Throughout the CAP summer and the fall, I have been quite blessed to have had the chance to learn and grow with an extraordinary group of scholars. From race, culture, and then of course humor, it has been both eye opening and enjoyable to have had as many classroom (as well as outside) exchanges as we have had.
Happy (non-denominational) Holidays
Christopher James Fraser
On the final day of service learning it was great because the students could not believe that it was over but the trust falls were not successful. We did everything like we had done the week before but there was a casualty. A girl feel but I cannot explain how she fell. There were the same amount of people and everybody was ready and the girl sat down and she fell right to the ground. I could not explain why, she looked like she was really hurt, when she got up for the mat she was saying her back was hurting and she crying of the pain. I could not believe that she fell because all was done correct I was mad because we would like bad because this happened to one of the students.
After that all of the students did not want to fall but the activity was stopped and the session ended twenty minutes early and we did not know what to do.
This was not the ideal good bye.
Peace
Edison
This was our last week of the service learning component of our exp 201 class. We handed out certificates to all of the kids for all of their hard work. When reflecting back on what they have done and how much they have accomplished and grown individually and as a team it really astonishes me. We had to write on the back of each certificate 3 things we think the kids excelled in and 1 thing we think they need to improve on. The 1st week I could have pointed out 3 things the kids need to improve and 1 thing they did well, but by the end of the program when we had to write on these certificates, it was so easy to fill out what they did well throughout the program, but for some kids it was so hard to think of even one thing they need to improve. We handed out the certificates and talked to the kids about the program in our small teams. When I was talking to my kids I was really surprised to hear how much they enjoyed the program and wanted us to keep coming back. I didn’t think we had that much of an impact on them. Right before I left the elementary school all the kids were giving us hugs and saying bye. It was so sad knowing that we would not be coming back next week. I am glad we all went threw this experience together. I think by doing so, us as an expos class have also grown as a team in many ways. We all expressed how we felt threw these blog entires and responded to questions oehter people may have been having or problems we have been having with some kids. For example, I remember I posted a blog about how my group always finished the activity early and I did not know hwat to do with the remaining time. I had many people respond to my problem and give me ideas for a soulution. We even discussed it in class which helped also beucsae I got ideas form people who may not have had the chance to read my posting. I know I enjoyed this experience so mcuht aht I want to contine with the service learning center next semester.
Sup everybody, it's me Javier with my weekly posting. This week's service learning session was our last one. We began the day with doing trust falls again. I was impressed by how the kids did the trust falls this week. They did it perfectly. Last week when we did it, some of the kids would bend their knees when they fell backwards, but this week, most of them fell back perfectly without bending their knees. My guess was that they built enough trust with one another and were therefore able to do the trust falls the second time perfectly. After the trust falls, we presented the kids with their certificates of accomplishment. They were really happy to have received them. The one thing I didn't like about the certificates was how we had to write in back something that kids could work on for the future. Some of the kids in my group didn't really like my suggestions, and I had a hard time coming up with something that the kids could work on because the kids in my group were really good. After the we presented the kids with their certificates, the gym teacher invited us to play dodge ball with them. The kids were happy to have us be part of their game. I thought the game was fun. After the game we left. I thought that our last day was a good one, and I'm glad that we got to have some type of last day special event, especially after learning that some of the people in the past didn't really get the opportunity to say bye to the kids. I hope to do something like this again in the future. Anwayz that's it for this week, take care
javy c
Dear Chris,
I have just finished the 2+2=5 program. I just got my certificate indicating that I successfully comleted all of the requirements of the program, and now I am ready to show the world that I know the difference between a group and the team. While you are now already in college, surely you know how to work within a team, how to properly listen, and important still, how to assume a leadership role. I would like to elaborate on my experiences as a student of this program and what the students from Bentley have helped me to develop within myself over the last 10 weeks.
In regards to leadership, I learned that their is a distict difference in meaning between a leader and boss; a difference in attitude, tone of voice, body lanugage, and abilities to rally a group and get people excited about whatever it is that they may be doing. A leader does not talk down to his members, but instead speaks to them in such a way that shows them that their opinion matters and that demonstrates a mutual respect. On the contrary, a boss is often harsh in tone, quick to assess and judge, and ready to dish out complaints. The kids from Bentley who came to work with us for 2+2=5 truly understood the importance of respect, and how nessesary it is to talk on the same level. I am big for my age, and tall too, but I don't even come close to those bigger college kids, so as a fifth grader, I often feel quite intimidated by a six-foot person standing in front of me, talking at me, giving me directions. It reminds me too much of being in a classroom and having a teacher stand there and lecture on a subject. A better approach, and one implemented by one of our Bentley leaders, was when they got down on one knee and addressed the group on a eye-to-eye basis. By doing this, it seemed less like a power struggle, as it did an environment where ideas and feeling could be expresses to everyone. When I have to look up at a speaker for a long period of time, my neck begins to bother me, and then in my mind, I start to associate discomfort with your instruction, and thus become turned off to whatever it is you're talking about.
