Service Learning: Interest

Being receptive to the Xa Mẹ kids' interest is something we've struggled with during the course of this semester. Earlier on in the semester, we tried to keep a really organized schedule at XM--making detailed plans of English lessons and activities for every day we were there. Things started to change a little when the kids started losing interest in the English lessons. Less and less children would participate, and we eventually made the decision to stop doing the lessons basically because this would mean that we were focusing our attention on a few kids rather than spreading our attention and efforts out over as many kids as possible. Our plan was to help the kids learn English when they asked for it--either for their homework or their own interest. After we discontinued the English lessons, we brought in some magazines and encouraged the kids to cut out things they liked and didn't like and write about the collages they made. They kids were really into making collages with the magazines, and we continued bringing them in on and off for a couple weeks. The kids have also been pretty receptive to our profile project--all but a few kids put time into their pages.
Ultimately, this semester I've definitely learned the importance of being receptive to the interest level of the people you are trying to help. There is no use planning an English lesson that no one wants to be at--it's just not going to be effective. Basically I've found that you need to maintain a balance planning something that will interest and engage the kids and planning out your time and effort in a way that will end up having the biggest and most positive impact. Another challenge is planning activities that will interest the most kids. This is really hard because of the big age range of the children--6 to 18 years old. Some activities interest more kids than others. For example, it's usually the younger kids who want to play games like duck duck goose and elbow tag. Our interactions with the older kids are usually limited to homework help, talking, and watching TV together. At XM we usually spread out, so it's often the case that one of us will be helping a kids with their homework, another will be watching TV with them, and another might be playing cards with some kids upstairs. One challenge that comes with us spreading out and participating in the interests of the different kids is that is can be more difficult for us to communicate with each other during our time at XM. Ultimately, though, this has been a really effective way of trying to be accessible to as many kids as possible.
Finally, I think it's really significant that we show the kids our own interest and love for them. It's important to remember that almost all of these kids are living away from their parents and families. At night, there are really no adults giving them any attention or showing much interest in them. When we talk to the kids and ask them about themselves, we show them that we care and that they matter. Even just showing up shows the kids that we care. I think that this is really something Xa Mẹ is missing in terms of how the children are taken care of. Who are the people there to help the kids develop positive self esteem and a feeling of worth when they are at home?
Ultimately, I've really learned the importance of tuning in to the interest level of the people you are trying to help while making it clear that you care about them, are interested, and want to be there. Essentially, it takes both sides of a volunteer project to be engaged to have a real positive impact.