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BCEC Site Leader

“The best way to find your self is to lose yourself in the service of others.” –Gandhi

I started this semester pretty puzzled about what exactly I wanted my life to look like in the future, and this was a little scary to me considering I was starting my senior year at OSU and probably should have figured this sort of thing out 3 years ago. I was a social work major who was really questioning if she had the ability to do that type of work and wondering if she had made a mistake. Nevertheless, I braved the autumn semester hoping something would make me believe otherwise. I day-dreamed about some life changing experience that would lead me to what I was born to do or finding some affirmation that the current track I was on was exactly what I was supposed to be doing.

Lucky for me, that life changing experience happened when I accepted a job with Buckeye Civic Engagement Connection. When I first accepted the job, I had no idea what I would be doing. I just knew the BCEC website made the job sound pretty cool, and I thought it could be incredibly rewarding work. I did not know it would change my thinking about communities, the people that live in them, and my part in facilitating necessary change in a person’s environment.

BCEC and my experience as a site leader helped me narrow down my professional interests. I discovered a career option that allowed me to utilize my skills, be creative, and help others. This career was in planning, so I applied to OSU’s Masters of City and Regional planning program. I would never have thought about doing this if it was not for BCEC and the opportunity to spend time in neighborhoods and engage the communities. BCEC has been one of the most important learning experiences in my college career thus far, and I am happy to still be here today.

Do Concrete Walls Alone Stop Crime?

 I came across an article not too long ago that told the story of a juvenile court judge who believes he knows what is in every child’s best interest and will give them sentences to teach them lessons to ensure they will not re-offend. He believes it is his sole responsibility to get all of the youth that come through his courtroom into college and become productive citizens. This is a pretty admirable man, right? Well he turned out to not be as admirable as one would think.
This article describes the many critics that believe that he goes too far and is extending his role beyond a judge. Some of the critics argue that his sentences are unjust and do not match the crime while others believe that his requirements that a certain G.P.A be maintained is not in the realm of his duties. He has been questioned and in some cases ordered to reconsider sentences for violations of state law. This judge relies heavily on incarceration and long sentences, arguing that they need to learn their lessons so that they will not re-offend.

One story the author shares, was that of a young girl, with a very traumatic past, who spent a year in a facility for a very minor crime. She came out “worse than when she went in” because she was surrounded by girls who committed more serious and dangerous offenses. After her release, she committed worse crimes and was re-arrested. This time she sat in a detention center for 10 months (most likely receiving little to no help), and was then sentenced to 18 months in a residential program. After finishing the 6-9 month program early (she finished in 5 months) and receiving kudos for being the most well behaved girl in the facility, her public defender attempted to get her sentence reduced. The judge refused to hear the case because she didn’t complete the full sentence.

At one point in the article, the judge mentioned not having a father and also made the statement that he “cannot raise 1,700 kids a year”. Well sir, that is not in your job description. You are there to give fair and just sentences that should match the crime. Not try to make up for what you lacked as child.
Ironically I came across this article the day after sitting in a courtroom for an early-release hearing for one of our youth in our Buckeye REACH program. Although he was granted his early release, we witnessed youth who were not as fortunate. One young man whose story is unbelievably similar to the young girls’, was one of the unlucky ones. This young man was there, for I believe aggravated robbery and was in the custody of his aunt because he mother had passed two years ago. He had been locked up in the downtown facility for around 6-8 months. His public defender was fighting for his transfer to a rehabilitation and treatment facility where he would receive both family and personal counseling sessions. The public defenders argument was that this young man had witnessed and been a part of so many traumatic events, he was not able to properly cope with this mother’s death or the rest of his past; and this was in part why he had made some of the choices he had. Now don’t go thinking he is justifying what the kid did because he couldn’t cope with the loss of his mother, let me finish and you’ll see where I am going with this. The judge denies the motion claiming that the young man has not shown enough improvement and is not ready to go to a treatment center. He will instead spend another 8-10 months downtown. This boy has been sitting in a cell all day for 8 months receiving no mental health care or treatment. When was he supposed learn how to improve? These months spent locked up would be much more productive if we were giving them the care that they need in order to show improvement.

