Day 2.

            My second day volunteering at Bailey Gatzert was just as fun as the first day with Alexia. The first station we went to was homework completion. A group of the tutors stayed in the same classroom to wait for our kids to get settled into desks next to each of us. Alexia was the first student to come running in, so she could sit next to me on the desk. We had to help them complete their homework packets, after they finished their snacks of Teddy Grams and Chocolate milk. The batch of students was so calm eating their snacks, and did not want to be bothered by anyone. Very talkative and excited, Alexia asked me where I was from, what my age was, and what my favorite things to do were. I answered and asked the same questions to her, adding on a “how was your day?” Alexia happily answered my questions and quickly finished her snack.

            After the kids finished eating their snacks, a game of “heads up seven up” was played, and then the homework packets were distributed. Alexia started off with word problems, which she had some trouble with. She read the sentences slowly, trying to pronounce all the words correctly. The standard of the assignment was to draw a picture to illustrate the problem, write an equation, and solve. Alexia became distracted with her work and began to draw people instead of drawing out snowballs for the word problems. It was frustrating trying to get Alexia to focus and back on track. She solved the problems easily, but refused to write the equation down. I asked her over and over again, in a calm voice, to draw the correct pictures and she listened. It was amazing how obedient she was when I asked her to nicely do things.

            The next station was the computer station, and the students had to solve math problems on the computer program. Alexia was very familiar with the operations on the computer and enjoyed her time on the computer solving the math problems. It amazed me that she did not get any wrong, and understood the material presented to her. The program had sound to it and we had to both wear headphones so we could hear the sound effects and help our student if they were stuck on a certain problem. Alexia kept asking if I could hear the sound effects well and was nice enough to trade headphones if mine did not work. The effects of the arts and interaction on the computer with technology helped Alexia focus more because she did not disrupt the class or misbehave. Affirming Robinson’s claim, technology should be an emphasis in the classroom, and be introduced to children at an early age for growth and development. Alexia is a perfect example of this statement, because her attitude was calm and she was more focused on getting through with the math problems. 

Day 1.

           During the orientation for service learning, one of the coordinators at Bailey Gatzert was sharing her experiences she went through volunteering at the elementary school, both good and bad. She had mentioned a particular girl who is very intelligent for her age discourse, but always misbehaves and is disrespectful to her teachers and peers. For instance, instead of going to the bathroom when given permission to, she went outside to the field and ran around with the soccer players during practice and the situation went out of control. She would not listen to teachers, or she would always be the student who is never in line, but wandering around. The coordinator told us that the girl is a non-mainstream student who has two older brothers who act rough around her, which is a possible reason why the girl always misbehaves.

            Ironically, on my first day volunteering at Bailey Gatzert, I was paired up with the exact same child, Alexia. I was helping Alexia with the “Brain Train” program, which is a program after school that helps students in first grade improves their reading, writing, comprehension, and math skills. At the reading and writing station, Alexia read the words on the flashcards quickly and wrote them correctly, with no mistakes on her piece of paper. However, from time to time, she would look up at the ceiling and talk about off topic subjects, trying to redirect my attention away from helping her complete her assignments. Alexia cannot stay still, and I would always have to tell her, “sit up please, Alexia” to remind her to stop misbehaving. Although she did misbehave, she completed her assignment correctly with very few errors and in a quick amount of time.

            At the next station, which was math, the students played a game of freeze-tag to release some of their energy so they could concentrate better on their assignment. Full of energy, Alexia ran around the room trying to tag her peers during the game. The laughter and excitement the students gave off created a happy atmosphere in the room. When the game was finished, I had helped Alexia count to the number 100 by 2’s, and then by 5’s. Smart as she is, Alexia did not need my help and correctly counted to the number 100 by herself. Alexia is a very intelligent student, but she sometimes misbehaves to get attention from the teacher or her peers. I am looking forward to continue tutoring her throughout the quarter.

Profile of Service Learning Site: Bailey Gatzert Elementary School

Located in the neighborhood of Capitol Hill, Bailey Gatzert Elementary School opened in September 1988. Capitol Hill contains a mix of White, Asian, African American, Hispanic, White and Asian, and "Other" races. However, the White race alone is dominant in the neighborhood. An average income in the neighborhood is about $68,653 dollars. With a population of 40,078 citizens living in the area of Capitol Hill, around 324 students are enrolled in Bailey Gatzert. A mixture of Indian (2%), African American (43%), Hispanic (24%), Asian/Pacific Islander (21%), White (4%), and Multiracial (6%) is the ethnic makeup at Bailey Gatzert. The diversity of students and location of the campus has interested Seattle University to help advance the educational conditions at Bailey Gatzert.  

It has been announced on King5 news that Seattle University is dedicated in improving the conditions at Bailey Gatzert. Being a Jesuit University dedicated in helping the community, Seattle University has donated about $1 million towards the Seattle University Youth Initiative. The Youth Initiative is a program that organizes the University students into community projects as simple as becoming tutors or mentors at Bailey Gatzert Elementary School. My expectation for working at Bailey Gatzert is to make an impact on at least one student. I am hoping to help accomplish their goals by giving them advice and suggestions when they are confused about a situation they are in. Although they are elementary school students, I am hoping to spark an initiative or idea of what they want to grow up to become.