Maxfield weeks 2 and 3

The goals that I find with the ACES program at Maxfield are to provide a safe environment for students, to offer positive adult role models for students, and to provide relevant experiences, both inside and outside the classroom. These goals are explicitly stated in our volunteer meeting room as well as on the front page of our volunteer handbook. We do our best to carry these out in the program. I think that ACES embraces the different cultures Maxfield’s students bring to the table, however the vast majority of students who participate in the program come from African-American backgrounds. As I talked about in my first post, ACES was eager to drop their curriculum for a week to accommodate Ramsey’s preparations for Parent’s Night. When students asked my why they were participating in these skits and musical numbers, I would reply that it is important for their family to understand that the school and our program value their cultural background, and that it is important to stay in touch with their culture.
I experience intercultural interactions every day that I step into my fourth graders’ classroom. They are always singing the latest songs and dancing around during the period between the end of school and the beginning of ACES. Because I am the new guy, and therefore inherently interesting, they always ask me if I had heard the songs before, to which I normally date myself by replying no. They start trying to teach me the songs for the rest of the session that day. This leaves me asking myself the question: should I start lying and saying that I do in fact know the songs so it doesn’t take time out of ACES’ curriculum.
I had an interesting experience two weeks ago with a pair of my male students. I was helping them out with their long division by using money as a way to divide by 25. This led them to ask how much money I carry around on a daily basis. I responded (truthfully) that I carry around roughly $15. They were stunned. They suddenly asked me if I attended college. They were perplexed by the fact that I am basically broke but I am still in college, because, apparently, they have been given the impression that only rich people can go to college. For the first time, I really understood a reason why people dismiss college as a goal: you need to be rich. It was interesting watching them analyze my information on college loans and scholarships. It was also pretty entertaining to watch their reaction to the idea of someone paying for your college (in the form of scholarship). I have had a pretty good first three weeks at Maxfield, and I look forward to my visit next week.