Post Number 2

After volunteering with the Village Branch homework help for somewhere around 8 weeks, I have only missed a couple of Thursdays, so I have somewhere around 6 of our required hours. It doesn't seem like it's been 8 weeks. This whole semester has gone by in a massive blur, so it's been pretty difficult to keep track of how many days I've gone. Thankfully Daniel carpools with me most days, and he has a better memory than I do.
Most days I only put in an hour or so, as I almost always have homework due the next day, and in that time I usually only get a chance to help one kid with their homework, or on a good day two. Recently , there have been a huge number of volunteers on the days I have gone, so even finding one kid to help has been a pain. There have been a couple of times that I've gone and spent the majority of my time just standing around due to the sheer number of volunteers at the organization. On one such day, I ended up at a table that was being used for arts and crafts by one girl and two volunteers, and while I was there I helped them make this:

The whole process of finding a child and then helping them is actually very informal. Kids go to the desk near the door, and the guy that supervises the volunteers just calls out, "Who wants to help -insert kid's name here-?" and one of the volunteers goes and takes the kid to a desk to help them. Pretty much all of the kids know what they're doing, all that the volunteers have to do is make sure that they are actually doing everything right, or as I had to do once, time them while they do math worksheets. The only time I have ever had to do something for a child was the last time I volunteered, the girl I was helping had to read a book, and her English wasn't good enough to finish the book, so we took turns. After I finish volunteering each Thursday, I always feel really good about myself, as I feel like I actually made an impact on one of these kids, and helped them to further their education, when they didn't have much of an opportunity otherwise. It gives me that warm and fuzzy feeling inside.
I guess my next post has to be a video, so wish me luck. I'm not a fan of having my picture taken o being recorded or that sort of thing.

written reflection post (Daniel Cox)

            The Lexington Public Library has become one of the best times of my week.  I have been to the library four times, every time with Brady (because I do not have a car) and it has been so enjoyable.  There are some triplets that I have tutored twice, and they are the cutest things.  They are all so full of energy and excitement it makes me both dread and look forward to kids (if that is what the future holds).  The whole experience is great because all the kids there are still eager to learn and are open to almost anything.  Probably the funniest thing that has happened so far is one of the kids asked what grade I was in, and I said I was a freshman in college.  He looked at me, a bit confused, and asked what that was.   I said it was like thirteenth grade, and his jaw just dropped.  Like, literally, he looked so shocked.  He was in second grade and thought that he was pretty old (most kids there are second grade or younger) and that just blew his mind.

            It is also interesting seeing where I started and what I have become.  We all were in second grade once, and each had so much potential.  Our options were limitless.  For all I know, one of those kids in there could be president in forty years.  I just found it strange and awe-inspiring that every child goes through almost the same schooling, but because of minute differences in how our parents raised us and what experiences we all go through, one child decides to become a brain surgeon while another child sitting next to him in first grade decides to become a firefighter.  In addition, considering this is a critical time in the development of the child’s brain, I could have a huge impact on them, without either of us realizing it.  I could push one of them down a path that leads to a completely different outcome than what that child may have been on.  It is amazing to me how much each child could be and the impact they could have on the world later on.

(This picture is a panoramic of the room where all the tutoring takes place.  It is meant to show how many volunteers are here, all willing to help these children grow.  There are plenty of volunteers for one-on-one time with each child, and oftentimes the volunteers outnumber the children.  One of the triplets is in this, in the bottom right of the picture, in the pink flowered shirt facing to her left.)