Hi! And I'm studying secondary education and English at Cardinal Stritch University. I just finished my third year (3 outta 5 baby!) in school and I can't wait to be a teacher. Seriously, I can hardly handle the thought of watching other teachers teach for two more years before I can have my own classroom. At the same time though, I love the education I'm getting and I really don't want to rush through it. I have some of the greatest professors and have been given really great opportunities while in college. One of which is this Summer Social Justice Study Internship that I'm about to tell you about.
This summer I'm interning at a community learning center in Milwaukee, WI. I've volunteered/worked at the center this past school year and I love it there. The center is situated in the middle of an urban apartment community and provides residents with all kinds of educational opportunities including an after-school homework club, which is where I worked. The kids who came over the school year were mostly between 2nd and 7th graders, with a couple of older and younger stragglers here and there. This program was free but parents did have to sign their kids up and sign a behavior contract. Reverend C (the big boss of the neighborhood and the learning center) really stresses the importance of regularly attending the club. And Ms. V (the boss of the homework club) stresses the importance of maintaining good behavior. I'll talk more about these things as I go along, but my point is, I think the parents get a better idea of how important attendance and good behavior is when they sign that contract. My job was to help whoever I could with his or her homework, do extra reading and journaling with the kids, and then just show the kids I cared about them by getting to know them and playing games with them et cetera. It doesn't sound like a lot, but really, it has been one of the greatest experiences I've had. My goal is to teach in an urban school someday so I feel very lucky to get a little preparation at the learning center. Even though I haven't taught formal lessons, I've learned so many things from the kids and the staff and I'm looking forward to learning more.
Now that summer is here, kids don't have homework. So instead of a homework club (that usually ran from about 3-6 Monday through Friday), the learning center is hosting a summer program Monday through Friday from 8:30am to 4pm. The summer program officially starts this coming Tuesday. Just like with the homework club, parents from the neighborhood had to sign their kids up for the program. It's free, all the center has asked for is that they sign the behavior contract.
Ms V has hired certified teachers from around Milwaukee to teach reading, math, science, music, dance, computer, and art classes this summer. This is awesome because these kids really need to keep focusing on learning even when their out of school. Also on Fridays they have field trips.
I'll be working there Mondays, Tuesdays, and Wednesdays this summer and maybe some Fridays. My first job is to be there to help the other teachers. I'm very excited for this because I'll get to pick up some of their tricks for working in an urban setting. The other part of my internship is a study. I will be talking with Reverend C, Ms. V, and the other teachers about the mission of the learning center and about urban education in general throughout the summer. My final goal is to create a reading and writing program that the center can start to use when school starts back up in the fall.
So, I guess that's why I'm starting this blog. I want to remember everything I learn as I go along. And one of the best ways for me to remember is to write and reflect about it. The other Social Justice Study interns and I have a 200 character length reflection box where we record how often we work, but that's just not enough for me.
Yesterday was the summer staff meeting and we mostly talked logistics. The more interesting part of the morning was my conversation with Ms. V after the meeting. I was planning on writing about that now, but I got sort of carried away just introducing things so I'll save that for another time in the near future. You can just be on the edge of your seat waiting for it. Peace out.
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