While I admire a judges desire to help youth and see them get into college etc., their sentences need to be just and involve treating the youth, not solely locking them away. You cannot be shocked some kids come out more troubled than before when they sit in a cell all day and receive barely any mental health care! I agree that serious offenders need to do the time and be punished, but we need to make sure that they are receiving the care and therapy they need in order to ensure they will not re-offend. Simply putting them in cell for months on end is not solving the mental health issues that aided in their crimes. We have to work on the source of the issue, not just result of the issue.

http://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/judge-in-maryland-locks-up-youths-and-rules-their-lives/ar-BBh18Np

They’re Marching, But Where Are They Going?

For the past few months the country has cried out with feelings of indignation, distrust, confusion, and for some, even anger, in reference to the killing of unarmed black men and people of color in this country. Since the August 2014 shooting of Michael Brown in Ferguson, those feelings have certainly been exacerbated. The current controversies, unnerving as they may be, are certainly not a vestige of the past. Instead, they represent a larger picture of how the intersections of race, class, privilege, and power can be abused. Recent events suggest that injustice has surely not been demolished; it is merely a product of elusive transformation. In light of this, protesters have sprouted movements. Walking, trotting, and lifting their voices, many still have the audacity to keep pushing. Like all organizations, the justice system included, “good” things have the capability to be corrupted.

 

 As I watched many of my peers join in marching up the street and around the corner before retiring, I felt like something had gone awry. I thought to myself, “They’re marching, but where are they going?” I didn’t really have the answer but I found myself wondering why my emotions didn’t move me in the way that others did. In my heart I wanted to join, but something was missing. This trend continued, I noticed. The rise of marketed “Hands Up, Don’t Shoot” T-shirts, Instagram posts of quotes, and pictures with hashtags made the movement seem more like a marketing measure than a true revolution. This is not to say that people shouldn’t march, clad themselves with anti-oppressive products, or post on social media. That is not my point. There isn’t a precise formula for justice. All these things are great, for they give voice to the crusade.  Without publicity, a movement can be silenced quietly. There is a necessity in the voice. Voices, however, lose potency if not coupled with actions, organization, and service. Let’s move past speech alone and couple it with its rightful partner.

 

Admittedly, I feel the same way about die-ins. I still don’t completely understand the concept of gathering in public places and enacting the deaths of many disenfranchised people as a measure of change. You’re lying prostrate; meanwhile, people are still dying literally day by day. If inspected carefully it’s easy to construe die-ins as a metaphor of passivity. Occupying the ground amongst many other people in a place that holds stores with unjust practices and policies (look up companies that benefit from the prison industrial complex) only to get up and invest your money in places that respect your dollar more than your skin color seems inauspicious at best. What did we ever gain by lying down and pretending to be dead?

 

Be willing to protest for more than a minute, a day, a week, or month.

 

These sentiments are not merely my own, but can be seen by gazing into the past. Movements like the Montgomery Bus Boycott did not have impact because of voice alone but rather a 13 month span of collective and organized economic protest. This was not just any protest, but a withholding of pocketbooks for collective change. Be mindful of what you invest yourself in. This includes (but is not limited to) your time, money, energy, and effort. I’m fine with “hands up” don’t shoot but let’s not become a generation where “hands up” is equivalent to “hands off.” We cannot be “hands up, don’t shoot” and also be “hands up, don’t vote”, “hands up, don’t volunteer”, “hands up, don’t petition”, “hands up, don’t educate”, and “hands up, don’t act”, all at the same time.  We have to pick a side. I admire the ability of our generation to have amazing zeal, but let’s kindle our emotions towards active change and keep the flames going.

