Today was the day that we had all been waiting for. I was incredibly nervous as I approached Neumann. I knew that I was prepared and I knew my parts, but I still had a lot of jitters. Seeing Matt with our materials did calm me down for some reason. I knew that he was prepared and that together, we could do it. I believe that Matt and I have a nice chemistry and that helps me with my confidence.
As the bus pulled up, I realized that it was finally real - we were off to do what we have been talking about for the past two weeks. No turning back! It was a surprise to see that there weren't any students in the bus at first like we expected. When we first entered the school was the real surprise though. I had never been inside the middle school here in Waverly before. I felt like it could have either been the entry for a hotel or a Lifetime Fitness Health Center. Everything was shiny and orderly. As we entered the auditorium, I was amazed by the grandeur of everything, but I became excited to meet the kids for the first time. My adrenaline kicked in and I knew that I could do it (whatever "it" was).
I felt a little more comfortable after seeing the presentation of the projects from last semester. I didn't really have an idea of what the groups did. It was really neat to see the kids to get excited, but most importantly, I really enjoyed seeing how the kids were actively involved in service. Seeing the smiles in the photos encouraged me because it showed me that the students enjoyed the service that they were doing. The goal for me is to help the students to continue to enjoy the service that we do - even if they don't get to directly see the effects of their work. I think that might be the hardest part - making them see their contribution.
Overall, the lesson went pretty well. We made sure to set rules before we got started, and as Mandie told us, everything went pretty smoothly. There were some parts of the activity that the students really liked (the small group discussion about ways that we use water and what we would do if we didn't have water) and other parts that were a little harder to pay attention to (the descriptions of the various organizations that we are going to work with). I am a little bit disappointed because the students are not as excited to work with the organizations as I am. How could we change that so that the students want to partake in the change and get excited about it?
In the end, I realize that I made the right choice by doing community builders. I am ready for the challenge of sharing my passion with middle school students. Finally, I realize that I can relate to the 6th graders and that they really do (more or less) care about what we have to say.
In hindsight, there a couple aspects that we should change for next time: help clean up as a group after we finish, and plan more than we think we need. We didn't run out of activities, but we had a few extra minutes that I filled in by having Matt and I introduce ourselves a little more and let them know what we are involved in on campus. These students are involved in activities on campus and it is possible that I might see them around!
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