Hey, I just remembered we were supposed to be blogging about our volunteer experiences, so I hope its ok I'm combining my first 4 visits into one...trust me-it will be good.
My volunteering experience has been going very well so far. Every Tuesday I volunteer at Volunteers for America, teaching (tutoring/helping whatever) Somalian adults how to do math (in night school-they are all trying to pass the basic skills test for high school proficiency). Each day, they learn a new skill, and work on a new packet or page of problems. I come around and help students when they are confused or need their answers checked. There’s usually one or two other volunteers during class, but there still isn’t enough to be able to help everybody, so I’m always with someone. I teach two levels, one is pretty basic math like long division, multiplication, and subtraction. The other is the higher level, where I've helped students learn geometry and understand word problems. Although I really prefer working with the higher level students, I think I'm gaining more from working with the lower level students. The lower levels aren't usually less "smart," they just got started a little later and usually know less English than the students at the higher level. These students need more patience, and you often have to try different approaches to teaching until one works. This has tested my creativity, and has helped me learn how to effectively present my thoughts as clearly simply as possible.
I love working here because the students are very eager to learn, are capable of learning, and really appreciate the help they receive. It is great when the students ask if you'll be there the next day, but it is really hard having to tell them I can only come one day per week. I would like to come more often, but my schedule this semester is very full and It would be tough fitting it all in. One example of the gratification of the volunteering was on the second day. I worked mostly with one student, a girl named Uba, and she missed the previous day so I had to teach her what they had learned-which were geometry terms and relationships. It was hard for me to try to explain it all, and how and why it works, because some of it was one of those things where it “just is” (by definition)-and you have to accept it. She was confused for much of the beginning of the packet, but as we went along she started to understand more and more. By the end, it had all come together and she was so happy. She was so surprised, and felt like she really learned a lot about a confusing subject. She thanked me and went up to the teacher and told him that I am a great teacher, and she wanted to reserve me for next time. It felt really good, and every time I volunteer I can see different people’s faces light up when they finally understand something.
Another reason why I like working here is because it allows me to understand another culture better. I know a couple of people who are Somalian, but they have lived in the US for most of their lives and are very proficient in English. They both go to the U of M, and are smart and motivated students. It is great seeing that same motivation in the adults that I work with, it really shows that they want to learn, they want to succeed in their new home, and they want to contribute. This is a great attitude, and I sometimes feel like this attitude is missing in many of my American-born peers.
qBecause I'm surrounded by this new culture, I've learned more about their religion-Islam. Almost all of the students are practicing Muslims, and they interrupt class every day to pray together. I never realized how devoted most Muslims were in their prayer. Although I'm Christian, I've grown to really respect the religion. I'll admit, I really knew nothing about the religion until recently, I guess I never really felt a need to. But recently I've made an effort to learn more about it, and have learned many good things. Most of what I had heard about Islam is from my seventh grade history teacher (the year of the Sept 11 attacks) and the media. My history teacher was very respectful and taught us a little about the religion (like the difference between the Shiite and Sunni Muslims-we were young so it was probably oversimplified, but she tried, and that was very important for her to do-because most of our other sources (media or parents) were probably more unaware or misleading). This past week was Islam Awareness Week at the U, and I was able to go to Tuesday night's event, which was a panel discussion about The American Muslim Identity. The panel consisted of three Muslims who are very involved in the community-one is on the board of education, one was a woman who is running to be a Representative in the State's Legislature, and one is involved in a couple groups, like CAIR (Council on American-Islamic Relations). These three were very intelligent, and I learned a lot about Islam, also about it's relation to today's current situation (especially politically). I have also come to learn that Islam is very similar to Christianity, one fact that I believe many Americans don't know or are unwilling to accept. I think its important for Americans to learn more about Islam, and even other religions, in order to understand and respect other religions more. I feel like most don’t do this, however, because they are afraid of people thinking that they are unchristian, or considering converting, rather than just becoming informed. I think many Americans are still afraid of Muslims, or at least uncomfortable interacting with them, and I believe that knowledge of the religion would really help ease relations. I don’t really know how to do this, but there are several organizations who try to provide information to people wanting to get to know the religion. I think the COEXIST campaign helps a little too, in terms of raising awareness at least.