 

You don’t have to change the world, but you do have an obligation to align your posture with your beliefs. Your mind cannot go forward if your legs are walking in the opposite direction. Let’s move towards acts that service others, our communities, and our goals. Service doesn’t mean you have to be a radical, though it’s perfectly acceptable to radically love and serve others. Service can mean anything from serving local shelter every month, spending time engaging the elderly at a retirement home, writing a letter to Congress, defending someone in court as a lawyer, impacting educational equality, tutoring the kids next door, or the kids who live under your roof. Whatever you do, I encourage you to focus on the sincere not on the sensational. Let’s put forth reasonable effort—which sometimes means sacrifice and hard work—towards the actions which ensure the longevity of equality. Service is more than a march; you have to be walking towards the right thing. ​

 

Check out http://bcec.osu.edu/get-involved/ to see how you can get involved with service in the Columbus community today. ​

Social Work Major

For most college students, with every first greeting or new acquaintance comes the question: “What is your major?” Often times, the expected response (or maybe it would be more accurate to say the desired response) consists primarily of science based practices such as medicine or engineering or chemistry. As a result, whenever someone asks me “What is your major?” there exists in me some curiosity as to how they will take the disappointing news. “I am a Social Work major.” Very few people have heard this exclamation and looked at me with sincerity or responded with an encouraging word. Most times, the response is one of confusion or possibly even of concern. “Why would a smart kid like Sam waste his life with such a ‘lowly’ career?” If the conversation manages to not turn into the whole, handing out freebies to lazy people, then someone might ask me what type of work I want to be doing in which I often respond that I want to help people who don’t have the resources to help themselves. I want to help those who have drawn the short stick get to a point of opportunity. It is at this point that some of the confusion washes off their face and then begin to understand what social work really is.

At this point the conversation might continue to persist and perhaps someone will ask me if I have an internship. This is another point of excitement for me because I now get to observe their response when I tell them that for part of my internship I go to prison. Now I have noticed that people have a variety of responses for this one. Sometimes they might be surprised, or might be curious, but most of the time they respond in such a way that communicates fear for me. As if I am putting my life on the line for this undergraduate level internship. But the reality is that my time spent in juvenile correctional facilities are far from risky.

Just as there is a misconception with what social work consists of, there are misconceptions about every population that social workers interact with. For Juvenile convicts, this is no different. The belief about imprisoned youth is that they are violent and uncontrollable, just bad eggs. But I will be the first to tell you that this conclusion is far from the truth. Since the foundation of BuckeyeREACH there has been a total of zero fights during our programming. Not one or two but zero. Every time I enter the library at the Circleville Juvenile Correctional facility I am immediately welcomed by laughing and smiling inmates who could not be happier that they get to come to Dr. Patty’s program. Now this is not to say that these inmates are never violent. Most of them ended up imprisoned due to violence or at least having exposure to violence, but my point is that their identities are not violent. They are still kids. They enjoy playing games. They like making colorful rubber band bracelets. Violence does not define these youth, however they do find themselves trapped by it at times.

One of the principles that I have noticed at BuckeyeREACH is that people tend to behave in such a way that is expected of them. If we came into REACH expecting the kids to be violent, I am sure that we would see much more violence. However, Dr. Patty has done a phenomenal job in creating a program that treats the inmates according to who they are and not what they have done. The fact is that they are still youth, they like pizza and games. They like hanging out with their friends, and maybe most importantly, they like being valued and encouraged.

So what do I do? Well I am a social work student interning with Buckeye Civic Engagement Connections and spend my working hours hanging out with youth.

