If I Could

Today will be my last entry for this journal as next week will be my last visit to Skyline Tower this year. It was another normal day in the Homework Center. Right when I got there, I saw kids ready to come in for help and we immediately sat down and got to work. The first young girl I helped was very confused by her assignment, as was I. We went over the directions multiple times and finally decided on what they were telling us to do. This was an interesting experience because it would have left children with non-English speaking parents at a disadvantage if they did not have a homework center to go to. The assignment’s directions were very unclear and difficult for me to understand, let alone a first grader. I thought about how many assignments are tough to understand unless someone is there to help another.

This made me think how beneficial the service that Skyline Tower provides is. It not only helps the children with homework, but it also helps them learn how to approach their education. The residents are very lucky to have the Homework Center. With an increasing immigrant population, more and more children in the Twin Cities area will have parents who do not speak or understand English. Homework assistants programs are going to be a necessity for many children in order for them to achieve an appropriate education.

I just wanted to thank all of the staff at Skyline Tower for allowing me to come and experience the great time they have there. I really learned a lot about the kids, their cultures, and service in general. Thank you all again.

Photo Citation:
http://i147.photobucket.com/albums/r319/fiascostore/thanks.gif

Posted by Daniel at 9:11 PM | Permalink

This past week at Skyline Tower the children came and went as usual. A few of them stayed around after they finished their work and this was nice because I got to know them a little bit. I think I only helped a handful of kids or so but I really enjoyed it because I was able to spend time helping them on specific problems and could go at a pace they understood because there weren’t a lot of other kids to make noise. When they finished, most of them left and went home or went outside to play.

A few of the children wanted to stay and play board games, and the supervisor approved so they got out Mancala, Connect Four, and chess. I played a couple of young girls in Mancala and I was not successful at all; both of the games were blowouts. As I played the second game I remembered some of the strategy from the days when I played, but by that time, it was too late.

A little bit later, another girl had finished her homework and wanted to play chess. This was the same girl from the week before who told me that she was on her school’s chess team. I was helping another young boy with his reading homework so I told her to play with someone else. A few minutes later when I had finished helping the boy with his homework, I noticed that she had taught another student how to play. I was very impressed that she knew the game well enough to teach it to someone else. I had always thought of chess as a game played by wise, older people, and I was intrigued by this young girl’s interest in the game.

This past week was the last week for tax help in Skyline Towers so many of the children had to be back home before that service started. I’m really looking forward to next week when they will get to stay later because I think that the Homework Center will be a little bit busier.

Posted by Daniel at 2:33 PM | Permalink

Two weeks ago, the Homework Center at Skyline Towers was very similar to the previous few weeks. It was pretty slow at times due to the tax service they offered for the parents (many parents want their kids home before they go to the tax service). Also, as the weather got nicer outside, fewer and fewer students seemed to come; however, there were still a few of rushes when kids filled the Homework Center. The kids who were there were those who had been there consistently all semester. Most of their questions were math related dealing with a variety of subjects like long division or multiplication of fractions. Most of them finished quickly and either went outside to play, or stayed around and played board games.

Chess was one of the favorites this past week and I was surprised that kids that young knew how to play. I played with one girl who was in second grade and was on her school’s chess team. She knew how to play and did rather well for her age. I talked with one of the other volunteers and we began thinking what a great idea it is to teach young students chess. It involves strategy, thinking ahead, and a player must be aware of multiple threats during the course of a game.

Posted by Daniel at 10:54 PM | Permalink

This past week was different from any other this year. The sun was finally out and it was beautiful outside. As a result of the nice weather, the students in the homework center had a tough time focusing on homework. We decided to motivate them to finish quickly so when they were done with their work, they could go outside and play on the playground.

I did not go outside with the kids, but as I stayed in the homework center, I noticed how productive they were when they had something to work for. A simple incentive for finishing work quickly really accelerated their pace. I do not know if the warm weather rejuvenated these students or whether they just wanted to play outside, but either way, I saw what they were capable of.

Another thing I was able to do this week was help one boy with homework on the computer. He had a research project to do for his science class on water. I sat there and just helped him with web addresses and print out pages. I thought he would just use these pages to take notes but when we got back to the table, I noticed he just glued the sheets directly onto his cardboard display.

I asked him about this and he said that he had done this the past few projects as well and that he received ‘A’s’ on them. Another volunteer and I, astonished at this, suggested he read the material and make his own ideas from the information; but he proceeded to finish his project. After seeing this, I realized the impact the internet has on education. It can be an incredible tool when used correctly, however, when teachers fail to teach their students how to do research, it can produce awful habits and eventually, consequences.

Image Citation:
http://www.manchester.gov.uk/images/recsun.jpg

Posted by Daniel at 11:13 PM | Permalink

Posted by Daniel at 11:49 PM | Permalink