First Week Reflection: The ghosts of summers past

Sunday July 15, 2012

When I think back on the first week of our summer placements, countless images float to the surface of my mind:

-       Joshua’s smile as he shows me the picture he drew of a heart with the word family inside in the financial needs section of his worksheet;

-       The sensation of Gabriella grabbing my hand in both of hers and asking if she can be my assistant;

-       Xavier, determined to win the jump-rope competition, hopping like a kangaroo as the rope clicked against the pavement beneath;

-       Ashley asking if I worked at a zoo because of the crocodile on my orange shirt;

-       “You’re golfing,” says Miguel as he gave me some hitting pointers;

-       The crack of the soccer ball against faded blue wooden blanks – GOAL!

-       Isaiah and John C holding their sides laughing during musical chairs;

-       Camille’s expression as she turned into the Big Bad Wolf and chased 20 little kids screaming with glee;

-       Octavio’s low voice singing Creek as he led us in a water circle dance;

-       Evan, with his baseball cap low, sweating on the black top throwing a football with Belma.

Both placements haven’t been entirely what I expected, but I’m not sure what I expected. My summer camp memories, I’ve realized, are mostly dusty cobwebs in my minds. How did I keep order and the kids engaged as we broiled under the summer sun? I don’t remember it ever being much of a problem… possible blind spots in my memory for sure, but I think that order was maintained through constant activity. Specialists were in charge of activities that the group counselors circled the kids through.

Planning is not something I’ve seen a lot of here, but the children’s imagination and initiative sprout in the void that’s been left.  The kids organize themselves into teams and negotiate their own rules. They protest and help broker injustices. They come up with ideas for dance-offs or singing competitions—just the way I remember doing as a kid.

When I see conflict, it’s an instinct to intervene immediately to quash it, but when I’ve sat back I’ve seen that the kids can often resolve things themselves. I need to learn how to help support and guide that facilitation. For instance, before we started a soccer game, everybody clarified the rules, but then the game became so technical that it wasn’t as much fun. It probably would have been better if there had been no rules at all.

It’s also a definite transition to go from working with 1^st graders in the morning to working with older kids in the afternoon. I also have found that my discipline style has changed since becoming a mother and needing to corral the will of a rambunctious toddler, who cannot always be reasoned with. I think the carrot/stick discipline approach coupled with lots of affection works well with the little ones, but shouldn’t be my default with the older ones. I love when I catch one of the teachers at NPS in a disciplinary moments. Both Ms. I and Ms. P have used positive regard, reasoning, and humor to get the kids back on track. It's something I plan to practice over the next couple weeks.