Assessment Project:
Volunteering For Children
An Essay by Inpyo Hong
8th Grade English
Pine Point School
February 29, 2011
Introduction
Liz Armbruster said, “I brought children into this dark world because it needed the light that only a child can bring.” The work site where I chose to volunteer with Boys and Girls Club of America for young children is Claude Chester School. I researched from many internet sites and from Pine Point Database to find about young children in Connecticut, young children in the United States of America, Boys and Girls Club of America, Claude Chester School, education for young children, and afterschool to get more information than I knew and to understand young children and their difficulties. In addition, working at Claude Chester School has some relations with To Kill A Mockingbird in various ways. From participating in this service learning project, I have gained a life experience that has changed the way I think of extended day programs and the kids who attend them
Body #1
There are numerous reasons I chose Boys and Girls Club of America for my assessment work although I vacillated between working for animals and working for young children. First of all, I actually hoped to volunteer for young children with homework, study, snacks, exercises, and behaviors. I wanted to help young children rather than animals and the elderly people because I have volunteered a lot for the elderly people and animals back in Korea, so I wanted to help other people. Furthermore, I felt more comfortable with young children than any other people or animals because I am an active person who can communicate with young children very well. Secondly, Rosenberg family told me about Boys and Girls Club of America when I told them that I had an assessment project for English class. Mrs. Rosenberg told me what and how Austin worked at a school with Boys and Girls Club of America staffs, and I was fascinated by the works he has done. Also, Austin even recommended me by saying, “there will be many interesting things if you actually work for Boys and Girls Club.” Lastly, I expected to see how young students can be changed to better students than before, by me. I expected this because I have seen many young children having a bad attitude at everything and I honestly wanted to teach them how to have better attitudes, how to behave well, and how to respect others. Besides, I believed that I would feel very successful if I change them, and I also believed that I would enjoy my work either. Therefore, Boys and Girls Club of America was an apt job for me to choose for my assessment project.
Body 2
There were some challenges for Boys and Girls Club of America at Claude Chester School although I chose this job with a great expectation. Firstly, one of the problems that were very difficult for me was a racial problem. Since I am from Korea, few students at Claude Chester School made fun of me with Asian languages, and they did not listen to me. I had to compose myself and try to stop their malicious behaviors even though I was very enraged. Second of all, these young children at Claude Chester School are very wild and hyper. For instance, they got very talkative and noisy sometimes; they talked and shouted during the study-hall time, the time when they have to do their homework, and did not do their homework. Plus, it was very exhausting to stop their conversations because they started their conversation in a minute again. Finally, I tried to have conversation with the very young kids who were bashful, but I could not. I always asked the young students if they had any question during the study-hall time, and I also asked them what they were doing in their free-time. However, most of the young kids always answered, “No,” even though they had one; they were too shy to talk to me. Thus, there are few challenges such as racial problems, the young children being too hyper and loud, and insufficient conversation that I would pick for the most difficult challenges I had at Claude Chester School.
Body 3
Although I had some challenges at Claude Chester School, I believe there are few beneficial and helpful jobs that I did and worked very hard for the young children at the school. One of the good works is that I helped them with their homework very effectively. For example, some of the students at Claude Chester School have some disabilities such as learning and concentrating disability; they could not give their full effort and passion on their homework. Thus, I aided them to concentrate on their homework by helping their homework with making them consider their homework, and making the young students quiet. Furthermore, I eased the Boys and Girls Club of America staffs’ solitudes for the students, and their jobs. For instance, it is very arduous to make them quiet and to play a game with them. I tried very hard to make the young children silent in the study-hall time, I helped them with their homework, and I always played with them during the free-time. Moreover, I satisfied the young students who seemed they did not have a friend to play and talk with. I gratified them by complimenting them; I praised the object they drew and what they wrote about. Also, I made them laugh out loud by saying the jokes that I heard in English class and giving my full interests on their stories about family, school, and friends. Most of the benign jobs that I did were helping them with doing something for the young children, talking to them, and playing with them.
Body 4
Instead of only working for the young children at Claude Chester School, I did some research about young children that supported me to understand about children, students, and education of the United States of America. I learned about how much the different classes of society may affect young children’s education. For example, 29% (about 70,617) of young children’s families get low-incomes in Connecticut; 80% (about 14,280) of young children’s parents do not have a high school degree, and they are in low-income families (NCCP). Moreover, I found that these facts may affect “young children at risk of adverse outcomes, health problems, development, and lower school achievement” (Early). Furthermore, I earned some essential information about Boys and Girls Club of America. I learned the mission for the programs they do; their mission is “to enable all young people, especially those who need Boys and Girls Club most, to reach their full potential as productive, caring, responsible citizens” (Boys). Moreover, I found about the young students who have difficulties with graduating and attending a school. I found the fact that “in 2010 graduating class, three out of ten young people did not make the grade” (Boys). I also learned that the low graduation is occurred by an “unemployment, poor health, and crime and drug use” (Boys). Hence, my research extended my ideas of children in the United States of America who live in a low-income family and who have some problems with graduation and attending a school.
