Blog 4: The Last Days

What:
The last few days at Rocky became more and more fun to attend. Sarah and I kept getting closer and closer with some of the students where it was enjoyable to go to instead of having to go to. Our first class we worked with some guys who we've had previously, on English pronouns and subjects. They had to distinguish between first person, second person, and third person. They also had to write about a map on where things were located using some of the vocabulary words being given. It was not a lot of work to do so we could joke around more and have an outside conversation too. The boys really opened up about their families and where they have lived before along with what place they liked the best so far and why. Some of their stories were deep and interesting. If I had backgrounds like that, it would be very hard for me to open up and tell people my story. The boys even opened up about what they wanted for the future for themselves. Some wanted to go into the Army or go to college. They have bright futures for themselves. One of the boys was telling us about the things he can do such as flips so he decided to show us in the middle of the library. It probably wasn't the best idea but it's a memory that I will never forget. The connections we made with those group of boys and hearing their stories from how they ended up in Rock Island has touched our hearts.

The next class was Math and of course we got the opportunity to work with the same girls as we always have been. We kept practicing with solving equations since that is what they needed the most work on. There were equations that were a little bit difficult to do that they had to use the distributive property and put like terms together before they could solve for x. We've done so many equations previously so there wasn't a set number we had to accomplish for the day. We got to talking about family and both of them mentioned that they had quite a few siblings but some of them couldn't make it, as in passed away when they were babies. It was hard to understand because they would say they had this many number of siblings but so many of them died. It was very heart breaking to hear such a thing. They even talked about the places they've lived previously and where they liked it the most. Sarah and I started to get a feel of what they've been through and it's scary. Some of their immediate family isn't even here with them but all over the states or back in the country where they were born. We really got a close connection with these girls and they had a hard time saying goodbye to us on our last day. It was a sure pleasure to meet all these wonderful students and hear about their backgrounds.

So-What:
The major concept I noticed in the last few days of our service-learning project would be relationship development. We started out in the initiating and experimenting stage with talking about simple things but then this time around we were in the intensifying and integrating stage. This means that we shared more personal things such as them telling us their stories about family and their future goals for themselves. It also states that we had a different connection with these students than the others. For example, we hugged the girls on the last day, which is a whole different connection than any of the other girls in the class. The bonding stage is something where we would continue communicating to maintain our relationship. It is the end of our time to work with these students but we promised that we could stop by again just to say hello and see how far they've come from the last time we saw them with schooling. 

Now What:
After going through the steps of relationship development, there's a connection that develops over time. This process can happen in my future career as a teacher because in the beginning it will be just introducing people and stating interesting facts about themselves. Then as the year progresses students will start speaking about their families and make closer connections. Also, we will all have a bond together since we shared the school year together. My promise to them is to not forget about me as their teacher and to come visit whenever they'd like so we can maintain the relationship we developed previously. I went through and the students we tutored had impacted me with their stories and I want to make my future students have that sense of comfort with me too so they can open up. After all the days I spent at Rock Island High School and the experiences I had, it will make me a better communicator for the future.