While I was enjoying a three week vacation from students, two of which I spent in the comfort of my “home home” in New Jersey, many of my students were, to be frank, bored. Three weeks with no classes is a wonderful reward for college students who study their butts off – or don’t – for a semester. But for elementary school students who are still learning study skills and how to be successful, three unstructured weeks is a nightmare. On Monday, the kids were actually excited to be back in school. They complained of being bored at home, and expressed their gratefulness for having a full day of activity between school and Urban Compass (although they still complained come homework time.)
What’s worse is the stories they told of what went down in the projects over break. There’s no knowing what really happened, but as I listened to these stories and imagined them through their eyes, I was scared and sad. “Ms. G,” one of our fifth graders told us, “there was a war in the projects over break.” Another students’ mom was jumped and robbed of a necklace when walking her kids home. Another students’ cousin was shot. The kids’ reactions to these incidents is confusing. They appear sad, but tell the stories so matter-of-factly that I can’t tell gravity of the situation. Not that it matters, really.
This week has been a good one, productive in the office during the day as well as with the kids. I was so excited to see them on Monday, and am grateful that they all came back to the program safe and healthy. Of course by the end of the week I’m exhausted again – that hoarse voice that my mom hears on the phone when we chat during the week hasn’t had much of a rest once program time rolls around. My frustration levels are constantly in flux: in one moment I’m laughing at the hilarity of a five year old playing freeze dance, but in the next I’m so frustrated with a first grader who won’t speak to any of the teachers, and won’t even try to read.
The laughter, though, outweighs the frustrations. Today, I taught a fourth grade boy how to throw a football. Though I don't claim to be a football expert, I've gotten a lot of practice in the last few months and showed him how to hold the ball. This student is particularly challenging - he has trouble controlling his anger and is often mean to other kids, especially if he doesn't get his way. He's a tough nut to crack, and often prefers to play with his first grade brother than kids his own age. Today, for the 10-15 minutes that we were playing catch (the longest I've ever held his attention), the smile on his face didn't go away. He was so proud of himself for being able to throw...he's pretty good! And when I threw to him, he was so excited and yelled, "Ms. Z I catched it!" when I turned to talk to another student. I did a little victory dance for him and he started laughing. I was so proud of him, and honored when he asked me at the end of the day if we can play again tomorrow.
This past weekend we had a few houseguests to Casa DK, and threw a party for the LA JVs, a few former residents of DK, and volunteers from other groups. Otherwise, the weekend consisted of watching playoff football (bye bye Eagles) and bowl games (bye bye other Eagles). This week has been low-key, with most of our energy and excitement going towards planning our spontaneous trip to Vegas this weekend (yes, really!) and making plans for Julie’s birthday!
That’s all for now. I’m a few hours early, but Happy Birthday Mom!!
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