Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Lasting Thoughts
Our first speaker, Rabbi Shmuly Yanklowitz, talked about the trip, and asked whether students thought it was a service trip or a learning trip. A majority of students were quick to shout that it was strictly a service trip, but I'm sure if you asked those same students today, their answers would be different.
What is the goal of 4 days of service work in a new environment?
Is the goal to improve the schools and leave a lasting impression on the students we've helped?
Are we doing more harm then help in becoming role models for young kids and then disappearing on a whim?
Is it more beneficial to donate the trips cost to LA schools, which would allow them to afford many more tangible supplies than we created in a weeks worth of time?
These are all questions that we struggled with and discussed throughout the week. Questions that left us overwhelmed, exhausted, inspired, open-minded, and FIRED UP (as the City Year members would say). While I can't speak for anyone but myself, I'd say that after a week of service, it is clear that the service City Year puts together has little to do with the direct effect our work has on the LA community or its students, but to the participants themselves.
WHAT ARE YOU GOING TO DO WHEN YOU GET HOME?
The afterschool program we participated in at Palms Elementary, stationed in West LA doesn't seem like such an impoverish neighborhood. But when you hear from their principal, who tells you that 84% of their students families live below the poverty line, and 99% of their students live in apartments, some with more than 6 siblings, it brings everything into perspective. The program we worked with, funded by the city of LA for families that can't afford after-school care, employs ONE WOMAN for 60 STUDENTS. 60!
First grade Brandon, whom I helped with his math homework, and couldn't quite grasp the idea of counting by ones, is an anomaly for inner city students across the country. He told me "the police took away his Mom's car," and has to ride 2 buses to pick him up from school. With over-sized classrooms, 3 hours round-trip travel time to and from school, and no after school homework help, how is Brandon supposed to learn?
For kids like Brandon who may never receive one-on-one attention, the effects of our time at Palms Elementary may be insurmountable. As we stood outside during a fire drill on Friday afternoon, Principal Smith had students come to the microphone and explain which of our projects they were most thankful for. As the kids showed their gratitude one by one, it became more difficult for many that spent their Spring Break doing service to refrain from tears (maybe myself included). It is not only the students that we worked to make a difference for last week, but the idea that their are kids like this no matter what community you live in.
The message that I took from this week is that their is hope, but not without us. A week of service cannot end when we step onto the plane to Detroit, because there are thousands of Brandon's across the country, in every community, of every state. After spending the week with an amazing group of motivating, thought-provoking individuals, privileged with the power to make a difference in the world,it left me with one closing thought that a teacher from an LA Charter School told us earlier in the week, "The happiest people are doing the things they love the most."
Follow what you are most passionate about, whether it's health-care, human rights, or education, and we can all make a difference.
So, what are you going to do next?
-Josh Fishman
MSU Hillel Program Associate
Monday, March 21, 2011
Taking a break to make a difference
Published in The State News on March 13, 2011
For a long time I’ve considered myself a pessimist or cynic — capable of seeing the problems in life and providing negative criticism, but struggling with finding real solutions.
When it comes to educational reform and providing effective education for all public school students in the U.S. — specifically low-income students in poor schools — it’s easy to point out what’s wrong, but difficult to figure out exactly how to fix it.
Even when solutions are proposed, it’s much easier to doubt their effectiveness and question results than actually try them out.
During spring break, I had the opportunity to travel to Los Angeles with MSU Hillel (alongside Hillel groups from other universities across Michigan and the U.S.) to volunteer in low-income elementary schools in a partnership with City Year’s Los Angeles Service Corps and Care Force.
During the program, I was able to get first-hand experience with a few potential solutions to education problems. My pessimistic ideology began to crack.
My fellow volunteers and I spent our mornings working on construction and painting projects to improve and beautify the schools. We spent our afternoons hanging out with at-risk students at another elementary school.
We organized pickup games of soccer, kickball and four square.
We tutored them in math and spelling while giving them someone to talk to as well as encouraged them to believe in both themselves and education.
Group discussions and guest speakers were interspersed throughout the week to keep us thinking about the effectiveness of our work as well as various perspectives on the problems facing American public schools.
A quick glance at the issue of effective public education allows us to conclude there usually isn’t enough money for each student, that their lives at home might be unstable and their parents or social environments are unsupportive of educational achievement.
The solutions to these problems usually either are unrealistic or unproven, and as one of the speakers during our program was keen to point out, there is no “silver bullet” to cure all education ills.
At the beginning of the trip, I doubted our work truly had value. However, the more I interacted with the kids, the more I came to see what I was doing really did have an effect.
The kids at the first school always enthusiastically ran up to us, asking what we were doing. They were excited to have us there, building colorful picnic tables, painting murals on the walls and simply chatting about what was going on in their lives. At our afternoon sessions, things ran deeper than just a kickball game — we came to know and care for the kids in just three days’ time.
After our first day working on the playground, I had met three amazing students whom I couldn’t wait to come back to see the next day.
One wanted to be a veterinarian; one a soccer player and another simply said he wanted to be smart like us.
When our time with them ended each day, they would breathlessly ask us if we were coming back the next day to play and talk again. They loved having us there, and we loved being there.
It was heartbreaking to tell them on our final day that we weren’t coming back. It was in their sadness at seeing us go that I truly understood how much of an effect our short time had on them.
Our brief sessions of individual interaction and encouragement had made some kind of positive impression on these kids and it could be seen in their eyes.
