I was reminded the other night of how much I don't know about my students, despite having worked with them for months.
We were starting a unit on transportation, and our list of possible modes of transportation included airplanes and helicopters. One of the questions was, "Have you ever been in an airplane?" The student, a middle aged man who is in the Columbian army and is in the US as part of an assignment to the Colombian embassy, laughed and said that yes, he'd been in a helicopter. One of his friends laughed and said "paracaísta"--parachutist. It turns out that he regularly jumped out of planes and copters, doing patrols around the country during the 1980s and 90s.
This description of an adrenaline-fueled soldier battling narcotraficantes didn't square at all with my mental image of this person as a laughing, joking family man who probably rode a desk. We got to talking later, over slices of pizza, about the recent violence in Mexico, and how it compared to the situation in his country in years past. As we were talking, it hit me: he'd lived through the violence when revolutionary groups attempted to subvert the Colombian state, and were committing random acts of terror as well as killing civilians. Not only had he lived through it, but he'd probably been in the military at the time, actively fighting these insurgents. This is the same military that has since been accused of committing some horrible atrocities while trying to eradicate those responsible. I'd heard about this era of violence in my Latin American history classes, but it was a sobering realization that this same man who was struggling to be able to say "I ride a bike" had regularly jumped out of airplanes over the jungle and had survived some of the most legendary violence in modern Latin American history.
It reminded me that what we learned in our pre-service training--that all adult students come to English class with a wealth of life experiences--really was true. It reminded me not to make assumptions about people, and it reminded me to keep firmly in check any feeling of superiority. It reminded me to be grateful for things in my life that I take for granted--like having grown up in a stable country, without the threat of war over my head. It reinforced my commitment to what I'm doing: giving people the skills they need to be able to express themselves in English.
Monday, April 2, 2012
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Un Semestre Nuevo
A late Happy New Years' (and happy MLK Day!) to everyone! The Arlington Works! AmeriCorps members have been quite busy since returning from the holiday break--here are some of the highlights.
At Edu-Futuro, Sarah has launched the inaugural session of after-school Spanish classes at Barret and Campbell Elementary schools. She's working with kindergarten through fourth grade students, providing out of classroom enrichment in support of the FLES programs there. The spring semester of Escuela Bolivia is off to a great start--despite snowy, wet weather more than 80 students came to the first day of class!
I'm happy to say that there were quite a few ESL students there as well; while it was fun doing one-on-one tutoring for most of the fall semester, I'm excited to be leading a real class. I'm happy to announce that the PARTICIPA classes at Hoffman-Boston Elementary are off to a great start. I'm especially grateful to have a co-facilitator, who's delivered these classes before, because the breadth and depth of information we're trying to cover is enormous. These classes are for immigrant parents, and we get into the ins and outs of the American public school system, from the general--the educational path from elementary school to a Ph.D--to the specific--for example, how to understand your child's 4th grade report card. I'll be starting ESL classes there the week after the last PARTICIPA class, and I'm hopeful some of the parents will decide to enroll in that as well. Jessie has been interviewing more mentors for ELP I and II, and is also getting ready for the ELP I launch, which is coming up this Friday--seems to be a recurring theme here, but this month has flown by!
I know that the AmeriCorps members serving with REEP have been busy as well. Skye is co-teaching a beginner level morning class, and Marie is now teaching in the evenings. I'll let them fill you in on the specifics! And speaking of REEP members, we're all happy to invite a brand-new part-time member, Sara Fry. A native of NoVa, she's teaching a drop-in class at Virginia Gardens, subbing, and assisting at the Arlington Employment Center.
Yes, that's right--AmeriCorps members are now back at the Employment Center! Sara and I are each spending half a day there, getting to know the staff members there and familiarizing ourselves with the different services they offer. Our end goal is to be able to bring some of the resources back to the CEC, so that it's easier for our students to access some job-related websites, and offer workshops on job search skills like writing a resume or interviewing skills. I'll come back with more updates when we have more concrete information; it's still in the exploratory phase right now.
