Powerful Day

It's amazing the things you can find time to do when you don't feel like doing what you need to do. Like updating my blog, when I need to finish my Corps Member Performance Plan for tomorrow.... I get to answer such exciting questions as "What steps and strategies will you use to follow City Year guidelines regarding grooming and appearance?" "What support will you need from your team leader in order to dress appropriately and wear the uniform powerfully?"

So instead, my loyal readers, let me tell you about the last few days. :)

We started in-class support yesterday. Frankly, this was the aspect of my work that I was most nervous about, mostly because I feel it is where we can be the most powerful. This is where I can be really great and make a huge difference, or I can feel like I am completely wasting my time (and by association, my year). I am assigned to support the 7th grade social studies teacher. This means that I sit through the same class 4 times a day. The kids are working on country reports this week, and I'm guessing they will be working on them for another week or two after this. We were in the library the last two days, so that the kids could gather information in a very structured format. They aren't allowed to use computers on this project, so it's very hands-on. I worked with so many kids, and I really felt like I was helping. I guess that's the meaning of "direct service", huh? There were so many kids who just needed someone to sit with them and keep encouraging them and reminding them that they are capable of doing the work. I can see myself in some of the kids--the ones who are so eager to do the work and be finished with it. I check in with them, but I know that they don't really need me there. The kids that I've bonded with are the ones with almost no attention span, and the ones who are way behind their classmates in reading and writing.

There are two Jamaican students in the school, who have no problem with comprehension, but because they are shy and have trouble communicating, the teachers think they are way behind. Really all they need is someone to give them a little push and help them along with the work. One of my teammates is paired with the older boy, and the younger boy comes through my social studies class. I worked with him the last two days. Yesterday he was so quiet, and did the work, but didn't want to talk and only did the bare minimum. Today he opened up a little, and asked me a lot about City Year and told me about the corps members he worked with last year. He was so excited, and we sailed through the project. I think he and his brother face more problems with the teachers' perception of them than with the actual content of the work. This is where I see that City Year can play a crucial role in their education--if the boys can open up to us, then they will have the support they need to get through their classes.

I've also had some quality bonding time with my teammate that is serving in 7th grade with me. He is the person I knew the least about up until very recently, but we've become fast friends this week. He reminds me a lot of a friend from home, and we've had some great conversations during our planning time the last few days. We decided that we're going to write "Tales from the EC" (EC is the electrical closet--the space that the school lets us use to keep our stuff and do our work when we're not in class. It's really much better than it sounds.) By the end of the year, we'll be able to write one another's life story.

So all in all, an eventful but powerful week. Of course we've had the usual drama within the corps and team, but I'm feeling good about service.