The 2+2=5 program has left me with a greater appreciation for work that can be done within a team. I used to never feel comfortable with putting my grades or my possible successes in another persons hands, fearing that they could mess it up. However, through this program, I have learned that by working as a team (and not in a group) I can more quickly accomplish tasks, and sometimes even with better quality.
One of the most memorable moments for me within the program is when one of our Bentley leaders asked us what 2+2=5 actually meant. It seemed confusing and quuite contradictory to what we have always been taught about basic math. The other students responded, "That's silly, 2+2=4. HAHAHAHA." I piped up and said,
"Don't you see guys, it isn't about math. One person can build a house by themselves, but it would go better with two people. However, if all four people got together and built a house, then the final product would be better than anything one or two people could ever accomplish."
It all came out in a jumble, but i felt quite proud for developing some form of response other than the obvious one everyone else came up with. I really think that these excercises are something that will stay with me for the rest of my life, and perhaps it is something that I will one day teach others.
The Service learning part of this class has been so great because it give a twist to the meaning of Critical thinking which is what we the students of Expository Writing 201L are supposed to be learning and using it outside if the class. The service learning has just increased the sources to where we can develop and execute these abilities.
One part in becoming a critical thinker is to see it when it happens, ability to see it in other people is as appreciative as if one develops it on their own. The service learning sites were places where I could use all what we were learning in class and use it. Looking at the eservice learning one could see a lot. The develop stage, the ability to communicate, problem solve, everything happened in the service learning site. Even the interactions with the students helped because it shows what areas they need to work one and where they are strong. From past experiences the students are great. Being a “teacher” in Fitzgerald to on Friday’s being a little kid in Chesterbrook.
That was the kind of balance that is healthy. I looked a t service learning as an opportunity to get away from it all, chill around children and both benefit from the experience. I would go to Fitzgerald on Thursday, look for the students that were going participate in the activity that day. The role would change in minutes, I would tell then what to do and they would crash and burn or they would be successful. Some times it seemed like they were the teachers because the activity was not clear to me and they would tell me what to do so they would have a better time.
In one case the activity was “Star Wars” “Telling these students that they are going to play dodge ball is like telling them they have no more school they love it. They went crazy, I have not seen people play dodge ball in a long time and when I saw them play I thought they were going to kill each other. They just kept throwing the ball at like 20 MPH, or faster. There was this kid that was the best player on the opposite side and he was pretty good, he was the top player and the other team won the game twice.” ( Edison
I actually when to two places for my service learning I also went to Chesterbrook. A place where they is many different aged students the range is from 5 thru 15, ten year difference soothe activities were modified a little. I found that I connected more with the students at Chesterbrook than in Fitzgerald all because I found that in Chesterbrook I got the real kid. In Fitzgerald I got the person the Gym teacher wanted which was, sit down don’t talk and I am the boss. In Fitzgerald the gym teacher molded little military soldiers and the only way they could come out was every Thursday when we came. At Chesterbrook I believe I got the real, bold student. One that would yell, kick, scream, say I hate this activity before we presented it to them. These students at first in Chesterbrook were a case. They did not want to listen. At first had to force them to want to participate in the activity. Weeks after they were anxious to see what we were doing and they brought their friends with them so they could experience what they have.
One thing that I saw that I will not forget is a student that I have to saw he already has the Critical thinking skills he is very gifted because at the activities he is the first to say how to do the activity and it works every time. He is also an artist and in the honor role but one thing he does not believe in himself. So every week I found myself going to him and asking him how he was doing and not letting him get down. One time I asked him what was wrong with him why did he degrade his work or say he did not do it. He responded that nobody thinks I can do it. I first thought about it and just could not think how someone can tell this student that he is not talented, and has potential. I thought him that just listen to all of the positive comments people tell him because that is the only thing that will keep him going and to turn all of the negative comments and use them as motivators. I thought about all the stereotypes that all the people have on me and what they have told me some has been good and some were not even positive. I did not even like some of the people I go on self motivation.
Peace,
Edison
Who benefited more from the 2+2=5 program, the Bentley students or the children?
