1/18/19
Odette Yang and Nina Osborn
Our final day at KIPP was a rollercoaster ride. We started off the day by getting to sleep in 15 extra minutes (which doesn't sound like a lot but it made a difference). When we arrived at KIPP we helped some students with last minute questions before they took their math quarter exam. Because all the high school students were taking their exam in the morning, we continued our lamination project. After our third day of the assembly line consisting of copying, laminating, cutting, and sorting, we finally completed it but we were left with PTSD, hand cramps, and tired legs. We eventually split up into smaller groups: some of us went to the Halifax school, some sat in on a Social Justice class, some read to kindergarteners and helped them read and write, while others continued their math tutoring.
During lunch we were surprised to overhear an incident break out among two students. This has been the first incident in about two years (compared to neighboring schools where this is a lot more common). The teachers handled the situation in a calm and professional manner. As the afternoon went on we wrapped up our work around the Primary, Middle, and High schools and said our final farewells to the faculty and students (many hugs from kindergartens were received in the process).
When we arrived home we began to pack up our belongings and clean the house. We had an insightful and emotional final reflection where we were able to look back on all the knowledge and appreciation we gained for charter schools during our experience. For dinner, we attempted to clean out the fridge. As a team, we made turkey burgers, black bean burgers, chili, stir fry broccoli, corn bread, and Chinese-style potatoes.
We ended the night writing notes for compliments bags and bonding.
We can't wait to see our families tomorrow!
Friday, January 18, 2019
Sugar on spaghetti?
Today we continued to going through the tasks that the teachers wants us to complete. We noticed that many of the activities that teachers found tedious were very enjoyable for us. For example, we really like laminating papers for the primary school teachers and we found making bulletin boards as a way to express our creativity.
Many of us had opportunity to sit in on the social justice class and we were impressed by the complexity of issues these students discussed. We were also enlightened during the process of searching for “Social Justice” related current events. And we started to reflect on our past education and we realized that the students at KIPP are learning about issues we never addressed in the classroom.
The defining moment of the day was the “student panel”. We talked students ranging from 5thto 12thgrade about their opinions to the KIPP Gaston. In general, they hold positive attitude toward their life and education quality here. A common theme we found was that students received lots of homework but they still had time to participate extracurricular activities.
Following lunch we focused primarily on tutoring the high school students and we observed that not all students put forth their best effort, some were diligent and completed their work quickly, whereas they were not showing attention to learn. And we were caught off guard by the material taught we even have not been taught before.
After returning home and resting for a while, we went to Muma household for dinner, we had opportunity to be treated to a wonderful spaghetti dinner prepared by Mrs. Muma and to view the fun-loving and genuine relationship between teachers and students. They hosted us, other students and teachers as well. And we had great time playing with their two cute dogs.
Finally during our reflection we explored the different components that make up our identity, for example “Race”, “Religion”, ”Citizenship”, ”Gender Quality”, “Education” and so on. We understood what made our teams felt most privileged and least privileged in their mind during this activity. We even further discussed the topic of “Stereotype” and how our behaviors are influenced by it. Today was eye-opening and we look forward the rest of our stay here.
Thursday, January 17, 2019
The One Where We All Laminated
Today was our fourth day in KIPP! A decent portion of us spent our days laminating sheets for math centers for the second graders. While many of us found this relaxing, others were more inclined to explore other tasks such as math tutoring and reading to some of the kids. Prior to this, I (Lekha), along with Sara, helped Ms. Nowell with administrative work which involved preparing for the much anticipated Family Night later that day. After joining with lamination, we decided to join Ms. Tillery with her math class, a class we had been in for the past two days. I worked with the same student I had been working on, and was comfortable enough to jokingly reprimand her when her attention seemed to stray, and tried to prepare her for the upcoming exam on Friday. When this class ended, Sara and I decided to go into classrooms asking teachers if they needed any help. We caught Ms. Torrence in her room, and asked her if we would be able to teach a math lesson the next day, since the classes were only 28 minutes. With Ms. Torrence, Shoham, and Sara, we all came together to construct a short lesson involving a game to practice adding and subtracting positive and negative fractions and decimals. We took the rest of the day to make a PowerPoint, beginning with an animation to represent adding decimals using a word problem involving a relay race.