Boundaries

I understand that I need to work on setting and keeping my boundaries with the people I work with in the community. We recently visited the Ohio Reformatory for Women (ORW) in an effort to gain more information about a program Dr. Patty envisioned to work with moms and their babies living with them in the facility. Upon entering the facility and going through security, we received PREA (Prison Rape Elimination Act) training and had our questions answered that we had prepared beforehand about ORW and the nursery program currently in effect. Both Dr. Patty and Jessica, a clinical social worker at ORW (and our main contact), shared with us that the women in the prison would be manipulative if boundaries are not maintained. I was conscious of this fact when we went to go visit with the moms, but still immediately started getting to know them and hold their babies. This was a brief visit, so I thankfully did not experience any challenges or negative experiences while we were there. The moms genuinely seemed thankful to have us there for conversation, and to hear about what they wanted out of the changing nursery program. I am very much looking forward to visiting the moms and their babies, and beginning the program there hopefully soon. I will have to make sure to be constantly keeping myself in check as far as boundaries go so that the moms and babies get as much out of the program as possible.

Take the Time to be a Mentor

As an adult, with a million things to deal with and a million more to worry about, it is often easy to forget those who helped us along the way. We forget that there were adults and role models in our lives that praised our successes and scolded us for our mistakes. No matter what title they go by (teacher, coach, parent, etc.) they all helped to mold us into the person we are today.

Working with the athletes at East High School, I see the importance of every interaction I have with the students. Whether I am helping someone with homework or just chatting about life, each conversation I have with him or her is meaningful. I have seen the change it makes when the people in their lives show them that they want to be there. It is not enough to just be in the room with these kids, you have to care about the work you do with them, don’t put it past them, they’re smart, they’ll sense it. After working with BCEC at East High School for my second year I have seen what a truly dedicated coach looks like and one who isn’t committed to the students and let me tell you, there’s a big difference.

I take my role in each of these students lives seriously because I have seen what its like when other adults don’t. I try and make it apparent every time I am with them that what they have to say is meaningful and the things I’ve learned by just listening to them is astounding.

A conversation I had with a senior on the varsity football and basketball team told me he was “unsure” about college and his ability to succeed in higher education because he doesn’t know anyone who has. He shared that everyone he knew either went to college and quit or didn’t go at all. There’s a popular quote that reads “You can’t be what you can’t see”, if these students have never even seen a successful college student how can we expect them to go on to be successful in academia? The odds aren’t quite in their favor to begin with. I came from the Columbus City School district, from a school almost identical to East High so I can say first-hand how hard college can be. So many times I felt ill prepared for all of the demands of higher education, like my high school didn’t do enough. So I can’t imagine how much more difficult of a time I would have had if I had to navigate academia alone. I was fortunate enough to have so many adults in my life pushing me forward and lifting me up that I had faith in my ability to succeed.

Each semester we give all of the students a survey. On this survey we ask them if they have a role model and/or mentor, and you’d be amazed at how many students don’t have one adult they deem worthy of carrying the title of  “mentor” or “role model”.

We get so bogged down by our own lives that sometimes we forget that it is now our turn to be that positive influence for a child growing up. I am asking you to be that role model for a student; it doesn’t have to be at East High School (although we’d love to have you). I ask you to be a consistent and positive influence in a student’s life, show them that it’s possible, that they have whatever it takes to be whomever they choose and if they don’t, they can learn.

How I’ve come to appreciate working with kids

When people find out I have a job on campus, naturally the next question is “What do you do?” and then I start explaining.

I have the spiel down to a science. It starts with me saying “I run an after school program with my coworker…” and ends with them asking “Do you like it?” to which I respond, “Yeah, it’s great I have a lot of fun” and we both move on to another topic.

The real question though and the one no one ever asks is: “Well why do you do it?”

Ladies and gentleman, boys and girls, people across the world that is the question! To which to some avail I can hopefully answer.

Well like any job, it started off just as it was, a job. In fact, I chased my current boss down the street to get it and scared her half to death. However, that’s a story for another time.

Nevertheless, it developed into something more. I’m not quite sure what I’d call it or how to describe it, regardless, it became important to me.

