I just completed my fifth week at the Martha O'Bryan Center, and I wish time would stop flying by! It's hard to express just how grateful I am for having received the Turner Fellowship and being place at the Martha O'Bryan Center. There are no words to describe how much I love the kids I teach or the people I work with. They are truly a blessing to me.
We had a bit of a scare on Tuesday. We were out on the playground, and a man with a gun walked by on the other side of the fence. Ms. Marvetta, the teacher I work with, was the one who saw the gun, and she quickly told us to get the kids inside. All of the children were confused and kept asking me what was going on. I didn't want to scare them, so, I told them that it was just too hot for us to be outside. The sad part is, most of the kids are used to hearing shootings going on outside of their houses. I worry about these kids so much. This week, I had a sudden realization, even though it seems pretty obvious now. Martha O'Bryan Center is in a neighborhood that is full of gang members. We're in the Bloods' territory specifically, and it's terrible that some of the kids I teach might get sucked into gang life. I pray that they will escape that life and grow up safe and happy.
Saturday, July 16, 2011
Week 5 at BC
This last week was I believe my 5th week at Bethlehem Center - it all flies by so I find myself not being able to keep the weeks straight! I have continued work in the GED program and the Shopping Bag. Five items have sold on the ebay account for much more than they would have sold at the store, and it makes the women who work at the thrift store very happy because they enjoy being able to help Bethlehem Center in this way.
My time with the kids has been the best this week! On Thursday, Bethlehem Center hosted "Olympic Day" which it does every year. For Olympic Day, several other non-profit organizations bring their kids over for the day to compete in games and sports, and there is an overall winner at the end. This is to promote sportsmanship and inter-community relationships. Oh, and it's a blast, too! The kids were so excited because everyone got to participate in at least one event, and they received t-shirts and ate a lot of junk food! In the end, Bethlehem Centers won the overall event, which was so exciting! The kids had so much fun, and that was my favorite part - watching them enjoy themselves and work together as a team. Everyone who came to Olympic Day enjoyed it and left with smiles on their faces, including me!
My time with the kids has been the best this week! On Thursday, Bethlehem Center hosted "Olympic Day" which it does every year. For Olympic Day, several other non-profit organizations bring their kids over for the day to compete in games and sports, and there is an overall winner at the end. This is to promote sportsmanship and inter-community relationships. Oh, and it's a blast, too! The kids were so excited because everyone got to participate in at least one event, and they received t-shirts and ate a lot of junk food! In the end, Bethlehem Centers won the overall event, which was so exciting! The kids had so much fun, and that was my favorite part - watching them enjoy themselves and work together as a team. Everyone who came to Olympic Day enjoyed it and left with smiles on their faces, including me!
Wednesday, July 13, 2011
Week 3
Last week (Week 3), I transferred to the Youth Encouragement Services center at St. Luke's Community House where fellow TF Christine works. On my first day, I was a little nervous about being the new person again, but my fears quickly vanished. Within five minutes of walking into the center's gymnasium that Tuesday, Mr. Estes's (my supervisor) youngest son Johnny ran up to me and give me a big hug. I was both comforted and inspired by the love he showed me, a complete stranger to him at the time. Johnny as well as all the other children and staff at St. Luke's have been incredibly welcoming, and I am having an awesome time there. I enjoy every part of my day at camp, but I have to say that my favorite activity is Reading Buddies. Almost every morning at around ten o'clock a group of campers goes to the Learning Lab to read with Y.E.S. staff members or volunteers. I really enjoy being a Reading Buddy because I feel that it is a wonderful way to use my love for books to be both a helper and friend to the kids. Today, for example, I had a great time reading Sleeping Beauty with a little girl named Kyla and talking about Disney Princess movies with her.
Y.E.S. takes the campers on field trips ever week, and last Friday we all went to the Centennial Sportsplex to go ice skating. Since I had never been ice skating before and being the most un-athletic person on the planet, I had to cling to the wall of the rink while making my way around. Several of the campers had also never been skating, and it was fun to share the experience of that new adventure with them. One of my fellow skating novices was my new friend Passion. After Christine and Erin Ford showed her some skating basics, she glided over to me and insisted that the two of us go skating. We had such a good time trying not to fall down together, and Passion shared with me some of her newly acquired skating tips. Tomorrow we are taking the campers on a field trip to the Frist Center. I can't wait to have even more fun with the kids there!
Y.E.S. takes the campers on field trips ever week, and last Friday we all went to the Centennial Sportsplex to go ice skating. Since I had never been ice skating before and being the most un-athletic person on the planet, I had to cling to the wall of the rink while making my way around. Several of the campers had also never been skating, and it was fun to share the experience of that new adventure with them. One of my fellow skating novices was my new friend Passion. After Christine and Erin Ford showed her some skating basics, she glided over to me and insisted that the two of us go skating. We had such a good time trying not to fall down together, and Passion shared with me some of her newly acquired skating tips. Tomorrow we are taking the campers on a field trip to the Frist Center. I can't wait to have even more fun with the kids there!
