way I can. My previous experience at Winooski had me questioning if I wanted to be a classroom teacher, as I was unsure if I wanted to deal with unruly students, and do all these large lectures. I still feel that way, but now I am no longer writing off the experience of working with high school students. Either this is a particularly well-behaved group of high schoolers, or I was too quick to judge in my previous experience. Regardless, I know that I would not necessarily want to teach in a traditional classroom setting, but there is something to be said for teaching in a place like the iLab, where the content is more open-ended, and the structure is completely different. That is something I am looking for, as though I like the idea of working in a place like a science museum, I want a sense of community. I want to have a reliable connection with those I am working with, and not to just meet individuals once and then be done with them. I need to explore more options to know where I can find an experience like this, but my time at Winooski is definitely confirming that this is what I want.

MOVE Meeting

This Saturday, I found myself with a slew of activities to keep myself busy, which after a week of activity, was exactly what I needed! But honestly, my day yesterday, though busy, was a great one overall, and I wouldn't have changed anything about it.
I unfortunately woke up early, which as anyone who knows me knows, is not something I enjoy doing when I do not have to. However, I woke up early(relatively speaking, it was 8:45), because I had to go to a MOVE core team meeting. These meetings happen once a semester, and the point is to give the leaders of various programs, such as myself, an opportunity to learn about different service opportunities in the community, and to provide some sort of development as both and current and future leaders. Yesterday, we learned about ANEW place, a place that provides temporary housing for the homeless in the Burlington community, as well as many other services. The big takeaway for this presentation was a new social media campaign that ANEW is attempting to create, and that is giving a story to the homeless in our community. The speaker emphasized that what she finds most engaging about her line of work, are the stories of the individuals she comes into contact with. Not only how they got where they are, but where they want to go, and when they are able to leave ANEW and go off on their own, the story of how they got to that point. It is an attempt to illuminate the fact that the homeless are people just like the rest of us, and that the stigma applied is not always fair.
This idea of combating stigma carried throughout the meeting, as in the breakout session I attended, we looked at pictures of individuals, and then read a short paragraph written by that individual which answered the question, "Who are you?" The idea being, that just by looking at someone, you can't always tell what is going on with them. Extending beyond the concept of what struggles they may be facing, which is the usual point to be made, but really the person as a whole. What their dreams are, who they care about, what they're afraid of, what their favorite things are, what they dislike, what makes that person who they are. We were challenged to answer the question ourselves, and I found myself struggling with what to put down. How does one define themselves in a paragraph, and accurately describe everything that makes them who they are? I ended up writing about how I relate to others, and what I value in myself and in the world. However, what was important was that it got me thinking.
This semester has been challenging for the Afterschool Games Core Team, as we have hit a great deal of road blocks in carrying out our program, and it is currently not running. As the only returning member of the team, the two new members look to me for guidance, and one in particular is questioning if he should have been chosen as a leader in the first place. However, I know that he is a great team leader, not only as he is a close friend, but because the three previous members, myself and the two that left, were very impressed with what he had to bring to the table. I let him know that, and it seemed to put him in a better mood. I know that we have been struggling, and that personally I wish I could have done more to prevent these issues, and to have the program running. However, we are not giving, and though this semester saw some challenges, we are fighting to be ready for next semester, and to start off much more strongly than if we had begun when we initially wanted to. It may be tough, but everyone is up for the challenge, and we will improve this program.

Home of the Brave

This past week, I was able to get the chance to read Home of the Brave by Katherine Applegate, which was an interesting read on the life of a boy from Africa who comes from a refugee camp and is resettled into Minnesota. This book was suggested to me by my professor, after my previous blog post of talking to a student about seeing snow for the first time, as that is an experience that is common to refugees, and is the opening scene in this particular novel.
I greatly enjoyed the novel, and I do not want to go into too much detail about it, as the book lover in me would prefer that people read it unspoiled and get to experience everything the way that I did. With that being said, I highly recommend reading Home of the Brave, regardless of whether one will be doing work with refugees, as it is a short enough read with a large enough impact for everyone to be able to get something out of it. I know it greatly impacted myself, having been working with many refugee students over the past year, as it opened my eyes to their struggles in a way.
I guess I've always known that to be a refugee, one has to have had a bad living situation to come from. But I never really thought about the details, why they ended up leaving, what it was like where they came from, who they left behind, who they may or may not be coming to be with, what it's like adjusting to an alien environment, and more. This novel caused me to think more in depth about those situations. I know I will never know the exact situation for all of the students that I am coming into contact with, but it helps me to remember that there is a great deal I do not know. There are things I need to be sensitive about, and things I need to understand, because I will never be able to say that I can relate, as growing up in the suburbs of Massachusetts, I really do not know what it's like to live in poverty, or to have to deal with an evil government, or to leave family behind, perhaps indefinitely. I cannot ever truly relate, but I can grasp the concept. Many times, students need someone to be able to understand where they are coming from. I'm not saying this novel changed my life, and taught me everything about the issues of being a refugee, but it's a start, and everyone has to start somewhere.

