The first couple of days in Chicago have been phenomenal. In reality, today was my first workday because the school I am at, Urban Prep, is an all boys academy that did not have school yesterday. Instead of waking up early, I eased my way into the day at a coffee shop downtown and worked on a Powerpoint presentation for my teacher’s seminar class over HIV/AIDS facts, misconceptions, treatments and resources in the community. After completing it and sending it off to my teacher, I explored the city for a while and found my bearings before reconnecting with the group at the church for a relaxing evening.
Today was a different story. The unstructured nature of yesterday was replaced by experiencing a school with a striking amount of structure and regimen. A little before 7:30 AM, I arrived at the school with another member of our group, Grant Berning. The teachers and administrators who met us inside the doors of Urban Prep were remarkably welcoming and were quick to offer handshakes with smiles on their faces. The students were the same-outgoing, polite and friendly. Rather unfairly, I subconsciously expected commotion and disarray. Instead, the students and staff convened at 7:59 sharp in the gymnasium for assembly. Students stood in straight lines and listened to an address from multiple administrators. Although there was a little chatter amongst the students, I can imagine my high school class would’ve been much more disruptive if asked to stand in straight lines and be quiet for the first part of the day on the first day back from winter break. At the end of the assembly, the administrators and students bellowed the Urban Prep creed together
“ We believe. We are the young men of Urban Prep. We are college bound. We are exceptional-not because we say it, but because we work hard at it… We are our brothers’ keepers. We believe in ourselves. We believe in each other. We believe in Urban Prep. We believe”
echoed off the walls of the gymnasium. The solidarity of this group of students was palpable. They were all selected in a lottery to attend this school. They were the students responsible for the extraordinary 95% attendance rate. I could tell it was a special place from the get-go.
After the assembly, Grant and I followed our teacher, former KU student Alex Rock, up to his room where he teaches junior chemistry. While today was their equivalent of the tedious syllabus day, it was still enjoyable and educational to interact with the students and watch them interact. A specific thing that both Grant and I noticed was how many conversations among kids were about college and how to bring their GPA’s up. Even the ones that obviously struggled didn’t dodge the idea of talking about school indicating that they genuinely cared about it. The structure didn’t allow much time for Grant and I to talk to students during Mr. Rock’s chemistry classes. However, Urban Prep builds a period into the students’ schedule called PRIDE, which acts as a home-room period where students interact and work on building skills that make them better men. Being the first day of the semester, it was a great time for us to meet the students during this period. They were outgoing and fun to talk to. During this period it also became evident that many of these students look at Mr. Rock as much more than a teacher. They seemed much happier to see him than the typical interaction a student has with a teacher after a break. It was as if they missed their friend, their mentor. This showed a new side of TFA to me that I hadn’t really thought about before. Many teachers have to do more than succeed in the difficult task of educating young men and women with a lackluster foundation in academics. To be as effective as possible, they also are leaders, role models and friends.
Until Tomorrow,
Jason
No comments:
Post a Comment