Interaction at last

My second day of service learning was a little more interactive but not much more. I however did learn about some problems the school is facing. I learned about how the kids at the school are quite unruly and are disciplined quite often. There was one student in particular that the faculty was talking about that was recently suspended for the fourth or fifth time. That got me questioning and brought concern about his home life to the forefront of my mind. If conditions are bad at home those conditions can easily bring out negative emotions and such that are easily duplicated in the classroom setting. The school does all it can to help the families knowing that most struggle financially. They provide fruits and vegetables for the kids to take home.

My interaction with the students included helping one student with his muliplication tables where I found that there was too much emphasis on getting the right answer and not as much emphasis on the process used, (in my opinion). The student felt that it was unacceptable for him to not know, so instead of admitting his lack of knowledge he proceeded with guessing hoping to get the right answer. This may be more of a focus on the teacher but I believe that if we can install confidence in kids at a young age I think it could benefit the kids more in the long run. The students are obviously either ashamed of where they come from (their family) or not receiving the support they need at home. That is partially why I believe the kids are struggling like they are, because they are not getting the individual support and attention that they might need especially if they have a learning disability. This just solidifies the fact that the school should be better funded to help the kids that dont receive individual help they need at home at school. More on this in the coming days...