We're also excited to begin planning a related part of our AmeriCorps project: how we're going to deliver technology workshops. At the moment, we're reviewing the new REEP Work Unit technology modules, and brainstorming on how to best provide our students with a finished product--a resume, for example--after comparatively few hours of instruction. Tenatatively we're aiming to offer these workshops during the REEP program breaks (the weeks of June 18 and June 25), but again, this is still early days and those dates may change.
Keep checking back for more program updates! I'll be better about updating this blog more often, and hopefully can even include some pictures in the future!
At Edu-Futuro, Sarah has launched the inaugural session of after-school Spanish classes at Barret and Campbell Elementary schools. She's working with kindergarten through fourth grade students, providing out of classroom enrichment in support of the FLES programs there. The spring semester of Escuela Bolivia is off to a great start--despite snowy, wet weather more than 80 students came to the first day of class!
I'm happy to say that there were quite a few ESL students there as well; while it was fun doing one-on-one tutoring for most of the fall semester, I'm excited to be leading a real class. I'm happy to announce that the PARTICIPA classes at Hoffman-Boston Elementary are off to a great start. I'm especially grateful to have a co-facilitator, who's delivered these classes before, because the breadth and depth of information we're trying to cover is enormous. These classes are for immigrant parents, and we get into the ins and outs of the American public school system, from the general--the educational path from elementary school to a Ph.D--to the specific--for example, how to understand your child's 4th grade report card. I'll be starting ESL classes there the week after the last PARTICIPA class, and I'm hopeful some of the parents will decide to enroll in that as well. Jessie has been interviewing more mentors for ELP I and II, and is also getting ready for the ELP I launch, which is coming up this Friday--seems to be a recurring theme here, but this month has flown by!
I know that the AmeriCorps members serving with REEP have been busy as well. Skye is co-teaching a beginner level morning class, and Marie is now teaching in the evenings. I'll let them fill you in on the specifics! And speaking of REEP members, we're all happy to invite a brand-new part-time member, Sara Fry. A native of NoVa, she's teaching a drop-in class at Virginia Gardens, subbing, and assisting at the Arlington Employment Center.
Yes, that's right--AmeriCorps members are now back at the Employment Center! Sara and I are each spending half a day there, getting to know the staff members there and familiarizing ourselves with the different services they offer. Our end goal is to be able to bring some of the resources back to the CEC, so that it's easier for our students to access some job-related websites, and offer workshops on job search skills like writing a resume or interviewing skills. I'll come back with more updates when we have more concrete information; it's still in the exploratory phase right now.
We're also excited to begin planning a related part of our AmeriCorps project: how we're going to deliver technology workshops. At the moment, we're reviewing the new REEP Work Unit technology modules, and brainstorming on how to best provide our students with a finished product--a resume, for example--after comparatively few hours of instruction. Tenatatively we're aiming to offer these workshops during the REEP program breaks (the weeks of June 18 and June 25), but again, this is still early days and those dates may change.
Keep checking back for more program updates! I'll be better about updating this blog more often, and hopefully can even include some pictures in the future!
Wednesday, December 14, 2011
Three months.
Thanks for the great introduction, Anna! I'm having a hard time believing that we have been AmeriCorps members for over three months already. The fact that our first few months here have passed so quickly is a testament to what a great experience Arlington Works! has been so far (because time flies when you're having fun, right?)
Like Anna, I serve with Edu-Futuro. I am the Spanish & Culture Instructor AmeriCorps member, aka I teach, plan, and develop the Spanish classes for children that we offer. I was looking for a job where I could speak Spanish, learn more about non-profits (specifically ones that promote education), and ideally work with children... Looks like I found it!
