Service Learning Journal#1

On my first day, while I was walking over to Red Cedar Elementary, I did really not know what to expect of my first service learning session. I remembered on my previous trip to orientation that the school was very foreign. They had kids from over 20 different countries and to prove it, they had a flag for each country. A few kids spoke no English at all. When I finally arrived at my class I introduced myself first to the teacher Ms. Byrd-good and the teacher's aide Ms.Velasquez, who were both very pleasant people. Next, I introduced myself to the class as Mr. H. because it was too complicated for the twenty students to pronounce my last name. The class as a whole was about 70% American along with several African Americans, two Asians, and two Muslims.
While, I entered the classroom during reading time, I was absolutely shell-shocked of how quiet it was and I thought to myself what a wonderful learning environment. I had a flashback to third grade and I can clearly remember how challenging it was to concentrate because of the constant chatter in the class of 3o+ students. The thing that I found most impressive was for twenty students is that you had two teachers. Which means you could accomplish more in one day and if a student was having trouble they could get the extra attention that was required. What amazed me even me more was how students were able to make the transition from reading directly into math. This is something one would expect from fifth graders, but third graders! You could tell that the teacher was in complete control. I was assigned to go around and make sure every one was working independently and to help clarify any problems that they had. Very few questions were asked. Those that did ask questions were extremely well-mannered (raised hand and waited to be called upon). After that, it was time for recess so I decided to witness it. When we got out to the pavilion all of the swings were tangled up due to a teenage prank, so I helped the custodian untangle a few swings, which made the children very appreciative.
Following recess came lunch and I basically held the door open for half of the school. Once again everybody was saying thank you. In the lunch room, I made sure nobody was cutting and made small talk with a few students. They continually expressed to me that if I were to ever eat lunch at Red Cedar make sure and get the grilled chicken sandwich. This sums up my first service learning visit to Red Cedar Elementary, but as I was leaving I felt quite privileged to be part of the volunteering staff at a clean, well-kept, and up to date school. The more I thought about it Red Cedar did not seem like a school it seemed like heaven. Everything students could possibly want was there for them. From after care programs to clubs and activities to many recreational activities. Red Cedar has it all. This hyped me up for my next visit.