Recharging, Reflecting, Reorienting

This is always one of the toughest parts - trying to communicate your experience to those who weren't there. It's really hard to articulate the feelings of love, heartbreak, family, shock, and hope that were felt. Everyone experiences these, but in completely different ways.

Here are some lessons that I learned this past week in Philadelphia:
- Don't judge a book by its cover. Don't judge a person before knowing their story.
- In all things, be kind.
- The most difficult thing to teach is self-esteem and belief in yourself.
- Getting good grades isn't a priority if you are forced to be an adult before you're even a teenager. Circumstances matter.
- Memes are always the answer.
- I don't have all the answers. Sometimes I really just need to shut my mouth and listen.
- If you serve with all of your heart, the simple fact that you care can make a difference to someone else.

And some lessons I learned from my teammates: 
- From James: "never underestimate the power of hope."
- From Cyrus: keep asking questions. Let your imagination be limitless.
- From David: vulnerability and stepping outside your comfort zone leads to amazing results.
- From Emily: stand up for your values. Be yourself, unapologetically.
- From Harriet: kindness is understood across all barriers. Harriet is unconditionally kind.
- From John: you don't have to speak a lot in order to say a lot. In other words, John is profound.
- From Joy: the people who love themselves are the people who can best love others.
- From Larisha: you have to listen with an open mind and reject biases to know what the cup is. Is this a metaphor? Maybe.
- From Laura: everyone has fears, and the strongest people are the ones who stand up again and again when their fears face them.
- From Fearless Leader Bri Low: don't take things for granted. If you have an opportunity to do good, put every ounce of your heart into it.
- From Fearless Leader Morgan: humility. Translation - Morgan is one of the most amazing people I've ever met, but you won't hear her talk about her accomplishments. She lives for others and asks for nothing in return.

After an Alternative Breaks experience, reorientation is key. We have to ask ourselves, "What now?" and figure out how to translate what happened then into what we will do now. Knowledge is nothing if it isn't channeled into action. I'm looking forward to continue working and discussing with my team so that we can see our experiences blossom.

Peace, Love, AB!  - Clare

1 Week Later And...

...it was one of the best weeks of my life. I honestly couldn't imagine what this week would be like before arriving at Tilden. Many people highlighted Tilden's bad reputation, its lack of order, and other various reasons as causes for concern while there. Although these factors could be seen throughout the school, I think it is safe to say that there is hope for Tilden. Working with the students this week showed that many of the students do care about school and with a little push, they can succeed. Even though we would certainly like to be there longer, I think it was important for us to be there for them, as the students could see what they could be in a few years, if they put their minds to it. It was great to see that when Joy asked a class how many of them want to go to college, the majority of the kids raised their hands, even yelling out some names of universities. To end, as James said in one of our reflections, "there is hope in a hopeless place," and that's what keeps us going as a team. I couldn't have imagined doing this with better people and as a freshman, I feel like if I were to do another AB experience, no team could beat this AB Philly family. Till next time.
- John
#TildenRound2 ?

This week in Philadelphia has been the most rewarding and eye opening week of my life. Tilden Middle School is something I've never experienced before and something I'll surely never forget.

Tilden Middle School

Over the course of the week I worked in a 6th grade class. Being in that class was probably the best thing that could have happened to me. The teacher was so inviting and immediately got me and Laura involved with teaching and working with the kids. She definitely put us on the spot numerous times throughout the week, but every time she did I learned so much more about myself. This experience only solidified my plans to become a teacher in the future. 

Even though Tilden was a positive experience for me overall, so much happened over those 5 days that opened my eyes to the many issues that surround the educational system in urban areas and America as a whole. Though I won't get into the nitty gritty of everything that happened at Tilden here on the blog.  I'll be sure to take all that I learned and try to share that knowledge and continue to do what I can to improve education for the kids of the future.

This week has also been a great opportunity for me to get to know the 11 other members of my team who are all so passionate and caring. I know if the world had more people like them in it, we'd definitely be moving in the right direction towards social change. 

The kids during a math lesson. Don't let them fool you, they aren't really that focused on what the City Year is teaching 

My co (BriLow) and I being great on our last day at Tilden

I'm truly going to miss the kids at Tilden Middle School. I wish each and everyone of them the best and they'll definitely be in my thoughts and in my heart for years to come. 