I came to Arlington Works! and AmeriCorps with the hope that my work would make a positive impact- for individuals, for the local community, and, with the extensive global connections present today, perhaps even for others around the world. One person's actions can make a difference in another's life, purposefully or inadvertently, and I want to be sure that my own actions encourage positive changes. A rather idealist mentality, I know, but as a 20-something, why not think that way?
More updates on Spanish Classes to come!
Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Welcome!
A bit tardy, possibly, but welcome to the Arlington Works! blog. This is a place for the current members to share their stories--how they came to join the program, what they're working on, what they hope to accomplish this year, and any additional little comments about life as an AmeriCorps member.
So, let me begin. I'm Anna C., and I'm working as a Parent/ESOL instructor with Edu-Futuro. Although I'm originally from the Northern Kentucky/southwest Ohio area, I've been in DC since 2007, when I came for college; I've stuck around ever since! I decided to apply to an AmeriCorps position after I graduated because I wanted to learn more about the community I was living in, and to do meaningful work while I'm deciding on future life plans. (If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to share!)
Let's get some basic background information about this specific project, Arlington Works!, out of the way. It's a joint collaboration between REEP (the Arlington Education and Employment Center, but much better know by its acronym), Edu-Futuro, and the Arlington Employment Center (AEC). Members work primarily with one of these three organizations. I'm serving with two other members at Edu-Futuro, and learning more every day. I've been teaching the ESOL classes since the middle of October in two different locations: a mostly Bolivian church in Falls Church, and at Claremont Elementary School, where one of Edu-Futuro's other projects, Escuela Bolivia, offers Spanish classes for children. I've also lead some parent leadership sessions, in conjunction with the Emerging Leaders Program, another Edu-Futuro project that provides mentorship and leadership development opportunities for Latino high school youth.
What's been most meaningful to me so far has been the relationships I'm beginning to build with my students. It's been fun to get to know them, and understand what they're capable of so that I can design lessons that are relevant to them and are challenging but not overwhelming. What's been challenging is motivating students to come to class, and here I'm at a loss. When we began registration for the classes at the church, we had about 20 people sign up. The largest class ever was about 15 students total, and has since dropped to 3 students in the beginner level, and 3-4 in the intermediate. What went wrong? What else can we do to motivate students to come to class, and to finish out the session and complete post-testing?
So, let me begin. I'm Anna C., and I'm working as a Parent/ESOL instructor with Edu-Futuro. Although I'm originally from the Northern Kentucky/southwest Ohio area, I've been in DC since 2007, when I came for college; I've stuck around ever since! I decided to apply to an AmeriCorps position after I graduated because I wanted to learn more about the community I was living in, and to do meaningful work while I'm deciding on future life plans. (If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to share!)
Let's get some basic background information about this specific project, Arlington Works!, out of the way. It's a joint collaboration between REEP (the Arlington Education and Employment Center, but much better know by its acronym), Edu-Futuro, and the Arlington Employment Center (AEC). Members work primarily with one of these three organizations. I'm serving with two other members at Edu-Futuro, and learning more every day. I've been teaching the ESOL classes since the middle of October in two different locations: a mostly Bolivian church in Falls Church, and at Claremont Elementary School, where one of Edu-Futuro's other projects, Escuela Bolivia, offers Spanish classes for children. I've also lead some parent leadership sessions, in conjunction with the Emerging Leaders Program, another Edu-Futuro project that provides mentorship and leadership development opportunities for Latino high school youth.
What's been most meaningful to me so far has been the relationships I'm beginning to build with my students. It's been fun to get to know them, and understand what they're capable of so that I can design lessons that are relevant to them and are challenging but not overwhelming. What's been challenging is motivating students to come to class, and here I'm at a loss. When we began registration for the classes at the church, we had about 20 people sign up. The largest class ever was about 15 students total, and has since dropped to 3 students in the beginner level, and 3-4 in the intermediate. What went wrong? What else can we do to motivate students to come to class, and to finish out the session and complete post-testing?
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