Tuesday, July 12, 2011
Week 4 at Bethlehem Center
In the previous post, I said I was supposed to start week three the other week. Well, I had actually already completed my third week, and now am on my fourth week. Just got a little time confused!
My fourth week was last week (as I am now on the fifth) and I loved returning to see all the kids after I hadn't seen them for a week. It was very strange, because it seemed like nothing had changed and I was slipping immediately back into my role with them. It was great! The kids have been preparing for Olympic Day, which is coming up this Wednesday, and several other non-profits are bringing their kids over to Bethlehem Center for an annual competition between the organizations. The kids are getting so competitive!
My work in the GED program has been essentially the same, but I have been working with the same people for several weeks now and they have actually greatly improved their reading skills. At the beginning of the summer, it was a struggle for them to read aloud one passage, but now they actually come up to me and ask if they can read to me, instead of my coercing them into taking a reading session. I hope they can get their GEDs soon!
As for my work in the Shopping Bag, I am forming great bonds with the women who work in the store, especially Heather. There is a lot of down time in which Heather and I just sit and talk, and she has told me her amazing testimony and shared a lot of her life story which me. It astounded me when she was so trusting of me, and I felt so blessed because of her faith. Heather has been talking to me a lot about faith and God, and every question I ask her is rooted in the bible. My daily talks with Heather have been steadily reassuring me in my faith. I am so blessed to have met her this summer.
My fourth week was last week (as I am now on the fifth) and I loved returning to see all the kids after I hadn't seen them for a week. It was very strange, because it seemed like nothing had changed and I was slipping immediately back into my role with them. It was great! The kids have been preparing for Olympic Day, which is coming up this Wednesday, and several other non-profits are bringing their kids over to Bethlehem Center for an annual competition between the organizations. The kids are getting so competitive!
My work in the GED program has been essentially the same, but I have been working with the same people for several weeks now and they have actually greatly improved their reading skills. At the beginning of the summer, it was a struggle for them to read aloud one passage, but now they actually come up to me and ask if they can read to me, instead of my coercing them into taking a reading session. I hope they can get their GEDs soon!
As for my work in the Shopping Bag, I am forming great bonds with the women who work in the store, especially Heather. There is a lot of down time in which Heather and I just sit and talk, and she has told me her amazing testimony and shared a lot of her life story which me. It astounded me when she was so trusting of me, and I felt so blessed because of her faith. Heather has been talking to me a lot about faith and God, and every question I ask her is rooted in the bible. My daily talks with Heather have been steadily reassuring me in my faith. I am so blessed to have met her this summer.
Sunday, July 10, 2011
Week 4 at MOBC
Last week was my fourth week at the Martha O'Bryan Center, and it feels like I've been working there for so much longer (in a good way)! The people at MOBC have welcomed me with open arms, and I really love the people that I get to work with every day. I've learned so much about all the difficulties and rewards of teaching, and it is really helping me decide what I want to do with the rest of my life.
My kids manage to brighten my day every single time I see them. In the class I work with, there are many kids that have very difficult situations at home, and they have many behavioral issues because of the environments they are growing up in. When I go to work, I get to see the kids relax in what they know is a safe place. I do my best to show all of the kids the love and support they need in order to fully grow because they might not receive that kind of love in their homes. I genuinely care for all of my kids, and I can't describe how happy it makes me when I walk in the door, hear "Miss Alex!," and have kids run up to hug me.
I am so blessed to have received the Turner Fellowship, and I am even more blessed to have been placed at the Martha O'Bryan Center. When the Turner Fellowship ends, I plan on going back to MOBC and visiting everyone at least once a week. Probably more than that!
My kids manage to brighten my day every single time I see them. In the class I work with, there are many kids that have very difficult situations at home, and they have many behavioral issues because of the environments they are growing up in. When I go to work, I get to see the kids relax in what they know is a safe place. I do my best to show all of the kids the love and support they need in order to fully grow because they might not receive that kind of love in their homes. I genuinely care for all of my kids, and I can't describe how happy it makes me when I walk in the door, hear "Miss Alex!," and have kids run up to hug me.
I am so blessed to have received the Turner Fellowship, and I am even more blessed to have been placed at the Martha O'Bryan Center. When the Turner Fellowship ends, I plan on going back to MOBC and visiting everyone at least once a week. Probably more than that!
