Assessment Essay

Making A Difference:

My Experience of Volunteering at The Boys and Girls Club of America

February 27, 2012

8th Grade

Pine Point School

Eliza Griffin

For my assessment project, I volunteered at the Boys and Girls Club of America. By volunteering there I have realized how lucky I am to be able to go to a great school. Also, I have realized how important it is to help children so that they can succeed in life.

T.S When it came time for me to choose what site I was going to work at for my assessment project, I knew right away that The Boys and Girls Club of America is where I wanted to volunteer at. I knew this because I wanted to help children, especially those that need learning and writing strategies help to succeed in school. S.D One thing that I made sure that I looked for in choosing my site was if I wanted to work with children, adults, or animals. From the start, I knew right away that I wanted to work with children. C.M I wanted to work with kids because I wanted to help my generation. This is because the generation before me has helped me to succeed in my schooling and I wanted to give back. C.M. Also, I find that children are more fun to work with opposed to working with adults because children laugh easier. S.D By working at the club, I was able to pass on strategies that I was given to help the boys and girls improve for a better school year. C.M One strategy that I showed them, was how to focus on reading one line at a time.  C.M. I showed them this, by using a white piece of paper and gliding it down the page of a book after each line was finished. C.M Another strategy, was when the children had to read, and answer questions, we would read the questions before reading, so we knew what we would later have to answer. S.D Lastly, I chose to volunteer at The Boys and Girls Club of America because I realized that the children did not have the support that I was given, and I wanted to fill this gap. C.M.  I realized, that the children needed the support because there is no one for them to go home to help them. C.M When I left the club, I felt that I made a difference were it is needed the most. C.S. From choosing to work at the Boys and Girls Club, it has not only impacted the students’ lives, but my life as well. I have learned to appreciate how fortunate I am t be able to go to Pine Point School and to have all the help I need.

