Service learning update 10/17- 10/21

This past week of service learning was by far the most enjoyable yet. It gets easier each day. I now feel completely a part of the Anna’s Arts program; the kids expect to see me on Tuesdays and Thursdays and the directors and teachers of the program rely on me those days. I feel like I really am contributing, and it feels awesome.

On Thursday I had an experience with one of the students that I will never forget. I had been working with this particular third grade boy on his homework since he got to our program directly after school that day. At his school the teachers give out packets every Monday and the entire packet is due by that Friday, so we were working our way through, as usual, trying to finish everything up. The last thing we do is to go over spelling words, his least favorite area of study. It was about 6:40 by that time, and the kids leave at 7. I called out his first word, and he was very hesitant to spell it, as usual; however, that day was worse than most, and he actually started crying. I asked what was wrong and he told me, “What about my project?” It was then I found out that he had a major project due the next day that counted as 25% of his reading grade; it required him to make a display board of a favorite family recipe and write a paragraph of why it was his favorite. With his current grades, failure to complete the assignment would lead to him failing reading. I had to get the director of the program, and together we walked the student home, and talked with him and his grandmother (his primary caretaker). He was hysterical by this point, and we found out that he couldn’t do the project because his grandmother not only could not afford the materials required to make it, but also could not read; therefore, she was unable to help him with his “family recipe” project. The grandmother did not seem phased by this at all as she stood there with a 40 oz. in her hand; it was really heartbreaking. Luckily, the director of our program was able to contact his school, get him an extension, and he will finish the project with us at Anna’s Arts next week. So many of these kids are so victimized by their circumstances, and at Anna’s Arts we are trying to teach them to break the cycle.