Monday, June 27, 2011
Week 3 at MOBC
Last week was my third week at Martha O'Bryan Center, and I love it more and more each day! Monday-Thursday, I worked in the classroom with my kids, and then, on Friday, I worked in the food bank. I absolutely love being with the kids, and I feel so blessed that I get to be a part of their lives. This past week, the kids started to listen to me more, and I feel like they have begun to respect me more. This is experience is great, not only because I've gotten to meet so many wonderful people and kids, but also because I'm beginning to discover if I have what it takes to become a teacher. Working in the food bank Friday really opened my eyes to how big of an impoverished area I am working in. There were many, many families that had to come get food, and a lot of the families consisted of 10 or 11 people. It also shocked me how ungrateful some of these people were of the services that Martha O'Bryan provides them. Many complained about minor things, instead of realizing how great it is that Martha O'Bryan Center is there to help them.
This week, one of the women who works in the classroom where I work left because she was moving to Georgia. It was really hard to say goodbye to her, and I was amazed to see how close I have become to the people that I work with. The kids got really upset when they heard that she wasn't going to come back, and they kept asking me if I was going to leave too. I told them that I wouldn't be there this week because I was going on vacation but that I would be back next week. One boy, Tyreese, got really upset and held onto me when he heard. Today was their first day at school without seeing me. I'm really worried that the kids will feel like I've abandoned them, and I keep thinking about them while on vacation. I pray that they stay safe and know that I will be back soon.
This week, one of the women who works in the classroom where I work left because she was moving to Georgia. It was really hard to say goodbye to her, and I was amazed to see how close I have become to the people that I work with. The kids got really upset when they heard that she wasn't going to come back, and they kept asking me if I was going to leave too. I told them that I wouldn't be there this week because I was going on vacation but that I would be back next week. One boy, Tyreese, got really upset and held onto me when he heard. Today was their first day at school without seeing me. I'm really worried that the kids will feel like I've abandoned them, and I keep thinking about them while on vacation. I pray that they stay safe and know that I will be back soon.
Week 3
Today, I was supposed to start my third week at Bethlehem Centers of Nashville, but I am taking this week off to go to Hilton Head with my family and several of my friends. I was astonished with how much I missed my Bethlehem Center family when I didn't go to work this morning! I miss the children, especially, and can't wait to return next Monday.
Last week was amazing - I grew much closer to the others working at Bethlehem Center and was blessed when several of them shared their life stories with me. They are caring enough to want to pass on these stories because they told me that they don't want me to make their same mistakes.
I worked all week in the thrift store after I worked in the GED program (before going to the Summer Discovery program) and three other girls who are actually campers at the Summer Jam program (for the older kids) have started coming in to work with me every day. Mrs. Heather had the four of us trying on the clothes and "modeling" them so they could advertise better to the teen community. It was so much fun! I also set up and have been posting items on The Shopping Bag's ebay account, and even set up a Groupon account for the store. The Shopping Bag is now officially online, and it is a very exciting process for the women who work in the store.
Finally, my day has continued to end at the children's Summer Discovery program, and I find myself leaving later and later each day. We have been playing more organized games, such as Kickball and Capture the Flag, and every time I become the target, which is so much fun when the kids are having a good time. Friday was "circus" day for the toddlers, so my kids got to participate in their circus. One of the other councilors, David, dressed as a clown and gave everyone face-paint and temporary tattoos - the kids had a blast! And of course, they were very hyper all day because of all the sugar they ate. It made for an awesome end of the week! When I had to say good-bye on Friday, it was sad because I knew that I wouldn't be there this week, but it's okay because I will be coming back.
Last week was amazing - I grew much closer to the others working at Bethlehem Center and was blessed when several of them shared their life stories with me. They are caring enough to want to pass on these stories because they told me that they don't want me to make their same mistakes.
I worked all week in the thrift store after I worked in the GED program (before going to the Summer Discovery program) and three other girls who are actually campers at the Summer Jam program (for the older kids) have started coming in to work with me every day. Mrs. Heather had the four of us trying on the clothes and "modeling" them so they could advertise better to the teen community. It was so much fun! I also set up and have been posting items on The Shopping Bag's ebay account, and even set up a Groupon account for the store. The Shopping Bag is now officially online, and it is a very exciting process for the women who work in the store.
Finally, my day has continued to end at the children's Summer Discovery program, and I find myself leaving later and later each day. We have been playing more organized games, such as Kickball and Capture the Flag, and every time I become the target, which is so much fun when the kids are having a good time. Friday was "circus" day for the toddlers, so my kids got to participate in their circus. One of the other councilors, David, dressed as a clown and gave everyone face-paint and temporary tattoos - the kids had a blast! And of course, they were very hyper all day because of all the sugar they ate. It made for an awesome end of the week! When I had to say good-bye on Friday, it was sad because I knew that I wouldn't be there this week, but it's okay because I will be coming back.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)