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.

The Snow

Today at Winooski High School, I again found myself in the Community Based Learning Class. The students are currently working on blogging about their experience in attempting to change facets of their school, whether it be the cafeteria food or building access. The class has moved on to less of a lecture/teaching based class, and is instead focused more on independent work with guidance from the teachers. That is what I find myself doing during my time in the class, discussing general concepts with the students and providing both grammatical and general feedback on their blog entries.
Today I was working with one student that was blogging about his experience with being unable to access the building before seven thirty AM. There are no bus services for the students, so they either must be driven, or walk to school. His situation is such that he must walk to school each day. This is not as much a problem in the warmer weather, where it may only be a six or seven minute walk, but in the frigid cold, it can take him upwards of fifteen minutes simply to get to the school. And then he tends to be stuck waiting for another fifteen minutes until the doors open and he can come inside. This issue is obviously very important to him, and it can been seen un how seriously he takes all aspects of this assignment, including the blog.
What struck me the most was that last winter was his first experience with the concept of winter. Winooski has a very large refugee population, such that the student body of the high school is very diverse, and come from all around the world. Many have grown up in Africa or South Asia, and have not experienced such cold temperatures. This was interesting to me, as having grown up with cold winters my whole life, I was intrigued by the concept of first experiencing winter. He told me that he liked the cold, but was not a huge fan of the snow. He told me a great deal about his experience with the cold and the school, and it was nice to just sit and chat with a student that had such a different background than my own. Though there was no great depth to the conversation, it was still a chance to form a connection. You don't start off your first conversation with a person by discussing politics, you talk about things like the weather. That is where it begins, and you can go from there. It was especially nice for me, as I haven't gotten the chance to connect with many of the students at Winooski, so to have this experience helped me learn that connections need not always be deep to have great meaning, but that many things can have some form of impact.

Outward Bound

"Outward Bound delivers programs using unfamiliar settings as a way for students to experience adventure and challenge in a way that helps participants discover that they can do more than they thought possible. Outward Bound helps individuals and teams discover strength of character and an aptitude for leadership needed to serve others in their community and care for the world around them."

Last semester, I went on the LEAP retreat here at Saint Michael's College. It was a wonderful experience, and there were many aspects of it that have stuck with me. Relevant to this aspect of my life though, was my discussion with a man that was there with his wife to give a talk on their marriage. In that talk, one thing that stuck out to me was that a challenge they faced in their marriage was that he spent his summers working with Outward Bound, a program that teaches leadership and self-discovery in a natural setting. It was a challenge for them, as the two spent many weeks apart, but they were strong enough to both make it through.
However, what intrigued me the most was the idea of a program like Outward Bound, as it seems to be something that combines a great deal of concepts that I am interested in. Having been a Boy Scout, I greatly enjoy any chance to get out into nature, as evidenced by one of my personal goals. I also like having the chance to work in a smaller group setting, as I feel that is one of my great strengths, connecting with individuals on a personal level. 
Outward Bound prides itself on instilling certain ideals in those who undertake their challenge. It is designed to challenge and create adventure, to give students a chance to learn by experience, and to do all this in a supportive environment. Outward Bound values compassion, integrity, excellence, inclusion, and diversity. By the end of the program, students should have an increased strength in leadership and character development, as well as a greater desire to serve. All of these aspects of the educational model are very important to me, as again it was something that was instilled in me through my time in the Scouting program. I think learning by doing is the best way to learn anything, and the strengths gained on a trip like this are innumerable. I am especially interested in the programs for students with varying challenges, such as grieving teens or other at-risk teens. To have the opportunity to help out students that are struggling in such a way would be well worth the challenges I may face in working for Outward Bound.