Tuesday was, by far, the best day I have had at PLUS Time. This is not to say that the other days have not been good - Tuesday was just the best! I was late getting to PLUS Time for a few different reasons, and the first thing that I heard was "You're late!" In the next breath, though, the kids exclaimed "It's Anna!" "Hi, Anna!" "Anna, come help me!" The students were working on birthday cards for Sharon, the lady at the front desk of Liberty Plaza. They were required to incorporate a tesselation (which they had learned about the day before) into their cards. Paul (one of the supervisors) encouraged the students who had finished their cards to "be like an adult" and walk around to help the other kids. I thought it was a great idea. I sat down with a few guys who had just walked in the door and helped them get started on their cards. One girl brought her homework, and one of the boys decided to do it for her. This incident prompted me to ask the boys the purpose of homework. I helped them understand that if they did someone else's homework, that person would not learn. Hopefully it will not occur again.
As I was talking to them more, I learned that Demajay had a blog on his school website. He was very proud of it and told me I should look at it. Later that day, during homework time, Demajay showed me his blog. My favorite part is when he stated, "My dreams are to go to University of Concordia." He also talked about how he wanted to graduate from high school and become a doctor or a singer. It was very neat for me to read because it reinforced why PLUS Time exists. We are not there just to babysit the kids or to provide them with an afternoon of fun. We operate PLUS Time so that these students, considered to be "at risk" by many people, can strive for their highest potential in life. We want to make them honorable citizens of their country and world, teach them how to interact with other people, and help them learn. Demajay's enthusiasm for his blog and his future was so inspiring.
Tuesday was also amazing simply because I am starting to build relationships with the kids. Every day, I see changes in the way the kids interact with me as I become a more familiar face to them. The kids love me giving hugs and request that I sit by them during snack time. They feel frustrated by their homework at times, but are willing to let me talk it through with them. I am seeing again how much I love teaching, both in the social and academic sense, and getting to know all of the kids on a personal level. As I learn, though, they are teaching me more than they probably know. This experience is one that I will certainly treasure.
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