Tilyn- 826 Chicago- Day Four

On Thursday morning, we got to help with a field trip at 826. Field trips are typically for second or third graders, and there is a very long waiting list for schools to partake in one; and for good reason- the field trip was a blast.

The class comes in expecting to hear a story, but it’s the storyteller’s first day and they forgot to bring one. His boss, Admiral Moody, is mean and cranky and threatens to fire the story teller if he doesn’t have a story on his desk by noon. The kids were all very worried and eager to help the storyteller so he wouldn’t lose his job. Together, they make up a story and when they’re almost done, Admiral Moody comes back on the intercom and tells the storyteller he only has 20 more minutes to have 27 stories on his desk (which is miraculously the number of students on the field trip.) Each student writes his own ending, and then we bind them in a personalized book for each child to take home.

I really loved being a part of the field trip because you could see how excited the kids were about being a part of it. Obviously the storyteller’s job wasn’t really in jeopardy, but their reactions and innocent imaginations and exuberance were so refreshing to be around.

That afternoon, we went to La Salle II Elementary School to proofread a group of 8th graders’ creative writing stories. We sat down one-on-one with a few different students so they could read us their draft and we could help them revise. My first student’s name was Julio and his story was very poorly written; it was obvious he had little knowledge of the English language. The level of his spelling, grammar, and punctuation were that of a first grader. When my time was up with him, I expected my next student to be at the same level, but Sandra turned out to be one of the best writers I’ve ever met.

Listening to Sandra’s story was more interesting and better written than many books I’ve read; she is far beyond her age in her writing skills. Sandra’s story was so wonderfully crafted that I was somewhat jealous of her talent as an English Creative Writing major.

The disparities among the students were astounding. I talked to several of the other girls, and they were read stories of a very wide range of skill level as well. Obviously some students have natural ability, and others (like Julio) are perhaps struggling with a language barrier, but I have never been in a school where the students’ skill levels were so varied and I was shocked. It made me wonder if peer tutoring would be a good idea for the class we worked with because students that excel (like Sandra) were clearly bored with the classroom material, and to be honest, could probably help their struggling classmates more than outside tutors could in some cases.