Body 5
From my work site, Claude Chester School, I can find many relations with the themes in To Kill A Mockingbird. First of all, one of the most significant themes in To Kill A Mockingbird is tear, which is related to my job at Claude Chester School. For example, Jem cries when Mr. Natan Radley put cement in the knothole to stop Boo Radley trying to communicate with Jem and Scout. Likewise, a young girl at Claude Chester School cried because I pushed her accidently while I was trying to get out of the crowd that were grabbing me, also a young male student cried after I pleased him to respect people because he kept hitting his friends. Secondly, there were few “circles” at my work site as the book, To Kill A Mockingbird, has “circles” of themes. The author of the book tells the main stories that happened in the book in the last chapter. Every time I visit Claude Chester School, the young children were always hyper and wild at first, but they became quiet by me and Boys and Girls Club staffs. Finally, there are numerous “quiet heroes” in To Kill A Mockingbird who lead the whole situations, and there is a similar “quiet hero” in Boys and Girls Club of America. Miss Maudie is one of the “quiet heroes” who leads and ease a bad situation unnoticeably. As I have said, Jeremy mostly controlled the program, yet Kolton, a staff of Boys and Girls Club of America who I believe is a “quiet hero,” inconspicuously volunteers to make the kids quiet and help the young students what they had to do. Therefore, my work site with Boys and Girls Club staffs and To Kill A Mockingbird are related in some ways with themes and repeating stories.
Body 6
Although I believe I have done my work very well at Claude Chester School, I could have worked differently and better. One of the bad habits that I had at Claude Chester School was that I was rigid to the young students. I became a little bit too strict to the young children because they did not respect me and they were extremely vigorous. I might have changed my attitude to be more benevolent, friendly, and generous to the children. Also, one of the things I could have worked better was that I did not have any special subject to teach and play with the kids. For example, I always went to Claude Chester School with only a digital camera, but nothing else; Daniel always brought his art tools to teach and draw with the young children, and this made me jealous because I did not have anything for the students. I could have taught them Mathematics, my strongest subject, by exciting and interesting problems and activities. Furthermore, I did not have much conversation with the kids except helping their homework and playing with them. I believe the reason why I could not talk to them much is because I also became less talkative, but still active, after I became strict to the young students. I want to talk to them and learn about them if I get a chance to visit Claude Chester School. Thus, I could have worked better by being benevolent, teaching them a specific subject, and talking to them; I will visit Claude Chester School with different attitudes, more materials for the young children, and I will talk to them a lot if I visit Claude Chester School next time.
Body 7
Working at Claude Chester School with Boys and Girls Club of America for the young children has helped and changed me to comprehend about the young children. First, it now changed me to feel about young children in the United States of America differently than before. I found that many young children have disabilities and difficulties with studying from my visits and researches. This fact now makes me to feel that I need to help young children if they truly need my help. Second, this opportunity helped me to be more active and friendly with the young children. I became one of their best friends by helping their homework and playing with them. Also, my feeling of uneasiness about young children is gone now, and I feel more comfortable with young children. Moreover, I learned how to teach young students effectively and how to help them to do something by themselves. As I helped and taught them with their homework and made them what to do, I also learned some skills of controlling young children. For example, I always grabbed a piece of paper when I went to Claude Chester School to take notes which student behaved well and which student behaved badly; this skills made the young children to behave better than before, and the skills made them even quieter. Hence, my work at Claude Chester School and the assessment project changed me to help young children more, to be active, and to teach them more effectively in various ways.
Conclusion
Consequently, these experiences that I had at Claude Chester School for young children were even beneficial to me. The most significant skill that I learned from this work is teaching and controlling the young children so they can do something by themselves with less help. Moreover, I strongly believe that this skill would be applied to future events. I also enjoyed my work at Claude Chester School with Boys and Girls Club for the young kids; I made many young friends, and I had so much exciting times with them by playing with them and helping their homework. Although they were wild, hyper, and disrespectful at Claude Chester School, they are gentle and warm-hearted friends of mine in my memory.
