Reflections from Miami:
3/21
Anne Rubin
On Day 4 of Hillel Alternative Spring Break, Towson’s job at Charles Drew Middle School was to paint murals in both the hallways and in the stairwells. When we were first being led to our work area, we passed by a teacher yelling at her student about her grades. Throughout the rest of the day, we witnessed similar confrontations and other groups witnessed at least three fights. This was a hard subject to grasp considering that, although we are seeing these events take place during the day, the kids that attend the school usually see a fight take place every day. A 13 year od boy I was talking to mentioned that he doesn’t really enjoy school because of that, and it shows how little school pride his classmates truly have.
When we started our project for the day, we were divided up into two groups: one painted mural s in the hallways and the rest of us painted barracudas in the stairwell (the school’s mascot is the barracudas). At first, the task looked pretty difficult. None of us really had outstanding painting abilities and, although the barracudas were already stenciled in, it was still easy to make a mistake. Our work wasn’t all that great in the beginning, as one of the project managers pointed out to us, but with that constructive criticism and lots of hard work, we were almost able to complete both the stairwell and hallway murals (they looked good, too)! While we were working, teachers, administrators and kids all told us thank you for the work we were doing. However, some of the kids also mentioned how they felt other kids would mess up our work not long after we left and others even said how they were even planning to mess up the murals. We tried to give the kids positive thoughts about the situation, but in reality, there is a good chance some of our work will become messed up some time after we have left Miami and our completed projects behind.
Another event of the day was a panel on education. During that panel, members of City Year, a few of which were former teachers, told us stories about working in inner city schools. One of the project managers told us an analogy about a girl who stood on the beach throwing starfish back into the ocean so they wouldn’t dry out when the sun came up. A man came up to her and asked what the point of doing that was, considering there was no way she would be able to throw them all back into the ocean. She picked one up, threw it back into the ocean, and pointed to where she had thrown it in the water. She said to the man, “See that one? That one is going to live. And even if I don’t reach them all, at least I was able to save a few!” The man agreed and began throwing starfish back into the ocean with the girl. Soon enough, people started joining in and, ultimately, they were able to save all the starfish. This taught me that even though we may not be able to save all the kids that go to this middle school, or make a difference in all of their lives, you still have the abiliity to make a difference in one kid’s life and that’s what’s important.
Today, for the after school program, we were divided into two groups and so were the kids. One group worked on painting banners that are going to be hung around the school while another group played games with the kids. After 45 minutes, the groups switched places so each kid got a chance to partake in both activities. It was a great chance to get to know the kids better and to see how they were becoming more comfortable with opening up to us. Overall, it was a great day and I am looking forward to being a part of a field day with the kids as well as doing final touches on everyone’s projects for the week.
3/20
Dani Gold
Today was the first day at Charles Drew Middle School. We started off doing physical training with City Year, which was designed to get us pumped up for the day. We then broke into groups to work on building benches and picnic tables. Sam and I worked for a few hours on sanding the wood for the tables. It was also my first time using a power drill and wrench, which was a new and exciting experience. It was really awesome to see that in a few hours, we sanded, stained and assembled tables from scratch.
After we broke for lunch, we had the opportunity to discuss the movie “Waiting for Superman,” which brought up thought provoking discussion on the issues of public schools. Then we got to spend time getting to know the students by working with them at the afterschool program. The kids were really sweet when you got to know them one on one and it was a really cool experience to interview each other. This allowed the kids to get to know us as well and give us the opportunity to get to know them on a personal level. It was sad to see that the school needed so much security and locked fences. It was also sad that the school was concerned about having a field day on the school’s open field in fear that the community would act “unpredictably” and that could create an unsafe environment for us and the students. I am hoping we can positively impact the campus and can’t wait to get to know the kids better!
3/19
Leah Malakoff
This week has been so amazing. I have made so many friends that I know I will keep forever. Having been here for less than two days has already made such a huge impact on the way I see my life, the way I appreciate what and who I have. Today we went to a cemetery, and I was one of the lucky few who got to help plant new trees. Being fortunate enough to create a new growing piece of that community is such an honor and a pleasure for me. Helping uncover tombstones from weeds is so exhilarating; I feel like I’m uncovering someone’s life. I feel like I am helping someone’s family to keep that person’s legacy alive. I just hope that in the future I am fortunate enough to continue things like this. The only downside? Getting a cut on my finger from one of the weeds.