When you work with kids you begin to see that as much as you help them, they help you even more.  Kids open your eyes to thoughts you hadn’t considered and they offer challenges or challenge you when you’re least expecting it.

I’ll give an example.

There is one particular child we work with at my site (Hamilton G.E.M. in case anyone was wondering) who is highly talented; he plays multiple instruments (piano and percussion with his pencils/knuckles for now at least) and can answer almost any question we throw at him. The challenge with him though, and many of the other kids at our site, is managing his energy as well as keeping him engaged.  When he finally sits down to work he is able to accomplish so much! His homework, the work given as part of the activity that day, and he even finds time to help others!

So for us running the program, we’re challenged to keep it fresh and interesting. That’s just one example and I’m sure there are many others, but they would all lead to the point I am trying to make.

A child’s mind is a sponge, whatever you throw at them they will learn try to learn and be eager for more. As college students, educators, and fellow humans we should try to impart whatever knowledge we can on the next generation.  Be it to children growing up with hardships or those who face the world with nothing to challenge them. For these young children in school will be the future when we are long gone.

I’ll close with this quote from Napoleon Hill, “Cherish your visions and your dreams as they are the children of your soul, the blueprints of your ultimate achievements.”

My questions for anyone reading is who inspired your visions and dreams growing up? And whose will you inspire now or in the future?

See if you can answer those questions.

And as always, GO BUCKS!!

Buckeye Voices

Are you a STEP student wondering what to do for your experience? Or are you just a normal OSU scholar looking for a way to give back? There are so many opportunities to give back, but one way you should really consider is – becoming an active member in your community!

This past year I was a part of the STEP Program and I chose to complete a Service Learning project and Internship for my experience. I worked with and shadowed Columbus City Schools Superintendent Dr. Dan Good. I decided to remain in Columbus for my experience because I believe a lot of people overlook and forget about urban school districts, and the support they need and I wanted to become civically engaged with the community I had lived in for the past two years.

When people think of urban school districts in Ohio, and across the nation, they associate them with negative stigmas and are quick to criticize the employees and students (some of whom have no other choice).  Many students and staff members from Ohio State tend to go far and beyond over their summer break to conduct research and volunteer (also known as volunteer tourism – which is the act of padding ones resume, more so than actually helping the community at hand). However, right here within the city of Columbus, literally a few miles away from Ohio State’s campus thousands of people are suffering – with poverty, inequality and a lack of education – and contrary to popular belief, they need just as much help as those aboard.

In recent months, Columbus City Schools (CCS) has made both local and national headlines; due to a data scandal that involved a vast majority of the district schools. Within my experience working with the school district and the Superintendent I was able to see so many other wonderful things the district had to offer its students and the dedication the staff there has (things that would never make it to the 5 o’clock news or morning paper).

I had the opportunity to speak one-on-one with various district administrators, principals and teachers from CCS and I realized just how complex their jobs are. I met with a middle school principal in October and shadowed her for the day. While at her school I learned about countless circumstances many of her students were facing at home, that ultimately affects their behavior and learning ability in school. There were students who were dealing with depression, a students who recently loss her grandfather (whom she lived with), a transfer student from Medina County, Ohio who was 16 in the 8th grade and two female students (cousins) whom parents are both heroin users. The principal informed me that she had reached out to Franklin County Children Services multiple times, and nothing has happened.

 

The following week I shadowed an elementary school principal and once again was in awe, at the information I gathered about the students, things that are typically overlooked but all plays a huge part in the performance of our urban and Appalachian schools. While at the elementary I learned about a third grader who was homeless and he was going through emotional distress, as his mother had recently died of an overdose, in bed beside him.

