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The views expressed on this page are soley
those of the author and do not
necessarily represent the views of County
News Online
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Empowering After School Program
Tiny smiles
when something ‘clicks’
By Madisyn Pieper, Edison Volunteer
I completed over 24 hours of volunteering for the After School Program.
During that time I had some great conversations and moments with the
children. In reflection I wish that I could have given more time to the
program but it was hard to find time while being a full time college
student with two jobs.
In my personal opinion I believe that this program could make the
difference for a child who may be on the edge at a crucial point in
childhood. I believe that if a child is struggling to not fall behind
in school it may be hard to ask for help or try to keep up with others
on their own. It may be especially difficult if they are having issues
in other areas as well. With the After School Program it may be easier
for a child to ask for and receive help, subsequently making it easier
to stay on track with their peers. It may also provide somewhere that
they feel they can talk with a trusted mentor. I believe that being
able to keep up academically from earlier in a child’s education career
will make it easier for them to keep up later on and that they will
know it is okay for something to not make sense and need help.
From participating in the program I gained a better sense of what it is
to help someone learn from early on, all the way down to the basics of
reading and writing. I believe that participating in the program was
very rewarding. I enjoyed all of the tiny smiles that came from the
small things, such as an extra cookie to when something clicks and they
understand. The pictures that the children would draw may have seemed
silly at first but it is nice to know that you made a kid happy and
they tried to draw a picture so they could give it to you and make you
feel the same joy. Even for those who do not plan on going into a
career with children I believe the program is good experience and it
can provide a new perspective and appreciation.
Edison’s core value were strongly demonstrated through the After School
Program, especially when looking at time with a focus on communication.
The first core value of communication was demonstrated in many ways,
whether it was communicating with other volunteers, to communicating
with the children. If a problem arose, teamwork was even needed to find
a solution between everyone. While working together as a team, not only
was communication used, but critical thinking as well. Critical
thinking was needed to finish homework, projects, conflict and many
other issues, also helping to ethically find the best outcome for the
task. The program also ran smoothly because of the diversity present
not only among the volunteers, but among the children. The diversity
gave many different outlooks and ways of completing a task or just
having fun with some new ideas. Many, if not all, of the children
wanted knowledge about something new when encountering it.
From the first day of the program until towards the end great progress
was made toward making the program run more smoothly. I believe that in
future groups having the books organized will become a great help to
ensure that the children can easily find the books that they need and
are at appropriate reading levels. Another suggestion that I have is
possibly setting the homework groups according to grade, so that it is
easier to complete and stay on task. It became challenging when trying
to work with five children and all but two of them are in a different
grades, consequently making it where we had to bounce between several
assignments. A final suggestion that I have is to possibly set a
separate room just for the children who have to read. I noticed if a
child had no homework/completed all homework and only had reading left
that it was harder for them to stay on task and focus with other noise
and commotion going on.
Madisyn has completed 24.75 hours in Empowering Darke County Youth’s
After School Program on the Edison Darke County Campus. To get details
about her assignment, go to Edison Students Speak Out
To get more details about Empowering Darke County Youth and the After
School Program, go to the Empowering
Darke County Youth link.
This opinion is being published with permission, and was chosen for CNO
readers due to the quality of the assignment submission and relevance
of the topic. It does not necessarily represent the opinion of County
News Online or Edison State Community College.
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