Faces of Homelessness came to talk to us today. That was definitely a new side of homelessness I had never seen before. Usually when you think of homelessness you think of old, scraggly men. You almost never think of kids, but that’s exactly what this guy was: a kid. He told us he was in college, and he was homeless from ages 9 to 15. It really makes me appreciate who I am and what I have. I had seen homeless people on speaking panels like this before, but never someone this young. It definitely tugged at my heartstrings.
I’m definitely looking forward to helping out the kids tomorrow. Being in the elementary education major, this type of experience is exactly what I need to see what I’m working towards. I know sometimes it seems hard, but I also know that this makes it completely worth it. Every second of time and effort I put into this trip just gives me those warm fuzzy feelings that I was searching for. I don’t know what it is about this trip, but it is truly opening my eyes to a whole new side of the world. Can’t wait for tomorrow!
3/18 and before
Anne Rubin Pre-Miami Reflection
I am extremely looking forward to going on this Miami service trip. I have never gone on a weeklong service trip before and I have also never been to Miami. I have a feeling I will come back very sunburned, but it will be worth it. Even though I work at a kid’s camp, I’m kind of nervous as to what to expect when it pertains to working with the kids that attend the middle school. I don’t want to disappoint them and I also don’t want to disappoint the school of which we are providing services to. I do however feel prepared to work my hardest and to go there with a positive mindset. I look forward to getting to know the members of our Towson group on a more personal level and I also look forward to meeting the students from the other Hillels. I also can’t wait to play catch with Mickey and Michaela and to enjoy the lovely spring weather (and because I have been checking the forecast for Miami every day, I can assure you that it will be lovely). I am also looking forward to the discussions we will be having on how Judaism relates to the work we will be taking part in.
Samantha Triner Pre-Miami Reflection
In going to Miami I hope to be able to learn things from listening to other peoples perspectives. Being that I am not from that community I hope to be able to help in any way I can and maybe bring or show the people we are working with a positive outlook.
I hope to experience things/activities to bring back to our own community and try to encourage making a difference in our own home. I hope that by bringing back stories and experiences we can encourage people to want to continue with the trend and make our community a more positive and giving place.
Leah Malakoff Pre-Miami Reflection
I am really looking forward to Miami. I'm kind of nervous since I've been extremely sleep deprived recently, but I know I'll be doing something good for the community which makes up for my soon to be lack of sleep. I know I'm going to have so much fun making new friends and getting closer to the ones I already have...in addition to mercilessly making fun of Mickey. My plan for this trip is to do my very, very best at everything we do, and I'm sure it's going to be a blast! :D I totally can't wait!!!
Dani Gold Pre-Miami Reflection
I am very excited to go to Miami and do whatever I can to help a school that is suffering. After hearing the poor test scores at the school I realize that they really need our help. I love working with kids so I am especially excited to work at the after school program. I hope we get a lot of time to talk to the kids, tutor the, play with them, and overall just be good role models for the kids.
I am hoping to make an impact in the Miami community that they will appreciate. I hope that the kids are just as excited to have us there as I am to be there. I also hope that when we come back from the trip we are inspired to do more work in the Towson/Baltimore area. I am also looking forward to getting to know everyone on the trip and having a fun time in Miami!
Michaela Kornberg’s Pre-Miami Reflection The thing I am most excited about helping people when going on this trip. I am really nervous about what to expect and how everyone is going to act. I am also nervous about not being able to eat very healthy. I am going to try and help the group out throughout the week by being my normal positive, outgoing self and also being a team player. I am also going to try and listen to the team’s problems and help solve them. A skill that I have that I think will help me out on the trip is that I am able to be empathic to people and view people as who they really are. I am excited to volunteer and get to know everyone!
Ruchama Barkai’s Pre-Miami Reflection
I am excited to be part of ASB Miami for the 2012 spring break. I found out about this trip just by chance by meeting two girls at a Hillel event who said they went on it. They said it was really fun and a worthwhile experience. I am particularly psyched about this trip because I never volunteered for a week and experienced a program like this.
I am looking to gain a better appreciation for what I have, help others out in a way I have never done before, and of course enjoy the thrill of Miami. I hope I get the chance to connect to the children I work with and really understand what they are going through. Also, I want to put in effort to beautify the place they learn such as gardening work. I have been going through some rough times myself these past two weeks and I am looking forward to getting away and taking a break from everything here. Meeting new people, the heat of Miami, working as a team, and chilled nights all seem like the perfect way to relax before finishing off my first year of college.
I hope I have a meaningful experience where I learn more about social justice. I also want the lessons I learn to stay with me forever and motivate me to do more volunteer work and better the area I live in, in the future. I want to get involved in my community and give back to anyone in need. I couldn’t be more excited and I am ready to start my volunteer career and make a lasting impression on the schools we will be working in.