At Family Night, a few of us were able to sit in on a few classrooms and were able to be "make-shift parents" for a few children whose parents were running a little late. I (Breannah) was one of these people and seeing the smile on these children's faces as they realized that we cared enough to join them for their Family Night activities, even just for a few minutes was very rewarding. Those of us who were not helping during Family Night helped the Bio teacher in the high school make posters for his classroom.
We had a huge fried rice dinner tonight with Ms. Hine and her dog as special guests! Ms. Hine brought us super delicious cookies, which we all appreciated very much. Her dog was much more interested in exploring the house as she has not spent much time in the house. We however we just happy and excited to see her dog no matter how little she was interested in us.
For reflection, we took a slightly different route than our previous ones. Instead of speaking about our own experiences, we based our discussion on a video of a panel discussion by the American Enterprise Institute. We were able to learn the background information about charter school networks and the specific issues regarding rural schools. I (Lekha) have some background with charter schools and public school systems, so I was able to expand on my already established knowledge of these types of systemic issues. I was intrigued by the point one of the panelists noted about regarding these issues of rural education as systemic issues rather than deficit issues. Rather than blaming students and families for the inequities they were facing, it was necessary to instead understand and try to eradicate the unfair systems in place, most importantly unique to rural communities (much different but often lumped together with issues urban communities face), to allow students to be provided the necessary resources to academically succeed.
At Family Night, a few of us were able to sit in on a few classrooms and were able to be "make-shift parents" for a few children whose parents were running a little late. I (Breannah) was one of these people and seeing the smile on these children's faces as they realized that we cared enough to join them for their Family Night activities, even just for a few minutes was very rewarding. Those of us who were not helping during Family Night helped the Bio teacher in the high school make posters for his classroom.
We had a huge fried rice dinner tonight with Ms. Hine and her dog as special guests! Ms. Hine brought us super delicious cookies, which we all appreciated very much. Her dog was much more interested in exploring the house as she has not spent much time in the house. We however we just happy and excited to see her dog no matter how little she was interested in us.
For reflection, we took a slightly different route than our previous ones. Instead of speaking about our own experiences, we based our discussion on a video of a panel discussion by the American Enterprise Institute. We were able to learn the background information about charter school networks and the specific issues regarding rural schools. I (Lekha) have some background with charter schools and public school systems, so I was able to expand on my already established knowledge of these types of systemic issues. I was intrigued by the point one of the panelists noted about regarding these issues of rural education as systemic issues rather than deficit issues. Rather than blaming students and families for the inequities they were facing, it was necessary to instead understand and try to eradicate the unfair systems in place, most importantly unique to rural communities (much different but often lumped together with issues urban communities face), to allow students to be provided the necessary resources to academically succeed.
The One Where Everyone Gets Lost
After a well rested night of sleep, we all awoke to make breakfast, preparing for the day of service ahead. We packed into our trusty white van and set off on our journey to Angel’s closet. However, our GPS instead took us to a storefront next to McDonald’s, followed by another random site. After forty minutes of driving around following multiple addresses for this one location, we finally reached our intended destination (only to find out it was 4 minutes away from our house!).
After this, we took some time to make cards for Ms. Hine for her generosity in allowing us to stay at her new house, Mr. Muma for organizing 5 days of service for us and feeding us one night for dinner, and Kristina because it was her birthday! With construction paper, markers, and glitter paper, we all constructed cards, some more elaborate than others. We came up with the idea of placing the cards for Kristina behind her mattress, so when she set it down to go to sleep that night, she would find them as a surprise. Unfortunately, after she returned from grocery shopping, she noticed a piece of paper sticking out and, thinking it was a scrap piece of paper, picked it up. Realizing it was supposed to be a surprise for her, she quickly put it back and “pretended” she hadn’t seen it.