        T.S. Through out my visits to The Boys and Girls Club, I had to face some challenges while working with the children. S.D. For example, when I was working with Tadeka, a fourth grader, she signed homework packet, instead of having her parents sign it. C.M. When we were working on her homework, I saw this scribble that she drew on the front page. When I asked her who had signed this, she said, “ I did, but I was pretending to be my parents.” This really shocked me. C.M To solve this problem, I had to tell her that it is not okay for her to do this, and that her parents needed to sign the packet tonight. S.D Another problem that I had with the club, was scheduling visits on days that I was going to volunteer on. C.M This situation was caused, because there are many Mondays in January and February that are holidays. From Christmas break, to Martin Luther King Jr. Day I missed about five visits in total. C.M This situation was solved, because for two weeks, I went to the club twice a week on Mondays and Wednesday. S.D Having the children not feel shy around me was also a challenge that I faced while working at my the club. C.M I attempted to solve this problem, by telling the children my name, and asking them if they had any siblings. C.M Also, I asked the children about their families. C.S Having these troubles while I was working with the children, made my assessment project a harder assignment. If each kid had behaved and listened to me, I would not have to be strict with them. These struggles that I had made the project a challenge.
        T.S There, was not a single day that I volunteered, at the Boys and Girls Club feelings that I had not helped the children with their school life. S.D Each time I visited, my goal was to try to make the children laugh. C.M I would do this, by telling them jokes, that they had not heard before. One of these jokes that Tadeka really liked, was what is a fish with two knees? A Two knee fish. When I told her this joke she would not stop laughing. C.M Also, Tadeka and I share a passion for the same TV show, which is Glee. Each visit, we would discus the episode from the week before and laugh about funny things that the main character, Rachel, would do. S.D I also felt good because I taught the children strategies that their school did not teach them. C.M. The strategies that I taught them would help it so that they could reading fluently. C.M These techniques also would help the children in their school years to come. S.D. Tadeka also trusted me, and she was not afraid to talk to me or tell me things. C.M After a while, she was not shy around me, and she would ask me many questions. C.M On my last visit to The Boys and Girls Club, the children would give me hugs every time I came in and would leave. C.S By working at the club, I believe that I children have given me a good feeling, but I believe that I have given them a good feeling too.
        T.S Researching Childhood Education, this made me appreciate The Boys and Girls Club even more. S.D While I was researching, I learned that parents try to be the main teacher in their child’s life. C.M If there is only one parent, and they work, there is not that opportunity for them to teach their child because they are working to support their family. C.M. By them working, they have handed over the job of teaching their children to afterschool programs, for instance like The Boys and Girls Club. S.D. Also, I learned that afterschool programs help children so that they are ready for life. C.M. For example, the kids develop good social skills, by making friends with all the kids in the club. C.M In addition, in the beginning of each day, the club has the children be active for 30 minutes, by having P.E. S.D. Lastly, the children are not afraid of speaking out at The Boys and Girls Club. C.M. The Boys and Girls Club teaches the children to be their own person, and don’t be who your friends want you to be. C.M. There is a quote in Mr. Mitchell’s room that says “ If you don’t shape your world someone else will” .This message is what the club tells you exactly not to do. C.S. By researching Childhood Education, I understand why it is so important to have a club like The Boys and Girls Club around.
       T.S.  When I was volunteering at the Boys and Girls Club, I was working with children, and in the book To Kill A Mockingbird; the plot is mainly about children too. S.D While I was working with the children, I realized that children were a main point in To Kill A Mockingbird. C.M. I learned that you have to trust the children in order to let them to work with you. C.M. Atticus trusts the children, by letting them stay for the entire trial, because he thinks that it is important for them to listen to it. S.D Children, with their short attention span, can also be hard to work with. C.M. Atticus finds this through out the story, when his children do not always listen to him about what to do, and what not to do. C.M I also realized this, because sometimes the children just did not what to do their homework. S.D Finally, you might not be aware of it, but children really do care when you do something for them, even if it is a very small thing. C.M. For example, Jem and Scout were extremely grateful that Atticus let Dill stay with them, even though he had run away from his home. C.M. I believe, through out my visits to The Boys and Girls Club that they children appreciated me coming to work with them even if they did not say it.  C.S. Even though To Kill A Mockingbird was written in the 1960’s, the plot still relates to life in 2012.
        T.S Looking back on my seven visits, there are something that I would have done differently. S.D. First, I would of like to have changed the relationship that I had with the students. C.M. When I first walked through the doors of the Boys and Girls Club, I was shy, and I did not talk to the children, compared to how much I talked to them on my seventh, final, visit. C.M. I could have solved this problem on the first visit by trying to talk to the children more. S.D. Second, while I was volunteering there, I mostly worked with one girl, Tadkea. I would have like to have changed this, and worked with other children, instead of just her. C.M If I had done this, I would have probably felt more comfortable with the all the children instead of just Tadeka. C.M Also, I could have learned more about Childhood Education, if I had worked with more then one student. S.D. Lastly, I would have picked different days to visit the Boys and Girls Club. C.M. This is because, by visiting on Mondays after school, I would miss about 20 minutes of basketball practice. C.M. Also, there are so many holidays that fall on a Monday, that this interfered with my visits because we would not have school. C.S. Although I loved my time at the Boys and Girls Club, there are still somethings that I would have liked to have changed that would had made my time there more enjoyable.
        T.S. From working at the club, I have changed. S.D I am now aware of people’s situations at home. C.M. Kids who go to the club, do not have anyone at home with them, who actually cares about their homework. C.M This shows me how lucky I am to have a loving family, and to be able to attendPine Point School where everyone cares about you. S.D. I also feel good about what I have done, because I have made a difference in a child’s life. C.M When I leave the club, I feel good each time.  C.M. If I had a teenager helping me with my homework, like what I did with the children, I would want to do the best I could do on my homework every night. S.D I have been changed so much by working at the club that I would like to keep volunteering there. C.M. Unfortunately, you have to be 16 and over to be eligible to volunteer full time at The Boys and Girls Club. C.M. When I turn 16,in a couple of years, I might end up volunteering at the club again. C.S. Being aware of peoples situations at home have made me want to help people through out my life.
        This life changing experience of being able to volunteering at The Boys and Girls Club of has helped me understand what some children have to go through in order to succeed in school. This made me realize how lucky I am to be able to attend Pine Point School, where the teachers really want you to succeed in school. By helping at the club I understand more about how children learn, and how it is important to help them.