Service Trips #3-5 at Holmes Middle School

Trip #3~

On Thursday November 13, 2014, I went to volunteer to tutor at Holmes Middle School in Wheeling for 2.5 hours after school.  I have actually volunteered here since sophomore year, and each year have had the opportunity to work with a different group of kids.  Each time I go, I help the kids with their homework or any projects they may need help with.  This trip, I really took notice of how the kids at this school, which is in not a especially nice area, put little to no emphasis on their school work.  The students I work with are seventh grade girls named Naomi and Kelly, and neither of them seems to grasp the importance of doing well and trying hard in school.  I remember when I was in seventh grade, I was already thinking about where I wanted to go for college.  These kids, both of whose parents never finished high school, don't even think about high school yet, and seem to already know that they will probably not be able to go to college, and have already decided that school is not of importance to them.  I think it is very startling to see how kids that are raised in homes where education is not put on the front burner have completely different outlooks on school and their futures than children who grow up in homes where both parents graduated from college.  So, whenever I go to tutor these kids, I try to not just help them finish their homework, but try as much as I can to instill somewhat of an emphasis on education in their minds.


Trip #4~

On Thursday November 20, 2014, I volunteered again at Holmes Middle School, again for 2.5 hours, with the same students, Naomi and Kelly.  This trip, I noticed another factor that differentiates the lives of these kids from my own.  This middle school is in an area whose residents are predominately Mexican, and many of the children at the school are native Spanish speakers.  Through talking to the kids, and listening to them talk to each other, I've noticed that, since a majority of kids speak Spanish at home and are therefore fluent in the language, most of the students that are not native Spanish speakers try especially hard with their homework for Spanish class, and many of them speak enough of the language to be able to converse with the students that are fluent.  I find it very interesting that even though many of these kids don't put a very large emphasis on schoolwork, they try hard in that specific subject so that they can fit in with the larger group of students who do speak Spanish.


Trip #5~

On Thursday December 4, 2014, I again volunteered at Holmes Middle School for 2.5 hours.  This trip, I again helped my students Naomi and Kelly finish with their homework and, once we had finished, taught them how to play the game Clue.  These students, who normally put up quite a fight when I try to get them to finish their homework, and are very reluctant when I try to teach them new things, were suddenly very interested in the prospect of learning a new game.  I thought this was very interesting, and illustrated to me that while students who are brought  up in different environments may have very different outlooks on education through school, they are all still very willing to learn when I is something that interests them, or is fun.