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Journal entries and learning experience
My volunteering experience in the Youth Life Foundation has been summarized in 9 sessions based on the days I was at the center. I was a mentor and my obligation was to help my mentee with school work. My first day at the Youth Life Delmont Centre was one to be remembered. The center room was dark when I entered. Ms. Kate, the teacher, was showing the kids a movie. She told us to sit and gave us some name tags. I saw the little kids moving around while watching the movie. Ms. Kate was telling them to sit down and watch. The movie ended after a short while and the teacher introduced us to the kids. After the introduction, one of the kids came running to me and said I would be his mentor. His name was Wayne Williams. After sharing some snacks with the children, I engaged Williams in a short conversation to know him more. I asked about his hobbies and favorites. He said he liked basketball, all colors, and winter season was his favorite. We went out for recess and then we were to go back to help Williams read two books and do his homework.
One thing that I observed from Williams is that he did not like reading because it took us too long to finish reading the books. He also did not want to do the homework as I had to confirm with the teacher whether they had any homework. All the other kids finished their homework and went to play, while Williams and I could not even complete by the time the Richmond van came to pick the mentors. However, he enjoyed playing a lot. I knew from that point that I had some work to do because I had to make Williams like reading and balance between curriculum and extra-curricular activities. The experience was that the kid liked playing more than he liked reading. However, not all kids dislike reading. This makes the difference in kids’ performance. As a teacher, I must make sure that I help all the kids do well in their studies. I should also help them divide their time well.
In the second session, it appeared that Williams liked playing a lot. He was a noisemaker in class and liked some weird behaviors. He fought with another kid over a Frisby on the playground. It was challenging for me to handle the situation, but Ms. Kate seemed to have a good understanding of the kids and knew how to handle such situations. We still could not finish on time when we went to read and do the homework because Williams was always getting distracted. This was an indicator of how much he liked playing. We had not finished the reading and the homework by the time the van came to pick the mentors. It is then that I decided I had to set a goal for the next day. I set the goal of finishing the reading and the homework on time and getting some time to play as the other kids always did. The experience was similar to that on day one; kids dislike reading and the teachers should help them divide and balance their time.
In the third session, I noticed that Williams was a very social kid judging from the fact that the other kids called him Buddy during snack time. He also told me he preferred being called Buddy. I told him about myself and where I came from and he was very impressed. We went for recess and afterward, I went to Ms. Kate to inquire how I could get the best out of Buddy and keep him motivated. Ms. Kate helped me a lot. She told me to try and reason with Buddy and show him how much he was missing by wasting time. I adopted what Ms. Kate told me and it worked out. We finished reading and homework on time that day. We even had time to play just like the other kids. Buddy was very happy about that. That day I learned that goal setting is very essential in everything that one does. It is only when one has set their goals that they can achieve their targets. This shaped my learning in that I knew I had to set goals for students and keep them focused on those goals to make the students achieve. I had to find the best way to motivate them.
Buddy told me about his project on the fourth day as we were talking. The project was about making his favorite animal from various materials on a piece of paperboard. I thought that would be a source of motivation during the reading session. I told him that I would help him with the project once we were done with the reading and the homework. We went to do the reading after recess. Buddy was, as usual, as opposed to reading, but I would keep on reminding him about the project. We finished the reading and started the homework, but he did not like it. I tried to help him whenever he got frustrated. It was a challenge this time and we only managed one part of the homework by the time the Richmond van came, meaning that we were not able to do the project. The experience this day was that not all motives can give motivation to students. Buddy did not seem motivated by the fact that I was going to help him with his project. It shaped the learning in that I understood that it is always important to find the best motivation. It is only then that it will be easy to motivate kids and help them achieve their targets.
Buddy had improved greatly in the fifth session. First, I noticed that he liked me when he shared his snack with me. On this day, he was always the first to sit and be quiet when the teacher switched the lights off and on, contrary to the other days when he was always moving around. We went to do the reading and the homework as usual after recess. Buddy was excellent that day. He did the reading well and finished the homework very early such that we had a lot of free time. I gave my iPad to him to play with. He seemed very happy. However, he did not want to share with other kids, which I noticed when another kid came and wanted to play with him. He gave out the iPad when I told him to share, kid but he was very mad and could not even talk to me. It was until Ms. Kate talked to him that he came and apologized to me. This day I learned that it is easy to get the best out of a kid through the right motivation. I also learned that kids are selfish and do not like sharing some things with others. Teachers should teach them to appreciate selflessness.
The sixth session was a short day. Buddy told me that he had scored an A in one of the quizzes. I gave him a treat and congratulated him on that. He drew a turkey, wrote my name on it, and gave it to me. The words “Happy Thanksgiving” were written on it. We went to do the reading after recess. He was distracted often and did not want to read. The teacher had to talk to him. He agreed to read. The homework session was the same; he kept getting distracted and the teacher had to talk to him now and then. However, we managed to finish on time. We were not to play that day because it was Thanksgiving Day and parents were waiting in the kids’ room. Buddy took me to his grandmother and his uncle. I introduced myself and then went back because the van was almost arriving. The experience of this day was that anxiety will always distract students from their goals. Buddy was anxious due to the upcoming Thanksgiving event. He did not want to read, perhaps because he was eagerly waiting to see his parents. Students need to keep focused on their objectives and try to keep off the possible distractions. The teacher should help the students keep focused on their goals and help them know that everything has its time.
