Mar 05 2008
Driven to learn
by junior Jessica Gil
Being flexible was my advice for anyone planning to participate on an Alternative Service Break trip—that is certainly what we have had to do here on Day two at the orphanage. We have been able to have time to plan lessons for the classes, from kindergarten to fifth grade. Each day has a designated topic; animals, colors, face parts, and many other basic English words that may be essential for communicating to Americans that frequently visit the island.
Although we walk into the classrooms with an immense amount of plans, they are quickly changed with the lack of education. It is not that the students are not interested in learning—it’s simply that the schools haven’t had the structure required to implement the quality of learning to which we, in the United States, are privileged to have. It can be frustrating to walk into the classroom and see all these children eager to learn, but then having to spend twenty minutes of class continuously reminding them to sit in their seats, or to calm down and stop fighting. Still, I am very excited to be in the classroom, and have the opportunity to try and impact these children’s lives for the better.
Today in class, I was feeling really down about the education we are limited to giving these children, and I started to wonder if they really cared at all. Then, in the afternoon class three little girls got up from their desk and stood right in front of the board with their notebooks and pencils copying down the English words we had written on the board. The little girls were so interested in learning how to say the colors in English that they wanted to be front and center.
It was really enlightening because I knew that even though they didn’t show that they were interested, they really wanted to learn. Our team is thrilled to be in the classroom because the effects of our service right now may not show, but we know that in the long run, we have impacted these children for the better. These children are driven, but limited resources make it hard for them to be able to better their education. Orphanage Outreach has done an amazing job making these resources available and giving children the opportunity to better themselves.