I think it is unreasonable to even attempt to compare on a more or less, better or worse basis which group benefited more from 2+2=5. I say this because what each group (Bentley students and children) potentially took out of the program varies greatly, thus it would be hard to compare two very different benefits.
The question I would like to answer which is rephrased and maybe is the same as above in different words is as follows; If you were to have experienced both sides (Bentley students and children) of 2+2=5 at the same time, which side would have left a greater impression on you as an individual?
According to the “revised” question I feel that I can answer the question to a greater extent. The Children’s side would have left a more lasting impression on me than the Bentley student side. I say this not only because I would be young and impressionable, but also because of the way I would look up to the Bentley students and remember the experience for years to come. For example I can remember many memories of situations where I was young and impressionable and was positively influenced by other older students. One memory which will probably stick with me for the rest of my life was a senior on the basketball team. I was in fifth grade and he explained the basics of a foul shot to me. Head over shoulders over knees over toes and create a rhythm and do it before every foul shot. This was something that stuck with me; I say it in my head before every foul shot I take, part of my rhythm. This information has almost become a part of me, but I can guarantee that the senior who told me would most likely not even remember my name let alone what he had told me.
I think that the senior represents me as a Bentley student as well as many other students. This is not to say that I have not learned anything from the 2+2=5 experience because I have, but I don’t think I took it to heart nearly as much as I would have if I had been in that 5th grade class I helped teach. I am sure, if I was in that fifth grade class, there are moments which would stick with me and things I learned in those 10 weeks that would be instilled in me for many years to come and possibly even become part of my daily rhythm of life.
I hate to say it because I really enjoy 2+2=5, but I do not believe that in 10 years I will be looking back continuously at my first session of 2+2=5 with memories that are instilled in me and that may that have helped me benefit in that same way as the students of the fifth grade class will look back on their 2+2=5 experience.
2. Respond to the following question; Who benefited more form the 2+2=5 program, the Bentley students, or the children? Explain why.
Doing the program 2+2=5 was defiantly more entertaining than I thought it was going to be. When I first heard I was going to have to go to an elementary school to work with kids I was not exited about it. I thought the kids were not going to enjoy the program and that that would then make the program impossible for me to handle. After ten weeks with the kids, I was defiantly surprised at how much I liked spending times with the kids but that the kids seemed to be enjoying themselves as well. Now looking back at the entire experience, I realize that not only did the kids benefit a great deal from the program I did as well.
I was assigned four kids to my group. They were all intelligent and were exited about doing all of the activities. They were also very competitive with the other groups and worked hard from week to week to beat the other groups and be #1 in the class. On the first week, however things were different. I believe that the kids were still a bit disappointed that they were not going to be a having a “normal” gym class and they were not really exited when they found that the program was going to be there instead.
During that first week’s activity, I think my group did not really know how to respond to each other and the activity. There was still a bit of confusion as to who was going to be the leader of the group. They all knew that in order to be successful in the group that they were going to have to pick a leader but nobody stepped up. I did not want to assign a leader because I felt that this was their program and in order for them to benefit the most from the program then they would need to make all of the decisions themselves. They did ask me a few times for suggestions and I of course gave it to them, but I wanted to make general suggestions so that they could just take what I said and applied it to the task. That first week, we were the last one to finish the task and I could see the disappointment in their face. Before they left, I told them, this is a long program and we are going to have a lot more opportunities to get the task right.
The nest week they all came in the group with a more sense of purpose. After the task was assigned and we got together in our smaller groups they told each other we are going to do this correctly and we are going to win. Now instead of there being no leaders on the group we had to strong leaders and two that had the potential to be leaders. They really started to work really well as a group and every week there would be small but significant improvement in their skills. There would be a task were they weren’t really communicating right and they would stop the entire task to remind themselves that they were not communicating correctly and that therefore they were never going to finish the task. Every week, before we even started the task, I would try to have a very small conversation to remind them what works and what does not when you are trying to work in a team. They usually did not want to have that conversation because they wanted to get started on the task to beat all the other teams. Every time that we worked in a task we beat all the other teams, except for that first week, something that they were proud of.
I was worried, however, that they were not getting the point of the task however and they just wanted to do them to beat the other teams. I did not want to get it in their head that the only reason of the program was to beat other teams at games. M not really worried about that anymore however because when we divided ourselves into bigger groups I saw all the kids applying different sets of skills to the other members of the new groups.