I don’t think this kind of personal investment by well-intentioned volunteers is the one and only solution to solving the issue of underachievement in low-income schools.
But my amazing trip showed me I am very capable of making even the slightest difference if only I am willing to sacrifice some of my time and donate it to helping those who are less fortunate than me.
It was a positive lesson that I will not soon forget.
-Matt Korovesis
Michigan State University
What's next?
Terrified…Lost…Enthusiastic…Motivated...These are only a few emotions that can begin to describe how some of us ASB’ers are feeling. This trip has been taken to a whole new level, and it’s safe to say I think some of us are even at a loss of words. As I’m sitting here reflecting upon this overall experience, and our last day with the children at Palms Elementary school, I really am having trouble…It’s difficult to verbalize all of the thoughts and emotions encompassing my brain. I have never, since the day I’ve wanted to be an educator, experienced the emotions I felt yesterday. Some often say that “goodbye” isn’t forever, and with these children I’d like to say it isn’t for me. But as we hugged our kids, turned our backs from names being screamed, and wiped the streaming tears off of our cheek, one can’t help but feel that forever, is forever. I know, along with each and every person on this trip, that the service we have done for these children, and this community the past week, has left an imprint. Some of those kids did not want to say bye to us, and probably couldn’t fathom the fact that we would never be back again. But the question is, what do we do now? We’ve volunteered with these inner-city schools for 4 days, and made a world of a difference. Now, the future is in our hands. We’ve seen how poorly run these schools are, and the lacking beauty of the school’s appearance. From the picnic tables we worked our butts off to create, to the beautiful murals we painted on the walls, these schools have already been transformed. As we sat there on Thursday saying goodbye to the kids, and stood there Friday looking out to all of the beautiful work we created, there were no words. That final day of service almost made me feel like I was hit by a truck; I was lost and confused, yet extremely motivated and FIRED UP! It’s our job as not only future educators, but humans in this world, to create what’s next to come. Together, we need to do something that will make a difference for forever. After all, ASBers, haven’t we learned that together is better than alone?
Grand Valley State University
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Monday, January 10, 2011
Thursday, Jan 6
Today was productive and meaningful. Our morning began with a nutritious breakfast, followed by our routine bus ride to Lenora B. Smith Elementary. As the Miami sun beat down on our backs, the eighty-seven of us assembled with our City Year staff members for our daily PT (Physical Training), followed by a group meeting where we receive information and inspiration
Today was our last day working at Lenora B. Smith, so morale was high and faces were determined. Music was energizing the atmosphere, while water was being dispensed frequently. Children walked by smiling as they saw the work that had been accomplished throughout our week here. Hammers banged, paint splashed, spirits soared.
Team Others and Texas was assigned to build potting beds using wood that had been measured and cut by previous groups. Beginning with piles of wood, hammers, and a bucket of nails, we turned these resources into beautiful additions to the garden. Working together proved efficient and fun, strengthening bonds (and muscles!) We were proud to see our finished products as the day ended on a sadder note - saying goodbye to Lenora B. Smith Elementary and our great friends at City Year. We look forward to received pictures and updates from City Year, so that we can follow the progress of the garden.
Last night, we congregated in groups to discuss the ideas of Power and Privilege. We touched upon bigger social issues as well as individual differences which lead to varying degrees of social power. Individual group members incorporated past experiences while relating these ideas to our volunteer work here in Miami.
We will be celebrating Shabbat this evening, and are looking forward to having time to reflect on all of our experiences from the day and from the last week.
Shabbat Shalom everyone!
Kate M. Torpey (NYU '12)
Alex M. Simson (Cornell '12)
Oren R. Lavie (UPenn '11)
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Day 3
So today was long but really fun. First some of us used stencils to draw on canvases while others worked in the garden tearing up grass. I worked in the garden and it was really hot outside and at times work was hard, but that made seeing all of our work even more rewarding.
After all of our work the guys played football with some of the kids from the school. Then we all had lunch and played team building games. The first time, we had to make it across a “sea” by only walking on paper towels…we weren't very good at this game, we ended up tearing a paper towel to one of our shoes and hopping across the “sea”. I didn't get a paper towel so my team had to carry me across on their backs.
The second game was “bird on a perch,” and we partnered up and we had to jump on our partner’s backs when the music stopped or we would be out. Both games were really fun and really brought us together even more.
From there we went to an after school program, called the Overtown Youth Center, to help the kids with their homework. The building was really nice; it had a gym, a dance studio, computer room, and flat screen TVs. The kids were all really cute and excited to see us. What I found very interesting was that the program keeps track of their students until they are 25. They help them pick a college and go on college visits with them as well. Even cooler than that, this whole program is free! When I left the after school program I was in such a good mood because I kept picturing the girl's face I helped when she finally understood what I was trying to explain the difference between a native and a narrator and I tried everything I can think of. She finally got it and we were both so excited.
This program is so good for the kids because not all of the parents can help their kids with their homework like they have at this program and the kids are encouraged to continue their education to college where if they didn't come to this program, they wouldn't go to college, or even finish high school. The kids at this program were friendly and funny, one of them asked me if I had a sinus problem and that is why I sound like I do.
From there, we went to dinner (and had Indian food), reflected on or day and listened to a Rabbi’s sermon. His sermon really tied the day together and showed us how what we are doing during the day is really a holy Jewish thing. How the goal of Judaism is to touch lives, and that is what we are trying to do.