My New Family

Almost 2 weeks ago, here we were

 

We were actually different people. Not only did we barely know each others names, we had NO IDEA what we are about to experience. Its incredible how one week can literally make you realize so much about yourself. In addition to the amazing experience of Tilden Middle School, I have grown to love this group. As a trip leader I was most apprehensive about group dynamics, would people click or if it would just be tons of awkward silences. We have shared so many tears of sadness, accomplishments and laughs. As a person who really enjoys her space and loves alone time, I never felt myself getting sick of these people. In that picture two weeks ago, I had no idea how incredibly lucky I was to have such an amazing team and it worked out so perfectly. 

Here we are in the last picture in Tilden. New mindsets, new family. I love you guys forever and thank you for making my experience as a trip leader amazing and effortless. 

-brilow/briyonce 

I will miss you Tilden

It's  over. Our time at Tilden Middle School is done. I will truly miss the kids. Is it weird to say that i consider the kids at Tilden my little  brothers and sisters? In this short time I really bonded with them. I learned a lot from them and i hope they learned from me in return. I would  continue  writing  but i am so emotional I will start crying  again.

An Amazing Day

Thursday has been the best day for this whole experience personally. Despite all the things said about this school, we can all see the great things about the school. We love the students even the ones that were hard to tolerate. They have made us not only laugh, but also helped us learn about ourselves. They refueled the passion that made us come on this trip.
At night, the group bonded. First, there was crying over specific kids' situations and how far some of us have come. The mood soon switched and we cracked up over various crazy stories about the kids. We played games and talked until it was time for bed.
Now it is our final day at school and I don't think I'm ready to leave.

Laughter is the Best Medicine

I can honesty say that I've never laughed harder than I have tonight. I don't know if it's the tiredness or the kids' goofiness, but I've just been dying laughing from all our silliness. I think it's a symptom of me working at Tilden Middle School. All day I am quite serious working with the kids, making sure they're doing work and helping them out. And a lot of times they test me patience, but I've been keeping all those negative emotions in. I think all the laughing is me letting out a lot of pent up stress and helps me cool off from the chaos that is Tilden. I just need a laugh to get my mind off some the problems and struggles the school goes through. So lesson from David: when you're feeling stressed or bummed out from negative emotions or experiences, just have a laugh and see if anything changes.

I can talk so much more about my experiences at Tilden and with the kids, but I need to collect my thoughts and form them into something coherent.  All I can say for sure now is that I just want more time to help. I feel like my job is not done here, and I need more time. 

Tilden Takeover

This has definitley been both the best and most challenging week of my life. Starting out on this experience I didn't know what to expect. My hopes were high, but when I heard we would be going to the madhouse known as Tilden Middle School I wasn't pleased. HOWEVER, Tilden has been an amazingly unique learning opportunity that can't fully be described in a blog post. 

Being paired with my one of my experience leaders (Hi BriLow!) in Ms. Corbin's 6th grade class has been so much fun. The first few days were chaotic, but as I spend more time in the classroom I am happy for the chance to observe a wonderful teacher who cares deeply for her students, and interact with some amazing kids. And the after school program kids are so eager and smart.  Working with Erica on her posters was the highlight of my week. 

I love that in the face of a great challenge and spending a week so far removed from our comfort zone, my group has been able to grow, learn and laugh through it all. This group is awesome!

I'm not ready to leave Tilden. I wish we had more time here, but I know I am going to take this expereience and bring it with me wherever I go. 

I don't want to leave. 

Larisha

Professional Development Day

PHMC STEM N2

Action! Thank you for this opportunity to come to your office and inviting us into your world! 

PHILLY HAS BEEN SO AMAZING. We havent been blogging lately but I promise its been because we have had fun, busy, exciting (and long) days! For the past three days we have been at Tilden Middle School and it has been absolutely amazing and rewarding.

 The first day, walking into chaotic hallways was intimidating for just about the whole group. For the most part, I don't think anyone has experienced a school as quite interesting as Tilden. That leaves ample room for both observation and growth. To be honest, Tilden is known as a school that is "rougher" than most. Being told that we would see multiple fights a day, I honestly thought was an exaggeration. Nah.

My experience in a 6th grade classroom has been beyond interesting. From Day 1 of witnessing fights and disorder in the classroom, I had no idea how I would manage this week. By Day 3, I can already say I absolutely love the children I work with. So full of energy and jokes, but also so eager to learn. After School we help with a STEM N2 Action Program that has kids just as wonderful as the ones we work with in the day. I couldn't forget our community partner Naas who is making this all possible. Naas probably one of the funniest people I've ever met (besides myself of course) and we had the pleasure of meeting with the rest of his STEM N2 Action staff who are all wonderful and passionate people.