Boys and Girls Club

Having done volunteer working with the Boys and Girls Club in the past through MOVE, I very much appreciate their overall mission.

Their mission, "To enable all young people, especially those who need us most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens."- Boys and Girls Club of America

This is something I am greatly interested in, as I want to be able to provide mentorship to the youth of the world, but in a way that is due to building strong relationships.This can be seen through all of the staff at the Boys and Girls club, as through both their general philosophy, and my experience with the club, they tend to hire dedicated individuals that want to shape the world in a positive way. In fact the first Boys Club was started in 1860 by three women that believed the boys in their community deserved a safe alternative to roaming the streets and causing trouble. They focused on character building, and used a socially scientific system to promote development towards a successful, productive, future. This is reflected in the Boys and Girls Club code:

"I believe in God and the right to worship according to my own faith and religion.

I believe in America and the American way of life…in the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

I believe in fair play, honesty and sportsmanship.

I believe in my Boys & Girls Club, which stands for these things."

The ideals enumerated in this code are reflected in all of the programs that the club provides. They run the gamut, from programs to develop character and leadership through service, to providing extra help in education and preparing students for college or other future endeavors, developing into responsible young men and women, learning safe internet usage and how to build healthy relationships, teaching various forms of artistic expression, such as drama or fine arts, and providing opportunities for sports and other forms of recreation. There are a great deal of experiences provided to the youth of any community.

The breadth of the Boys and Girls club spreads across the nation, serving more than 1,140 independent organizations that in turn serve over 4,100 different locations, all under the blanket organization of the Boys and Girls Club. There is a large diversity in both the age and ethnicity of the youth that are served by the Boys and Girls Club.

All in all, the Boys and Girls Club is definitely a place I could see myself working. I greatly enjoy all of the possible ways in which I could connect with a multitude of people, and it also would give me a chance to be greatly involved in my community, something I am always looking to do. I would still be able to live my own life, while providing necessary experiences for those who wish to gain them, and that is a good thing to do.

Tales from a High School Sophomore

Today, I found myself again in the Community Based Learning class, and it was a great improvement over weeks past. I originally tended to be a bit more reserved in interacting with others in that class, finding myself as more of a passive observer than an active participant. This changed in the week previous, as I was able to use my skills to assist students in forming their own blogs, and making edits to their work. Again, I found myself doing this kind of work, and it was nice to be able to dive right back into it. The students seem to be very comfortable with my presence, which is nice, as I have only been able to visit a few times, and have wondered if I have made any sort of impact.
Again, I was not only able to complete this task, but connect with students as well. Especially one student, who was busy scraping her nail polish design off of her phone case(the students at Winooski are allowed to have their phones in class), and I asked her if she had designed it herself. That opened up a whole discussion, where she told me about her habit of taking clothing and turning it into something else, such as turning a pair of jeans into a purse. Every time I would have no one to work with, she would come up with some other thing to tell me, like her trick or treating habits, how much she hates basketball, and how she knows she will be friends with someone if she initially hates them(which is related to her hatred of basketball). This girl is very funny, and I greatly enjoyed my conversations with her, even if they were not the most topical.
Afterwards, I was talking to one of the teachers of the class about my experience, and I highlighted my conversation with the girl. He was impressed that she was so congenial in our discussion, as though she normally is very outgoing, she had been having a tough day and was not in a good mood at the beginning of class. This was strange for me to hear, as I had no idea that she was feeling bad before. It is possible that other factors caused her to be in a better mood, but I like to think that I at least played some part. It is nice to know that even just one conversation can change around a person's entire day, and to know that I have the power to do that is a wonderful bit of knowledge.