To start it off I guess I would like to dive into my
thoughts about what I was expecting coming into John Bartram High School.
Throughout the pre-trip meetings we had during the past few months we were
given a plethora of statistics which look interesting on paper and allowed for
me personally to formulate some sort of understanding. We were not only given
stats but also images and examples of what to expect during the week long
process of being at the school. These are great however I feel that at the end
of the day when you actually step into the school it feels as though everything
you know is suddenly stripped away from you. Today was actually the first day
in which we actively participated in our service to the school and the most
daunting moment was when we were walking past the line of over 200 students
waiting to enter for SECOND PERIOD!! To be honest for some odd reason I felt
comfortable when I was in the classes for most of the day. This was probably because
to some extent my background and childhood allows for me to connect with the
students. By most of the day I mean for four of the five classes I was able to
connect with the students whom were placed with me. There was that one class
during sixth period which literally knocked me off my feet. Not LITERALLY, but mentally and
emotionally I had no idea what to do. It took me about 30 minutes to recover so
that I could show these students that we are here for them and they can ask us
anything.
One
of the portions of this trip that I dreaded the most was the reflection
process. If it is not obvious already I am not so shy or afraid to speak my
mind. Which can occasionally if not almost always be very random. But to get to
my point, the reflection process was very daunting because I have never been
very good with sharing my feelings however I am very very very content with the
reflection process if not overjoyed with how it is going. The rules that were
setup by Vid and Vanessa along with some that we added as a group put me at
ease; allowing me to express myself knowing that I will not be judged or
laughed at.
Overall
I would like to talk more about the actual service but seeing as it is the
first day I do not want to flood this up with every single nitty gritty detail.
However, I will share with you some of my expectations for the week and some
questions that I personally have. Sooooooo, I am hoping to make a very positive
impact on these students and I could see that through the first day by how they
want to show off for us so that they can be appreciated. At the end of the day,
when an individual shows appreciation and compassion for another human being it
can change a persons day if not life around. The main question I want to pose
is what can be done from an institutional level for the Philadelphia public
school system, in particular schools such as JBHS, that can help to make the students
succeed? From a personal standpoint, I think that it really starts at the roots
of education such as at the grade school level. If we instill a mentality for
learning and achieving success at a young age then you can expect those same
kids to be more confident coming into high schools. As for the kids who are
currently at these under-funded and appreciated high schools the main thing in
my opinion is encouragement and reinforcement. Anyhow, what I really want to
know is how my peers feel about this question and is something I would like to
possibly ask at a future reflection meeting.
I
am looking forward to the rest of this week at JBHS and especially painting the
murals among the walls. A little sneak peek at one of the quotes will be below J
“Your present circumstances do not determine where you can
go; they merely determine where you start” – Nido Qubein
-Much Love,
Jasmeet Nat
aka SoulBeef
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