We have been at school full time since the last time I posted, and have been working a lot in the classroom. I have been assigned to a 7th grade class that travels together as a cohort from class to class, so I am with them for Math, Reading, and English (about 25 students). I've been focusing on getting to know them and gaining their respect these first few weeks, and have been doing whole-class support rather than small group pull-out tutoring sessions. Basically, I've been walking around the classroom when the teacher is teaching, making sure everybody is following along, and prompting them to follow along if they aren't already. If they have questions during work time, I also help them with that. It has been a really sweet time forming connections and seeing the ones who are a little hesitant to talk to me - seeing me as an authority figure - let their guard down a little and start a conversation with me. I don't want to be pushy with them.. I want them to be able to trust me as they feel comfortable, and I am beginning to see that which is cool. =]
There are a handful of students that the Lord has especially brought to my attention who may need more love an attention than others. These students are usually instigators and don't like to do what teachers or other people tell them to do. They may come from a tough home life and have experienced a lot of hurt, which is probably what has built up the walls they put up. There is such a drastic difference between students who have somebody in their lives who expect them to succeed and do well and those who don't. From what I've noticed, students who have parents or somebody that expects them to do well, are usually hard workers in class, and those who don't work hard and slack off probably don't have somebody in their life who wants them to do well. It's these students who I really want to build a relationship with. I want them to know that I care about them.. that I see who they can become.. and that I want to help them get there.
I'll introduce you to an ounce of City Year culture: Every CY Corps Member has written a "Why I Serve" statement, declaring to others and themselves why they have chosen to commit a year of their life to service. These statements are something to give you vision for the year and motivate you when you feel like giving up. I will share with you my "Why I Serve" statement: "I serve because I believe in the power that one relationship can have in motivating a young person to reach their potential." This is the vision that the Lord has given me for the year, and I think about it every day that I'm in school.
I'll share a story about one of my students who I am making a connection with. I will call him Moses because he is bright and has the words to say, but isn't very confident in them. He is a pretty quiet student, and up until a few days after I met him, I hadn't seen him smile. He doesn't talk a whole lot to his classmates, and doesn't seem to have many friends. Last week my class had an assignment to write their own short story. They were learning about the parts of a story (characters, setting, conflict, etc.). The story could be about anything they wanted and could include fantasy and things that weren't real. The teacher wanted them to use their imagination. I went over to his desk to see how he was doing with his story, and was surprised to see that he had already written it. His story was about doing well in school and about how some students wanted to fight, and they fought in one class and were still fighting in the next class, but by their last class they had decided to stop fighting and wanted to learn instead. What was so amazing to me was what he chose to write about.. he could've made up anything, but it was clear that this fighting was bothering him, and all he wanted to do was do well in school.. and the fighting was inhibiting that. And then, when the teacher asked for examples of the moral/lesson in the students' stories, he even raised his hand! (Of the 2 weeks I have been working with him, I have never seen him raise his hand in class other than that time.) He said that the moral of his story was "doing well in school," and a lot of his classmates turned around when he said that because they were so surprised that he had spoken up. He is gaining confidence in himself, and I have seen him work a lot harder this past week than the first week I was with him. It's been a cool transformation to see, and I'm excited to see him grow more. =]
I have a handful of stories about specific students that I would love to share; however, I can't share too much on here for the sake of student privacy. If you would like to know more, please ask! I love my students already and love talking about my experiences with them. =]
If you would like, I would definitely appreciate prayer for my relationships with my students.. especially the ones who have a lot of walls built up.. that the Lord would break them down and that I would know how I can show them love. I can try to love them, but only the Lord can change their hearts.
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