Looking Forward to Next Semester

Over the course of the past semester, Jumpstart has come to mean many things to me: joy, cheerfulness, appreciation, and dedication. Not only have I learned the meaning of Jumpstart through my team’s sessions and work with our partner children, I have also come to better understand the importance and role of Jumpstart throughout the past two vacation weeks, which have unfortunately been absent of any preschool classroom time! By being away from the classroom for so long, I now better understand what exactly I miss about Jumpstart. For instance, the craziness and excitement embodied in every session, the students’ smiles that always exemplified hope and curiosity, and the moments that illustrated a student’s social or academic growth. And, by thinking about what I missed, I realized that, throughout the past semester, I had become so accustomed to the routine of Jumpstart that I neglected to recognize the instrumental role that Jumpstart plays for our community, our students, and us, as corps members. 

Last week, while I was riding the train home and completing the “Jumpstart Alphabet Booklet” for my partner children, there was a young boy, who was sitting diagonally from me. I immediately noticed the little boy because he watched me as I colored the pages. After a few minutes, the young boy began to smile and wave at me, and when I smiled back at him, his smile grew and turned into a laugh. It was his smile that caused me think about Jumpstart and the students that my team teaches. In fact, I believe that his smile and laugh captured everything about Jumpstart and the students that we work with: the love our partner children have for the world around them, the curiosity that our students have to grow and to learn, and the concern that our partner children have to express their unconditional appreciation for everything. It is those same smiles that I always looked forward to seeing in my partner children, just before entering the Jumpstart classroom.

After realizing the anticipation that I had for my students’ smiles and excitement, I discovered what truly motivates me, as a corps member: the joy and hope engrained in the classroom’s culture and the students’ personalities. Additionally, just as I teach my partner children, they have taught me a new life outlook, which is infused with hope, joy, and promise through their everyday smiles. In addition to teaching me the value of appreciating everything and to finding joy in the discovery of new things, my partner children have also taught me ‘how’ to be joyful and generous. I have learned that hugs, holding hands, high fives, and exploration not only express gratitude and joy, but those simple actions also collectively withhold the power to brighten a room’s mood, strengthen a friendship, and support a community.

Overall, the past two weeks of vacation have allowed me to better understand the meaning of Jumpstart and its importance in the community and my life. By not interacting with our partner children or conducting any Jumpstart sessions for a while, I have been able to reflect and more fully appreciate how the program has filled and will continue to fill my weeks with humor and optimism.

~Grant Conway

Corps member

Team Joy 2