Angel's Closet provides household items, clothing and shoes, and food, along with scholarships and school supplies for families in need in the Gaston and Roanoke Rapids area. Angel's Closet is completely run by volunteers, meaning none of the staff is paid. Being able to join the group of individuals that volunteer for this wonderful program was incredible. We were broken into multiple different groups within the facility; we began helping them sort through and organize their inventory which ranged from toys, shoes, kitchen materials, linens, etc. We were also joined by Ms. Hine, the same person who was amazing enough to allow us to stay in her house during our entire experience! It was definitely great to be able to complete a day of service not only with all of our team but one of the teachers at KIPP! The people who work at the Angel's Closet were the sweetest people; Kim, Melanie, and Vinnie took us in with open arms, even when we were 40ish minutes late for the service. We even managed to get a picture with Kim! (See below)
At Reflection we played Flash, where you ask a person a bunch of random questions and they have to answer within a short period of time (we chose 30 seconds). It was really fun to be able to get to know everyone a little better and see them react to the pressure of having to answer questions really fast. We then reflected on our service at Angel's Closet, and then we finally ended on an activity about all of our identities. This reflection was all about getting to know and understand each other on a more personal level, which was a great way to end our fourth reflection here in Gaston!
A Tiring, Travel-filled, Taco, Tuesday
Waking up this morning was a little tough, just because everyone was soooo tired. For breakfast, we had the typical bagel with cream cheese or eggs, but instead of going to KIPP Gaston, we would be going to KIPP Halifax. It was described as being a “nicer school” by the KIPP Gaston teachers, with better facilities and infrastructure. We arrived way too early at the school, as usual, and were assigned different teachers to help. We were able to sit with the teachers while the students ate breakfast, and help the teachers with activities including completing reading and writing learning centers, spelling, and making sentences. The kids were so cute! Most of them were very well behaved, but it is very difficult to handle a class of a dozen young kids and make them all learn! After working in the classroom, we realized that the teacher turnover rate also influences the campus at Halifax. At about lunchtime, we headed back to KIPP Gaston to sit and eat with some of the students. Helping teachers and tutoring young kids was surprisingly very exhausting, so many of us weren’t too social during lunch. Some of us were able to sit with the Gaston students and learn more about the daily life of a typical KIPP student. After lunch, we headed back to the Primary School and the High School to help with making billeting boards, file graded papers, and tutor students in different subjects. At 4:00, we headed back home, quickly making dinner before the basketball game at 7. It was Taco Tuesday, so a nice Mexican spread was made by Lekha and Sara, the head chefs, along with the many sous chefs with beans, rice, tomatoes, cheese, sour cream, corn, lettuce, and both real chicken and tofu chicken. Overall, the dinner was extremely good and everyone was left feeling stuffed. After dinner, we headed over to the basketball game to watch the High School compete with a rival school. UNFORTUANTELY, the body varsity team lost 50 to 63, but it was interesting to watch the game and see the enthusiasm of the fans and cheerleaders. After the basketball game, we still had to do reflection. We watched a video talking about vulnerability, and the importance of being vulnerable in order to make strong connections with others. Many surprising points were brought up, but it was interesting to see how such a simple action could completely change ones interactions with other people. Overall, although the day was exhausting, there were many very interesting and educational experiences. We are excited to see what else we will learn!
Monday, January 14, 2019
KIPP was Everything We Expected and Everything We Didn't
1/14/18
Odette Yang and Nina Osborn
Today our group had our first full school day at KIPP Gaston. We started off the morning finishing up incomplete tasks from Friday and finding new ways to help out the KIPP community. From designing bulletin boards, tutoring students for their math exam, organizing the library, and making flashcards, to teaching kindergarteners the alphabet, our team tackled it all. We also had the opportunity to sit down with the high schoolers during lunch. Although they were a bit hesitant because we may have stolen their typical lunch seats (high schoolers lol) they were very welcoming and open to sharing their opinions on their coursework, life outside of school, and even their personal lives like tattoos they wish to get in the future and their family life.