For me, this experience was not only eye opening, but it also reassured me of my passion to advocate for students of these backgrounds. It allowed me to factor in, yet another obstacle these kids are dealing it, their mental health. You hear a lot of people say “oh they’re just lazy”, “they’re just dumb” or “they’re bad” – but what I learned is these kids are none of the aforementioned; they are battling traumatic experiences that some people will never experience in their life; at such a young age. Most of these kids want to excel in schools and in life, but they just don’t know how. Some of them have to worry about where their next meal will come from or where they will sleep tonight. I think one of the most important lessons I learned is not to point the finger at one party. It’s not solely the teachers at fault, nor is it the students. It is a host of obstacles at hand and we will never accurately address the performance problem in our schools, until we address those obstacles and realize there is no “one size fits all” solution to this problem. Every school district, every school building, and every student has his or her own obstacles to overcome and we cannot expect one legislation or rule to fix everything.

Why do I care so much about urban and Appalachian schools? What’s the point of me working with Columbus City Schools?

Well, I can tell you right now that, this experience has changed my life and perspective in more ways than I previously thought it could.

I care about these schools (and students) because I am a living testimony that students in these areas can succeed, they can make it out and they can make a difference. As a student who matriculated through two urban school districts (Detroit Public Schools and proud graduate of the Cleveland Metropolitan School District), I want these students to know that someone just like them cares and I understand what they are going through; as not too long ago, I was in their seats. I personally believe America has too many “top” universities that are failing to sufficiently give back to and invest in their local school districts. For instance, right here in the city of Columbus we have schools with over 30% of their students failing the Ohio Third Grade Reading Guarantee. Weinland Park Elementary (less than 5 minutes away from OSU) had about 20% of its third graders fail, the exam. We need to see more of our urban and Appalachian area students’ matriculate to 4-year post-secondary institutions (and not 2-year community colleges).

“You can’t be what you can’t see” – Marian Wright Edelman

I also spent time interning within the school district because I believe, we currently have far too many legislators and school district administrators (on the local, state and federal levels) making decisions about students in urban and rural America, who have no direct connection to that particular group of individuals. They have never taken the time to speak with the teachers, who are in the classrooms six hours a day; the parents, or most importantly the students themselves. We also have too many citizens, right here in our very own community, who believes it’s not their responsibility to care about and advocate for these students. However, I feel that we should all have a common goal in life: to have a positive (and extraordinary) impact on the lives of others.

“The only thing worse than kids giving up on school, is if we give up on them” – unknown

The city of Columbus, state of Ohio and the nation needs our help! Help is needed in our communities: in our schools, in our prisons, in our retirement centers, in our libraries, in our food banks and in our recreation centers. There’s no experience more valuable than being civically engaged with your community; as you have the power to make a difference.

 

Ways I give back:

I currently run a program through the Office of Student Life’s Department of Social Change, called A Day in the Life of a Buckeye; which allows me to bring inner-city and Appalachian area high school sophomores and juniors to campus, to offer them a one-on-one experience of life at The Ohio State University, and college in general, for a day.

I am actively involved with Buckeye Civic Engagement Connection (BCEC), a Student Life department, which works to connect The Ohio State University with its surrounding communities, focusing specifically on programming for individuals, families, and entire communities facing poverty and its consequences. The mission of BCEC is to bring together the communities of The Ohio State University and those of the surrounding, central Ohio area. BCEC works to provide a pathway out of poverty, by focusing on areas of need, such as health, education, and economics.

 

My name is DaVonti’ Haynes  and I am a third year, Public Affairs major at The Ohio State University and when I graduate I want to work on educational policy to increase the college-readiness pipeline of urban and Appalachian area students, to ensure that everyone has the opportunity to take advantage of an extraordinary educational experience, just as I did!

 

http://youtu.be/yKubkKHpnPY?list=PLdvsECEkK0xYLSA22U9gKgLBJhnEsoTna

Sentence Born

People always pose the question; how can we change the world?

Education is an important issue when dealing with social change. The war on education is the new civil rights movement of today. There are many ways to propose suggestions for trying to change the world and there are tons of problems that need to be overcome in order to create change.