This program also helped me grow a lot. Since I am a freshman in college there are a few things that I needed to learn or relearn in order for me to be successful at this school. I always considered myself a good communicator, but throughout the program it made me see that I was comfortable communicating to people that I was comfortable with and that I needed to grow out of that. I learned a bit about trust and about other people's perspective.
I also enjoyed working with the kids more than I thought I was going to. I like playing with kids but the thought of knowing that you are doing something with the kids that might potentially help them, or hurt them, in the future was a bit overwhelming. Now, though, I know that I can work with kids and really try to make a difference in their lives. I am not saying that I did but it is good to know that I might have made a difference, even if it was a little one. Taking this experience and knowing that I could work with kids has made me realize that I could work with anybody. It made me see that if I could handle a bunch of fourth graders than nothing should surprise me when I am working with people my own age or older. 2+2=5 was really helped both mine and the kids way of looking at things.
Scott Morency, founder of Bentley’s 2+2=5 service learning program created the project to teach children in the Waltham area crucial skills, which are important in their educational development. His original intent was, for each child who participated in the program to get something special out of the course, which they could use later on in their educational careers. However, after completing the program as one of the instructors, I have begun to feel that the Bentley students gained more from the experience then the children.
Before the serving learning session began, we the instructors for the program were briefed on what to expect, what we would be doing, and ways to handle certain situations which may come our way. After all of this training, we then were sent to the classrooms of Waltham public schools where we taught these students vital skills which they will need later in life. The students got a lot from the experience by the activities which we performed with them; however I feel that the Bentley students gained more.
The children who participated in the program were not always present for each activity period and dealt with long breaks away from the program. In fact, the chart created by Scott Morency proves that the extended break between weeks four and five created a decline in the advancement of the children. That is why I feel the Bentley students gained more from the experience then the children who actually were suppose to. We Bentley students were briefed every week by our supervisors about our lesson for that week and what was expected of us. We then had to mentally rehearse what we would be doing with the children and how we could also relate the activity we performed to actual academic lessons which was the original intent of the program. When we then arrived on site we were forced to lead groups of different children not knowing what to expect from week to week. For example, Javier had deal with a crying child and Edison, Hitesh, and I had to deal with rambunctious children from week to week. These were not easy tasks upon our parts and required a lot of effort to deal with.
Now with the conclusion of the program, I feel that we Bentley students gained a lot from the experience. We can now deal with people of all age groups, learn how to deal with different emotions, and can relate almost anything to any aspect of education. Chances are with all the information which children are required to know now, they will not remember the majority of our lesson plans, and the fact that our activities were so fun may overshadow the lesson behind the activity.
We have hit the end of this program and we take with us the memories and experiences we saw and lived through these past weeks. I saw leadership roles and kids develop taking part on the activities. I've heard stories from others read what many have posted and concluded that this is truly one beneficial program from both sides. We started out as what we can say teachers preparing our students with skills their going to use in the long run but at the end they became our teachers in guiding us through their reactions and experiences. We saw them grow and work together, through our eyes we saw and I can assure you that everybody has taken something with them out of this experience. The big question you may ask..."Who has benefited more out of this experience?"..We BOTH HAVE!... There is no competition in learning. One may take the experiences more seriously than others and may use it in the long run and others might look past this and say it was useless. But I as a mentor, teacher, and friend to these kids can say that I learned a lot watching them overcome many tasks and working together. But I can never say that I benefited more because I don't know that. Both sides received the same experience and wen't through the same tasks. We were right there on their sides observing there every move and reactions. Who am I to say that I benefited more when I haven't heard there side. All I can say is that Yes! I benefited a lot from this program and I would of wish that I have had this experience when I was younger. Maybe my life and the way I attack certain situations would be different. I saw teamwork, something most students lack, and its soemthing sometimes difficult to teach after a certain age. That's why I'm glad for this program because we are teaching them at a young age certain skills there going to be using through out their lives. Even though I know there are going to be a few that are not going to take this skills right now seriously there going to see further along there lives that it was useful. I can surely say that I benefited from this experince a lot because I lack communication skills. I tend to not share my ideas and sit quitely while others respond and I learned through these kids that it's okay to make mistakes and sometimes say things that are ridiculous, There's no I in Team. Together they'll make it work. We have impacted the lifes of many kids aswell as they impacted ours. A Great experience.
PS. The pooh image at the top symbolizes our experience with the little ones. How we have helped them up by guiding them and teaching them important skills they will need in the long run. Preparing them to survive through a snow storm we call life by using these skills they will overcome any situations life may put them in. And they can always count on someone to help them up when they are down.