There was no reading in the seventh session because it was a Thanksgiving dinner. Only two mentors turned up. We helped with the preparations and then played with the kids as we waited for the parents. When the parents came, the kids presented a play in which Buddy did excellently. Later, he wanted to play with my phone, which I gave him. As usual, he did not want to share with another kid who wanted to play with him. I talked to him and told him to share, which he agreed to but he was very disappointed and could not talk to me. His teacher talked to him and he apologized. Then the van came and we the mentors went off. My experience this day was that kids may be selfish at times. There are things they do not like sharing with others. They will only share if they are persuaded by the elders. This shaped my learning tool by realizing that at times people are selfish for nothing. At times people refuse to share what they have with others due to their egos. It does not harm sharing what we have.
The reading and the homework part went relatively well in the eighth session. Buddy finished reading in 20 minutes, despite the difficulties he encountered when reading long names. However, I helped him with reading. The homework part was also good. He liked it due to its nature. We finished early enough and had time to build a castle with domino pieces. We made the castle, only for another kid to touch it and it fell. The kid, however, apologized when I requested him to. He also agreed to build another castle together with Buddy. The experience I had on this day was that good motivation helped Buddy start to like reading because he enjoyed reading on this day. He also did well on the homework part. This shaped my learning in that I started appreciating the essence of motivation. I started realizing that whatever seems difficult can be made to look easy through proper motivation. It helped me acknowledge that probably nothing is difficult. It is the attitudes that people have towards certain things that make them seem difficult and unpleasant. This is a very important experience not only to the kids’ learning but also to the students in the higher learning institutions. Many are the times when students will score low grades due to disliking certain subjects. Probably, they would have scored higher grades if they got the right motivation.
The ninth and last session was the week after exams. We went for recess as usual after snacks. Afterward, we went to do the reading and homework. This time Buddy was excellent at reading and he liked it. He, however, had a few difficulties with long and new words, which I helped him with. Then, we started the homework and the first part was really good. He did well. Buddy encountered a few difficulties in the second part, but he understood it after I helped him out. He did it and finished on time. I said goodbye when the van I arrived, He hugged me and thanked me for helping him. Off I went, although I was not happy because it was the last session. I had appreciated the importance of persistence and motivation by the end of the nine sessions. Kids will always give up easily, especially when encountered with a difficulty. However, they will always tackle the difficulty if they persist and get the right motivation from the teacher or mentor.
Topic relevant to the volunteering experience
The nine sessions I attended at the Youth Life Delmont center for volunteering were a great learning experience. I had a great experience with the kids. I was able to learn that the most effective and appropriate way to get the best out of a kid is by giving the kid the right motivation. It does not help to condemn kids for what they do wrong. The teacher needs to try and understand what best motivates the kids as not all incentives are capable of motivating them. Different kids are motivated by different things, a factor that the teacher should know and appreciate. Therefore, from my experience, I conclude that the relevant topic would be motivation.
Motivation can be defined as the act of stimulating the desire and the energy for someone else to act in a certain manner to achieve a given objective (Ryan 3; Warren 5). Several factors influence motivation. These factors are both external and internal to an individual. They create an interest in an individual. In doing so, the factors usually create an interaction between the consciousness and unconsciousness of an individual. The intensity or the urge for a certain need, for instance, is an internal factor. On the other hand, a reward is an external factor (Brown 34). The two factors will interact and then create the drive in an individual to achieve something. While the former could be unconscious, the latter is usually conscious. Many are the times when human beings do not like to work, but they often want to have pleasure and relax (Levesque 12).
One will not be able to succeed in whatever they do unless they put in hard work and make efforts to succeed. One needs the motivation to do a given piece of work. For instance, a student normally may not like reading. However, they will score low grades in their exams if they fail to read. This will not be pleasing to them. Thus, the student has to spend time reading and make extra efforts to score high grades. Kids may not be aware of the importance of scoring good grades. Therefore, the teacher has to find a better way of motivating them. The teacher should take the time to learn what the kids like to establish what could motivate them. The teacher should also try to reason with the kids. This way, the teacher can understand the kids better and get into a position to offer the kids the right motivation (Wilde 4).
An afterword about the feeling about the community-based learning
The nine sessions I attended were an experience of a lifetime. I got the chance to interact outside the college boundaries. I also got the first-hand experience about the job that awaits me once I complete my course. I was able to interact with the kids, as well as the teachers and the parents. I was able to know what kids like, what they do not like, how they like being handled, and such things. The feeling about the community-based experience was the best. I enjoyed every single moment I spent with the kids. The only moment that was not so nice I can recall is leaving the kids after the last session.
I was able to appreciate the different ways in which a kid can be motivated during the sessions. I was also able to learn the fact that different kids need to be influenced differently depending on their likes and dislikes. Learning more about the kids would help the teacher deal with the kids under various circumstances. For instance, when the kids fought over Frisby, I was not able to effectively handle the situation probably because I had not learned and understood the students well. However, when Ms. Kate intervened, she was able to cool down the kids, made them apologize to each other, and she handled the situation excellently. The community-based learning was probably one of the best learning experiences I have had in the past. It helped me appreciate a couple of things that I could not appreciate before. It covered some aspects that I may never find in the theory and the coursework. I would wish to get such a chance again in the future and learn more.
Works Cited
Brown, Lois V. Psychology of Motivation. New York, NY: Nova Science Publishers, 2007. Print.
Levesque, Paul. Motivation: Powerful Motivators That Will Turbo-Charge Your Workforce. Irvine, Calif.: Entrepreneur Press, 2008. Print.
Ryan, Richard M. The Oxford Handbook of Human Motivation. New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2012. Print.
Warren, William E. Coaching and Motivation: A Practical Guide to Maximum Athletic Performance. Spring City, PA: Reedswain Pub, 2002. Print.
Wilde, Silvio. Coaching – Efficiency Enhancement and Motivation: Effects of Coaching on Sales Staff. München: GRIN Verlag GmbH, 2009. Print.
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