Team bonding is at an all time high with gourmet dinners (Still within budget), meaningful reflections that run for 2 hours and inside jokes (meme WARS). We are pretty much a little over halfway through our trip and literally, I have no idea how I will say goodbye on Friday.
-BriLow

Gettin' ready to do our thang!

Hey friends! It's Clare here. In just a few minutes, we'll be leaving for our first day of service in Tilden Middle School. We are all so excited to spend time with the kids and learn more about Philadelphia education.

Yesterday, a few of us went to the service for the church we're staying at, The First Presbyterian Church of Germantown. This is one of the most special communities I've met. "Diversity" is a buzzword that people like to throw around sometimes, but this church is a truly diverse place, and extremely committed to challenging the status quo and truly making an impact in their community. They have been so hospitable to us, and have made our first two days in Philly welcoming and comfortable. Many thanks to them!!!

After spending time with the church members, we went downtown to do some exploring before our meeting with our community partner. After searching long and hard, we found a cute little place to get some amazing cheesesteaks (or for the vegetarians like myself, veggie wraps...we were a bit jealous.)

We met with Public Health Management, our community partner, next, who explained to us what we would be doing throughout the week and helped us brainstorm. Tilden Middle School is a school that our community partner has been working with to improve learning outcomes and encourage investment in education where it has previously been neglected. We found out that we would be tutoring the kids and helping them prepare for an upcoming standardized test. Something that we have learned is crucial to education reform is NOT teaching to the test, but rather helping the students understand the material in an applicable and useful way. If they know the concepts and methods inside out, then they can apply it to what is on the test. Not only is this helpful for their own learning, but it allows us to be sure that the results of standardized tests truly reflect the levels our students have reached.

We will also be helping to run an after-school program, during which we will be helping the students develop a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Math) project. The idea we came up with at first was Sustainability, an important and relevant topic that we are all passionate about. Later last night during reflection, we picked this idea apart and brainstormed ideas, and we came to the realization that these kids may not care about sustainability and recycling when there are much larger problems to deal with in their daily lives. We realized that we have to use topics that are applicable and important to them, and that they can be excited about. James brought up a wonderful way to do this by suggesting that instead of discussing "sustainability," we help them to think of ways to take ownership of their spaces, to care about the state of them, and through that, to encourage ways of taking care of the spaces they love, whether that is through recycling, creative decorating, or any other ways in which they can sustain the beauty and comfort of the spaces that matter to them.

Well, our PB&Js are made, our coffee's been chugged, and we're ready to go! We're looking forward to writing about how our first day goes. Thanks for following along and being a part of our experience through your support and care!

Much LOVE from ASB Philly!

Philly Cheesesteaks! Thanks to The Wrap Shack!

The Night Before

After a great (cold) day in downtown Philly, we are all anxiously awaiting our first day of service tomorrow morning.  Over the last 36 hours, everyone has been able to get to know each other better and come together more as a team.  The morning started with most of the group attending services at our host church, with everyone attending a coffee hour with the congregation.  It is wonderful having such a supportive community partner and host and being welcomed the way we have.  After a quick drive to downtown Philadelphia, trying to find the best place to park a 12 passenger van on the same day as the St. Patrick's Day Parade (there was really only one place, and it wasn't close to our destination), zigzagging through city blocks by foot to find lunch, we were able to meet with Nas, Demetrius and Mr. Turner at PHMC.  We were able to see the impact the ASB Philly 2014 had in their school and briefed at the current climate in our partner school.  It was a cold dose of reality, but momentum for the work ahead this week has been building ever since.  This is a fantastic group and I can't wait to see how the week progresses and where this journey takes us all.

And so it begins!

Spring Break has officially begun! The Philadelphia urban education experience  headed out yesterday morning. It was only a short 3 hour drive but we were all exhausted when we finally settled in to the church we'd be staying in for the week. 

The church, First Presbyterian Church in Germantown, is amazing. And the people are so generous and hospitable. Our contact for the church, Christian, gave us an extensive tour and history lesson and it's all so interesting. We can't wait to go out today to see what else the city has to offer. 

Make sure to check out the About Us section to the left to get to know the members of team Philly!

-Morgan!