The Halls in the Big Apple

My family visited... 3 week ago now. (Sorry it took so long!) It was quite the good time. We rode the subway in circles for fun. It was really great to see them though and fun to show them around the city a little bit. I also got two large bins of clothes and the carpet remnant from our living room. The carpet may seem like a small thing but since our living room has been (VERY) slowly coming together since we moved in, it's nice to have.

Run Like You Mean It

Today was the New York City Marathon! My roommate, Ami and I had the opportunity to volunteer by passing out Gatorade at the 15th mile. We got there around 10:30 when they were still waiting for the runners so we got to see the front runners. The women came around first and then the men. Overall, they said that there were 41,000 people running the race and they were from all over the world. It was really cool because people wrote their country or their name on their shirt so we could cheer them on a little more personally. It definitely inspired me and I'm considering training for the marathon next year. I will definitely run the NYC marathon before I die. It was a pretty cool experience!



Runners from up above.
This is where we were standing to hand out water.

We had to run to the other side so we could get our t-shirts so I ran we ran in the marathon for about 8 seconds!

Starfish!

Well, almost as promised, it's time for an update!

As I said before, last week was our first week of our after school program. We have a group of 4th & 5th grade boys on Tuesdays so today was our second lesson. Luckily, I can report that today went better than our first day! We quickly discovered on the first day that all but one of the boys had been through the program multiple times before. Therefore, all the call and responses, the starfish "pledge" and the rest of the starfish culture that we were trying to introduce was irrelevant.

This time around, we made both of the games competitive. To give you an idea of the challenge, the City Year team from last year advised us to make the boys run before trying to start the lesson. Last week, I had the boys stand on the line and told them to run to the end, run back and stop. They ran to the end, ran back and then went crazy. A few boys stayed at the line. Others ran back to the line, others ran to the other side of the gym. Considering it was our first activity, it didn't seem like a good sign. They still have a hard time listening to or following directions but we're working on it and trying to find ways around it. For instance, today I decided to change the game to a relay race. I cut out a bunch of starfish and put them on one side of the line. They got into teams and had to get the starfish from one end, run back to their team and place the starfish on a plate at the end of the line. This way, they had to take turns and it was a COMPETITION! This is probably the biggest thing with boys. Luckily, there were no sore losers today, even when some of the boys were bragging about their wins.

Overall, today felt like a breakthrough. After such a rough time last week, it was great to see the outcome of the day. We also played a game with carpet squares where they had to get across to the other side of the gym without touching the floor. They really had to work as a team to figure out how to get across. The best part for me was when a boy who didn't want to participate at all ended up winning the game. He was so excited and all the boys were really getting into the competition.

City Year is proving to be just as challenging as they promised. I can tell it's going to be a great year, I've already learned SO much and it's just the beginning. But we are doing so much work, especially because of the way our teams are set up. I am working on a teamlet with one other girl, Jen. Normally, when writing starfish lessons, the team would only need to write (or revise for the first unit) one set of lessons for all of their groups. Jen and I are working with 4/5 grade boys, 4/5 grade girls and also 6th graders. This goes back a ways but the first day I worked at the Riis (our after school facility; we work with their staff and into their program) was a... challenge. I sat in on the 6th grade classes art lesson. To say they were disruptive is an incredible understatement. They were lectured the whole time and hardly got through any of their lesson. It was clear that the respect for the teachers was lacking.

So when I heard that we were doing starfish with the 6th graders, I knew it would not work. Jen and I decided to change the program from the beginning. We didn't really know what we were changing it to but the introduction was pretty easy to wing. We tried to put the emphasis on community service and things they would like to talk about. We cut out a lot of the things they had done before, such as the pledge and PT (physical training). Anyway, because we are working with this group as well, we are writing extra lesson plans every week. It means we have to be extra creative and think of things that entertain a group that we have very little experience with. Because of the things the kids in this program are exposed to, it is unlike any situation I have been in or any kids I have worked with. It is going to take a while to gain their trust and figure out what they are really interested in but I have faith that we're going to find a way around our obstacles. Tomorrow will be our second day so we'll see how things go.

While the Riis is the most challenging part of my day, I'm also working for 4 periods with a 4th grade class at P.S. 111. They are amazing. The kids are really fun to be around. I walk around during their reading or writing sessions and have them read their work to me. There are quite a few who always want me to work with them which is great. I know I need to build the relationships so that I can help the substitute teacher when my current teacher goes on maternity leave in November. Overall, they're a great class. I feel very lucky because I sat through some pretty difficult classes during our observations.

