Ducks @ Oregon - University of Oregon

Back to Work

Korrin B.

September 26, 2009 - 7:00 PM

Back to school also means back to work. This year I will be working my fourth year in the After school Community Education (ACE) program at Meadowlark Elementary School. I started working in this amazing program my freshman year as a work-study student. I had found the job online one day when I popped into the UO Career Center to figure out what this whole work-study thing was anyway. I quickly learned that I had found a special job and signed up my sophomore year to be a work-study helper in the program again. ACE is a program designed to give low-income children a safe space after school where they can enjoy a warm meal, enhance their writing skills, partake in enriching recreational activities. I have always been amazed with the program's strong sense of community. It was probably this fact that made me have to find a way to stay involved in the program when I didn't receive work-study money in my financial aid package the third year. My junior year, I ended up getting hired through the City of Eugene Recreation Division to be a recreational leader in the program. I loved taking on this new role and getting to design my own arts and crafts classes to teach the kids!

Well, now I'm hooked. One may think that after spending an entire summer working with kids, 24 hours a day, at the Fresh Air Fund's Camp ABC, that I might just be sick of working with children? If you had of asked me a couple of weeks ago, I might've just said yes. However, I knew the moment I walked back into Meadowlark Elementary School and saw all of those familiar little faces running up to me and yelling with such enthusiasm, "Ms. Korrin!!!!" - I wasn't quite sick of it yet. This year I have been hired on through the Eugene School District 4j to be an Instructional Assistant. This means that this year I will be in charge of the academic portion of the program, as opposed to the recreational section. I will be teaching our program's group of first graders some writing skills. I am very excited to take on this new leadership role in the program. I have been busy these past couple of weeks with various trainings and time spent lesson planning. I am hoping to do a poetry unit with the kids, as well as a letter writing activity. I have some friends in other countries who are willing to exchange some postcards with us. I think the kids will be very excited!

As a senior member of the ACE staff, I am also ready to take on some leadership in other aspects of the program. In past years during our lunchtime, we have presented the kids with some fun entertainment that they can look forward to. Last year, we did Travel Tuesdays. Every Tuesday, we would talk about a different state and the kids would learn its capitol and other fun facts. The year before that, we did Fun Food Fridays. For Fun Food Fridays, we went through the alphabet and each week we would eat something that started with the letter we were on. For example, when it was "E," the kids tried some eggplant and when it was "F," the kids tried some figs. There are two of these types of activities that I am hoping to initiate this year.

First, I would like to encourage the students in our program to expand their minds. Many students do not yet grasp the fact that there is more to the world than Eugene. Therefore, I would love to "travel" with them to a different country once a month during our lunchtime. I am thinking about sharing some information with the kids about the country and then doing things like playing some music from it and giving them some food that is native to the area. It would also be nice to be able to have some of the international students or groups from the UO to come in and share with the kids.

This brings me to idea number two. I had a discussion with the coordinator of our program last year about sharing more information about college with the kids and how it's an important thing to get them curious about it early on. We talked last year about having the kids take a field trip to the UO campus, but it unfortunately did not happen because we didn't have enough time to plan. However, I am determined to have it happen this year. Not only do I want them to come to the campus, but I also want to make sure that they get to meet people from all different parts of the campus. I am hoping to schedule a speaker once a month during our lunchtime to come in and speak to the kids about what they do and why they love the UO. Many of the kids know about the UO, that it exists nearby, and almost all of them are quick to throw out a "Go Ducks!" However, most of them do not really understand what the University is, where exactly it is, and why it's so important. By having speakers come in, the students will be able to see the diverse aspects of the college and expand their minds about what it is and what it means. I am hoping to have people from groups like the music and theater department, the athletic department, student government, the Craft Center, Student Life, the art museum, the Alumni Association, and many others join in on this unique opportunity to come talk with our kids. I have already emailed the UO Jam Squad to see if they can come in and perform for us and talk a little about their group at our New York Family Night in November. I also think it would amazing if we could somehow schedule an appearance from everyone's favorite mascot!

It is always a little overwhelming getting started with a new year. There is so much planning that goes into it, but I have a feeling that this one will be a great one. I cannot wait to bring new learning opportunities to the children.