JUNIOR ACHIEVEMENT, TOM LEE PARK, AND MASS AT ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH

Today, we started off with an early day to get to LaRose elementary school in Memphis, Tennessee. Through Junior Achievement, we split up into individual classrooms of all K-5 grade levels and led our respective classrooms. I personally helped with preschool with James Ferraro and Ms. Vela to help students understand the concept of money. The kindergarteners were very smart and picked up on many things very fast. Regardless of the classroom we helped with, we all struggled with some developmentally challenged students and the janky lesson plans we were served. However, we all got a better understanding of the importance of education in Memphis and why all students need to be provided with an equally important education. In the afternoon, we pivoted, sightseeing in our extra time. We went to downtown Memphis by the Mississippi river to spend our free time. The boys played basketball and the girls talked at a public park named after Tom Lee. In the 20^th century, he helped rescue 32 people from a sinking ship as a black man in his small canoe. Afterwards, we walked across a bridge to get to Arkansas, took some pictures, and left. Then, we went to a mass in downtown Memphis and learned about how they’ve been helping the local community for over a century. When reflecting on today, we had a great mix of fun and work and got to really understand Memphis for the culture the city truly has. Memphis may be seen as just an unsafe city, but people who judge so shallowly are unable to enjoy the city for what it is. Lastly, we picked up some birthday gifts for James and are currently waiting to surprise him for turning 18. Today was a great last (full) day in Memphis.  

 

Today was the day that we went to LaRose elementary to help teach a class of students. I had previously volunteered at an elementary school in Colorado during my junior immersion but what I was about to experience was nothing like my previous immersion. Nobel and I were assigned to the 5^th graders. Before we stepped foot into the classroom we had to plan out and organize a series of 5 lesson plans (that would usually be taught in 5 separate days) and put the materials together to teach all the students each assignment that day. Because I had previously helped teach 3^rd graders during my prior immersion, I didn’t know what to expect from a 5^th grade class. We arrived and began to introduce ourselves and started our lessons on careers and jobs. Suddenly, the kids began bombarding Nobel and I with questions. It was both endearing and overwhelming to see how eager the students were to engage and participate in the activities, it was hard for me to have to start turning down raised hands for the sake of time. Trouble started to arise once we handed out the lesson packets to the students. Some of the questions and activities seemed a little too complex for the 5^th grade class. For example, one of the questions they were asked to answer was “what is the average salary of an accountant?”  The problem was they were only given a list of career names and nothing more. Furthermore, the students were asked to find the average price between 7 items, the problem with that was the total cost of all the items were not divisible by 7 and required division skills that exceeded far beyond their current mathematical capabilities. Mrs. B taught me a valuable lesson today; teachers must constantly think on their feet. When plans fall apart it takes a lot of skill for a teacher to come up with new ways to teach. For us, we had to remove the packets altogether and create interactive games and activities that made learning both fun and informative. The passion, love, attention, and time that teachers put into personally tailoring lesson plans for their students is incredible, I was exhausted after only half a day of teaching, and when I asked Ms. Mullen (the teacher of the class I was assigned to) how she does it she said, “this is my life.” Teachers dedicate their lives to making sure the next generation is educated and prepared to succeed in life, I was not only delighted to see that at such a young age these students were being reinforced with the positive message that they can achieve any career they want in life but I was also honored and humbled to place myself in the position of the patient people who dedicate their lives to ensuring the proper education of our youth. In the late afternoon we went to Tom Lee Park. After playing some pickup basketball with one of the local college students named Suan we walked across a long bridge that stretched across the Mississippi river and connected the state of Tennessee to Arkansas. During that time, we reflected on the importance of education in a community. After that we attended mass at a local church. It was my first mass outside of Regis and it was interesting to see how similar the two were, this one was a bit shorter though because there was no student speech. Overall, today was great, just like my junior immersion I loved helping to teach the children and gain more insight into the world of the educators who have helped me throughout my academic career and understand more deeply the hard work and sacrifices they make out of their love and passion for educating the next generation. I can’t wait to end tonight by celebrating James’s 18^th birthday with everyone, hopefully we don’t stay up too late…