While the students can be challenging, the teachers are probably everyone's biggest complaint. The disrespect, sarcasm and straight up rudeness is so sad to see. Burnout is so apparant in some of the teachers at the school. One of the girls in the program, Ana, is trying to get moved from her 2nd grade classroom because the teacher is extremely difficult to work with. The worst part for me is seeing how they are disrespected and how privileged I was as a student. It's so sad.

Remind me to tell you the story of how they take disruptive kids to the hospital...

Getting into P.S. 111

Sorry for the long delay in posts! So much has happened which is really exciting but it also means that we've been incredibly busy. Last week was our first official week in the school. We spent a lot of time in our "office". It's actually an old locker room. It's great though, nice and spacious and we have our own bathroom. Our mini-fridge and coffee maker are probably the highlights. We spent a lot of time planning last week. We were getting ready for the programs we are starting this week.

On Thursday, we had an assembly to introduce ourselves to the school (well, k-5). We were all a little nervous because most of the students already know City Year pretty well and the assembly was 50 minutes long. Fortunately, it went really well! The kids were as well behaved as could be expected for sitting in seats the whole time. We played Peel the Bananas with them which must be their favorite City Year activity. They all knew it and went crazy, even the 5th graders.
It goes: peel bananas, peel, peel bananas (repeat), smash bananas, smash, smash bananas (repeat) eat bananas, eat, eat bananas (repeat), Go bananas! Go, go bananas!
That is just so you all know the words when I come home and need someone to do the banana dance with. It's hilarious and the kids love it.

I'll post more soon (hopefully tomorrow!). I miss you all and love you!


(the crazy P.S 111 team)

P.S 111

Today was our first day in P.S. 111! It was great! We walked around the school and then saw our office, which is an old locker room. It's a great space and we have our own bathroom. It may seem small but we have a secure place to keep our things and work on lesson plans for the programs we'll be running. Other teams have a closet sized space for their office. After getting the tour we observed a couple classrooms. I watched kindergarten, second grade and a fifth grade room. We didn't interact with them much until 5th grade when Ana and I helped with an experiment. A lot of students said hi to us in the hallways and every time we walked by a classroom we'd hear: "There's City Year!" It was really great to hear the excitement in their voices.
We sat in on their lunch period and I hung out with a group of 3rd graders. One girl talked for 5 minutes straight but they were all really excited and had a lot of questions. She latched onto my arm and told me she didn't want me to leave when they were going out for recess. The group was really diverse, as is the school. The one boy at the table was from Ecuador, one girl from somewhere in Indonesia, and another girl from Bangladesh. They were quite entertaining and it's great to see such diversity. I'm sure they'll have great stories. In the 2nd grade classroom a boy read a composition in front of the class and the teacher congratulated him. She said he had come from Mexico last year and couldn't speak any English when he first arrived. It's already inspiring.
It was something of a realty check being in the school, though. I know I've been sheltered but it really surprised me that a recurring fascination was my blond hair. A 5th grader even felt it and asked why it felt so soft. I knew that I would stick out a little bit because I'm white but I didn't realize how my blond hair would be such an attraction as well.
I can tell that I'm going to have a lot of stories throughout the year just after being there one day. The kids were hilarious. Sadly, two of the teachers we observed were... rough. They were quite short with the kids, even a little sarcastic. But the 5th grade classroom was observed was great. The kids were really into the science experiment and the teacher had strict, but fair, expectations of them. I realize that everything is different when there is an observer in the classroom so we'll see how the year lays out. It was a great first day though!
We are going back to the school tomorrow morning for more observation and then we'll be at the Basic Training Retreat in New Jersey Wednesday through Friday. It should be fun, an experience that will take me back to Camp Concordia, I'm sure. Then, the following week we'll continue observations and have our Opening Day Ceremony. Full-blown school is coming soon!

The Power of the Uniform

Tonight, I had one of those experiences that I'll probably remember for the rest of my life. For me, it's usually the simple things that stick with me. There are a few stories from Beaners, an influential teacher, and a couple of memorable moments that I will probably always remember. (If you're ever wondering what they are, ask me. I love talking about them because they are probably the most influential events in my life.)

It all starts with trying to get a library card from the New York Public Library. If New York City is a Zoo, the library would be the monkey exhibit. I had gotten out of training and thought I would quickly walk down to the library. One of the rules in City Year is that you're not supposed to jay walk when you're wearing your uniform. Well, the library was about 25 blocks from training and stopping at almost every street corner mean that the walk was not quick. Anyway, I made it into the line to get my library card. As it turns out, I let one person go ahead of me and got cut in line by another woman. It took 30 minutes of standing in line to get to the desk and when I got there, the man said his desk was closing. He gave me the form and told me to meet him at the other desk. By the time I finished filling it out, everyone had gotten ahead of me again. I decided to fill out the application online.