A few of the problems that need to be overcome are the standards and policies placed in schools to forcedly make everyone follow the same path. The curriculum of schools need more in depth evaluations for students to be allowed to make changes themselves and administrative staff within the school need to be more concerned with the well being of the students rather than a paycheck.

A lot of the policies in play such as no child left behind or zero tolerance policy don’t appeal to the masses. Policies such as these are carefully designed for people of privilege and if less fortunate students don’t have adequate resources they will be targeted and held back. Race is an issue as well, no one is born racist or with a prejudice. Parenting and school curriculums place the ideas of elitism and segregation within infants minds and stories will always be passed down through history classes even if it’s not passed by parenting. One shouldn’t need to change the curriculum of schools, rather give a more in depth presentation on ways to handle these situations will better equip students to grow and change. Along with changing school curriculums, the administrative staff associated with the youth need to change. We elect and hire school officials and teachers that care more about gaining experience and receiving a pay check rather than the well being and growth of students.

In part, we as a nation sentence the majority of our youth to mediocre if not below average lives. The only way to create change is to change yourself and passionately involve yourself into lives of the youth. We also must break down all of the barriers that create segregation of our nation and actively involve ourselves in improving the lives of others rather than receiving a paycheck.

In the Minds of Our Students

Oftentimes, I am asked, “why do you love doing what you do with those students?” or “how do you connect with them so well?” The middle School students I work with go through a lot of physical, emotional, and mental changes during this time of their lives, and everyone else endures various levels of change throughout their lives. After working for 2 years in the inner city of Cincinnati, and working for my third year in the Near East Side of Columbus, I can honestly say that I would never give up working with these students. Not only do they look up to us as role models and friends, but also they teach us so much about life if you open your mind to that possibility.

Oftentimes, people volunteer for the personal feels, for instant gratification, and to personally help someone else. In my opinion, it is not about the surface acquaintances and one-stop shops where people volunteer once and it’s over. It is about communication, caring for other people, and opening your mind and heart to new people. Building long-lasting friendships with those around you, whether they are younger, older, the same age, of a different race, or whatever it may be, you learn as much about them as you do about yourself. One thing I have learned through this job is that you are not always correct, the best, the coolest, or the most fun. You are you. The students I have the privilege of knowing show me up in one way or another quite often, but they also realize that they have a lot left to learn; the same goes for me, and even though I may be better at some things than others, I still have a lot of living and learning still to do. By recognizing this and getting to truly know those around us, we are able to understand their perspective and why they do the things that they do.

Many of my students have experienced more than a few tragic events in their lives, which has jaded them from trusting people the way that many of us are used to trusting others. Instead of looking at everything new as an opportunity, they may perceive certain situations as dangerous or risky. Being able to relate to their feelings and perspectives, we can share a common ground, communicate more effectively, and create a larger impact because we are connected mentally and emotionally. I have been through middle school, I remember how difficult it was and how many changes I endured. By showing them a vulnerable side instead of always being a disciplinarian, you help others see that you are on their side, that you recognize their viewpoint, and that you are there when they need you. Who knew that bringing my puppy to an event would make an entire kid’s month, or that giving students a photo of them and their friends would make such a difference.

A student who I’ve known for the past two years at Champion Middle School moved to East High School this year. He went through so much in Middle School, and after seeing him a few weeks ago, I am proud of the type of person he has grown to be. I’m grateful and glad to receive a hug and a friendly conversation with him anytime he comes to visit. We still talk like close friends after going many months without seeing each other, and that’s what true friends have the ability to do. So, the next time you say that you will volunteer for one day, think about how much you and those people you are “helping” will miss from a potentially life-changing friendship or experience. And this doesn’t just relate to volunteering- it relates to everything you do in life. So take some time to appreciate those around you and look to understand the many brilliant minds that you are surrounded by each and every day.

-Rachel