Easley 8

The last time I went to Easley, it was a Monday. The twins had homework. One twin walked in with a sad expression. The guy in charge asked her what was wrong. She mumbled, "nothing." He said, "Come here." She went to him. He hugged her and held her for a little bit. The lady in charge said, "Someone probly bein mean at school." The other twin walked in confidently and happy. She went staight to the home work room. The sad twin followed. I asked if I could help her with her homework. She knew most of the answers, but what she didn't know she didn't want to figure out and kept sayin', "Help me. Just help me." The older twin got fed up with her whining and would tell her the answer. Their dad walked in after a little bit and went straight to the happy twin. She hugged him and told him about her good day and talked about her homework. The sad twin hid her face in her arms on the table. She peered up at their dad with huge tears in her eyes. After a while, the dad said to the sad twin, "Come with me." So he talked with her for a little bit. I'm not sure what was going on. The sad twin had once told me that everyone calls her sister the "cuter twin." Man! What a complex that child must have. It must be hard being a twin, but it must be harder being a twin in a poor environment where your sister becomes smarter, more confident, and more driven because she is pampered more.

Easley 7

As soon as I arrived, the lady in charge of the program announced that there would be a meeting in the gym, "Everyone to the bleachers NOW!" It took a lots more yelling on her part for all the kids to obey her and to stay on the bleachers. Once they were all gathered, she started to shout out them for their mistreatment of the air hockey table. She told them that it was a lot of money and that it should not be ruined after a few days. She repeated herself a lot hoping to get the point across. She told them not to tattle tail if they saw kids vandalizin', but to tell them not to or they would have to pay for it; and if the parents couldn't pay for it, then they couldn't come to the after school program until it was payed for. She then took the privilege of the game room away from them for a couple of days. Before she spoke, though, you could hear the kids whispering, "Mrs. _ is angry 'bout somethin'." After the speech, the kids got up and played as usual. They were disappointed that they couldn't use the game room, but didn't seem dismayed about the speech.

Later, a couple of girls were fighting over a boy they liked. After a while of their jabbering and yelling at one another, the boy came over and sat VERY close to me. "What's your name?" He asked me. The two girls giggled and were mad that he was paying attention to me and not them. So they reached over me to hold his hand. He jerked away, gave me a playful smile and started talking to them about what the big deal was... interesting day at Easely!

Chadasha Storyboard

Final Service Learning Reflection #2

Material artifacts at Easley go unnoticed as far as written materials. I did not even think to use the resources that they have available because there was never a need during a tutoring session. The kids come in with their worksheets. That's all I've ever seen them use. Also, I've heard that their resources are not up-to-date, and I've seen that they are lacking in resources that would actually be beneficial (i.e. objects to use for visual math, games like Scrabble, etc.). The games that they have are great resources except that the foosball game is missing parts, and they have to share marbles when playing Mancala because they are lacking marbles for all of the games.

The space at Easley is put together well for what they have. They have a track and field outside, a playground, an inside gym, a space for games and tables, and a room for tutoring. I think it is funny that it is a program for after school tutoring, and yet the tutoring room is the smallest space they have. Also, the games are placed in the atrium, so they are amid everything that is going on, and it tends to get crazy out there at times. The games are right outside of the tutoring room, so they can be distracting to the kids who are trying to do their homework.

Final Service Learning Reflection #1

Like most kids who are in elementary school, there were subjects that I liked more than others. There were activities I liked more than others. There were people I liked to spend time with more than others. The kids at Easley are not too different than I was at that age in these aspects. Some of the girls that I help with homework would rather be told the answer to write down than figure it out themselves. One of the girls is good at math and likes it while other another girl would rather fill in blanks for English homework. Some girls would rather play beauty shop with my hair, and other girls would rather play "Jack in the Box" or do cartwheels. They fight with each other consistently and get along with others consistently.

Growing up, I learned how to love God and my family. A lot of these kids don't seem to understand love and care the same way that I do. They were nurtured differently than I was. They grew up in a city while I grew up in a mountain town. They are in public school while I was home schooled. They have experienced crime, poverty, and hardship in a way that I have not.

In this way we are alike and different. I can relate to them in certain ways, but I learn from them in others. It has been an eye opening experience to understand literacy in a different light.

Final Service Learning Reflection #3

Easely has taught me a lot about discourse based on neighborhood and schooling. In Lives on the Boundary (Mike Rose), he addresses the fact that his neighborhood brought him to a place where he was angry and confused and stagnant. Because the area he lived in couldn't offer much, he didn't get to see the world for all of its possibilities. I believe that the kids growing up going to the Edgehill Center and living in that area are experiencing some of the same emotions. It is hard for these kids to be motivated in their schooling when they can't see themselves living a better or different life than they are living now. It doesn't seem that these kids are being taught to do critical thinking or that they are given enough attention in school or by their families. When tutoring the younger ones, they don't want to have anything to do with homework (not unlike most kids), but they expect me to give them all the answers. They are used to being spoon fed because I suppose the teachers and parents don't have time or energy to teach them how to teach themselves. Some of the older kids are beginning to understand the importance of being able to figure the answers out for themselves. Just like Mike Rose was on the boundary of staying in his old neighborhood or branching out to learn and study, these kids have a choice. But unless someone steps up to encourage them to pursue higher education and shows them the steps to take, their lives are still on the boundary.