Here's the real story (finally!). =)
I got off the subway at our station and passed a man with a cane about to go up the stairs. He looked pretty unsteady and was carrying a bag in one hand. I asked if I could carry his bag up the stairs for him. He obliged and we made the 20 minute trek up the stairs. Robert talked to me the whole way up. I learned that he was in the service for 15 years and served during the Cold War. Well, we got to the top of the stairs where there's a fruit stand maybe 5 yards away. Unfortunately, for this man, that is quite a distance. He asked if I could buy him some fruit and told me to pick something out for myself. The lady at the fruit stand knew him and gave me a free banana for helping him.

I then accompanied him across the street to a convenience store to buy the paper. He then insisted on buying me a cup of tea at the donut store on the corner. When we first sat down, another man came in off the street and approached me, saying that he had heard of City Year (I was still wearing my t-shirt) and he told me that he appreciated everything we were doing. But I sat with Robert for half an hour while we drank tea.

Luckily his residence was on the way back to my apartment so I carried his bags back for him (which took half an hour to walk one block). Robert lives and works in a Christian housing facility for people who would otherwise be homeless. He started living there after he returned from the Veterans Hospital. He was never homeless but lives there to help out with the day to day functions and oversight of the apartments.

All in all, the trip took over 2 hours but it was completely worth every minute I spent with him. When we got back to his apartment, we stopped to pray. He thanked God for me and prayed that He would keep me safe.

I apologize for this incredibly long story and I probably lost everyone after the first, boring paragraph. :) But this is exactly the type of impact I wanted to have when I came to New York. Fortunately, the community and its members are also having a huge impact on me as well. I'm going to learn a lot more than I initially imagined.

First week of City Year!!

This past week was our first week of training. We'll be training for a month, hopefully to be fully integrated into the school by October. It's been really great so far, which I partially attribute to having a really fun group. We were divided into teams of around 10 people. It's similar to the way we'll be divided when we get into the schools. I ended up in the same group as my roommate, Ami, and we got pretty tight with our group. Next week we're reassigned to different groups to see how we interact with different people. It will be interesting to be with a different team but I like the emphasis they are putting on forming effective group dynamics. Other than that, there's been a lot of team building exercises and general training about the areas we'll be working in. For instance, we learned about Hunt's Point in the Bronx where four teams will be serving. Only 24% of middle school students meet city and state standards for math and only 26% meet the standards for reading. 84% of the students in the school district get free lunches. Although this is probably one of the worst neighborhoods that City Year is involved in, it's likely not much worse than Long Island City.

Overall, City Year has done a really good job at inspiring me. Some of the things that I initially thought were childish make perfect sense to me now. They use simple tools like one person raises their hand when the group is talking and slowly the rest of the group will raise theirs and stop talking. When I first saw it, it reminded me of summer camp in middle school. But with almost 400 people in one room, simple things like that help focus the group. The uniform was another thing that I was hesitant about. Then, they talked about how the kids, teachers, and community recognize the uniform and automatically assume positive things about City Year members. I think it will be a great feeling to walk into school the first day and have kids get excited to see me there, just based on the reputation of the organization.

Since I haven't taken any pictures in orientation, I'll post a few quotes instead. =)

"This world demands the qualities of youth: not a time of life but a state of mind, a temper of the will, a quality of imagination, a predominance of courage over timidity, of the appetite for adventure over the love of ease." - Robert Kennedy

"Our deepest fear is not that we are inadequate. Our deepest fear is that we are powerful beyond measure. It is our light, not our darkness that most frightens us. We ask ourselves, Who am I to be brilliant, gorgeous, talented, fabulous? Actually, who are you not to be? You are a child of God. Your playing small does not serve the world. There is nothing enlightened about shrinking so that other people won't feel insecure around you. We are all meant to shine, as children do. We were born to make manifest the glory of God that is within us. It is not just in some of us; it is in everyone. And as we let our own light shine, we unconsciously give other people permission to do the same. As we are liberated from our own fear, our presence automatically liberates others." - Marianne Williamson

Also, I'll post a few links to the youtube videos from City Year.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AiVKDXLlh9w&feature=channel
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y1s1KJJ3Ir8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6baLf10vstQ&feature=channel