During reflection, we brought important questions about KIPP's college preparation process focusing on how they have students start thinking about college during Primary School. We compared how our school experience contrasted to this because most teachers and parents told us not to worry about college until high school. We noted this difference because a number of KIPP students' parents did not attend college so some of them may not have the motivation to go to college, the financial means to afford college, or even desire to attend college. We also reflected upon different teaching styles between the Primary School, Middle School, and High School. We were fascinated by the contradiction of their behavior between the different age groups: the primary students were very well behaved and eager to learn, while the middle school students were more social and energetic, and the high school school students were a blend of the two.
We ended the evening with breakfast for dinner cooked by Richa and Breannah, learning new card games, talking in a circle, and preparing for tomorrow.
Odette Yang and Nina Osborn
Today our group had our first full school day at KIPP Gaston. We started off the morning finishing up incomplete tasks from Friday and finding new ways to help out the KIPP community. From designing bulletin boards, tutoring students for their math exam, organizing the library, and making flashcards, to teaching kindergarteners the alphabet, our team tackled it all. We also had the opportunity to sit down with the high schoolers during lunch. Although they were a bit hesitant because we may have stolen their typical lunch seats (high schoolers lol) they were very welcoming and open to sharing their opinions on their coursework, life outside of school, and even their personal lives like tattoos they wish to get in the future and their family life.
During reflection, we brought important questions about KIPP's college preparation process focusing on how they have students start thinking about college during Primary School. We compared how our school experience contrasted to this because most teachers and parents told us not to worry about college until high school. We noted this difference because a number of KIPP students' parents did not attend college so some of them may not have the motivation to go to college, the financial means to afford college, or even desire to attend college. We also reflected upon different teaching styles between the Primary School, Middle School, and High School. We were fascinated by the contradiction of their behavior between the different age groups: the primary students were very well behaved and eager to learn, while the middle school students were more social and energetic, and the high school school students were a blend of the two.
We ended the evening with breakfast for dinner cooked by Richa and Breannah, learning new card games, talking in a circle, and preparing for tomorrow.
Saturday, January 12, 2019
Taking a break to walk to the lake
Today we spent our day exploring the surrounding community! First, we went to an antique store which had a lot of interesting artifacts. The store had numerous sections with different types of items including vintage and lightly used clothes, shoes, and furniture. There were also different decorative items and art pieces made out of pieces of metal. We saw a lot of items referencing the show Duck Dynasty, including Duck Dynasty sunglasses and posters. There were also many Coca-Cola products such as bottles of Coke and signs featuring the logo. We even went downstairs and found there was a Christmas outlet which had Christmas trees and decorations! We really enjoyed seeing all of the different kinds of items for sale and many of our team members purchased things to take home as well!
Next, we went on a hike along a trail by the Roanoke Rapids Museum. Our team hiked 1.5 miles to a nearby lake where we stopped to eat lunch with a view of the water. We enjoyed seeing the surrounding environment where we are participating in our service experience. It was also a great way of getting in some exercise during our trip!
Finally, our team came back to our house where we had a dinner of tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and chicken nuggets. We also had our reflection for the night where we discussed an article on teacher turnover rate and how income and education are related. It was interesting to learn more about each others' perspectives and talk about the root causes of this issue. We hope to talk to the staff members at KIPP more about this issue as well! Overall, we had a relaxing day and enjoyed sightseeing in the community.
Next, we went on a hike along a trail by the Roanoke Rapids Museum. Our team hiked 1.5 miles to a nearby lake where we stopped to eat lunch with a view of the water. We enjoyed seeing the surrounding environment where we are participating in our service experience. It was also a great way of getting in some exercise during our trip!
Finally, our team came back to our house where we had a dinner of tomato soup, grilled cheese sandwiches, and chicken nuggets. We also had our reflection for the night where we discussed an article on teacher turnover rate and how income and education are related. It was interesting to learn more about each others' perspectives and talk about the root causes of this issue. We hope to talk to the staff members at KIPP more about this issue as well! Overall, we had a relaxing day and enjoyed sightseeing in the community.
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