Reflecting

From a Naval Avenue member's reflection on his year of service:

When I graduated from college, I knew that I wanted to do something in my country that allowed me to better understand the effects that poverty had on the education of America’s youth. Almost a year later, I not only have come to understand the depths of the problems we face educating students in low-income communities, but I know that it’s something I want to continue to work toward in the future. In that regard, I can thank AmeriCorps for showing me a path that I want to follow as I aim to mitigate the educational difficulties faced by children and their families in urban areas.
I’ve also come to understand more about myself and how to more successfully work as a leader. Whether it was working with youth or with fellow members, I learned quickly how to convince others how to work their hardest toward a common goal. I learned that each individual requires a different motivating force to push them to do their best. Discovering what those forces were was one of the most enjoyable things about every aspect of our job as AmeriCorps members in this community. The opportunities AmeriCorps has offered for trenchant analysis of my own personality and the personalities of those around me have been some of the most enlightening I’ve had a chance to experience. I feel more capable to tackle the problems in urban education because of my AmeriCorps service, and I’m convinced now more than ever that it’s something we can change in this country.

The Little Things

Each morning, Alex comes running into our room, smiling ear to ear. He’s a kindergartener with so much energy that he tends to find himself in trouble more often than not. He can’t keep his hands off things and when he breaks down, screams reverberate off the walls and down the hall, or fists and forearms smash down on tables. Moving foster homes frequently will do that to a kid, it seems. So, when we get a chance to work with Alex and show him that someone really does care about him succeeding, we take advantage of it.

He comes every morning to our early reading club, and he laughs, talks, and seems to enjoy himself the whole time he’s there, usually, because he knows that we truly care about him. Seeing him finally be happy in school when we walk into his classroom or when he comes to visit us throughout the day helps us see just how important WRC members are. It's unfortunate that children with tons of energy like Alex are sometimes stifled and forced to live by rules no one has taken the time to explain to them in elementary terms. Alex is doing better in class now, and I’d like to think that we played a role in making him finally feel welcome in his school.