Students as Scholars

            My team finally began Jumpstart session two weeks ago. I heard fellow Corps Members in other teams gushing over their students before I ever went into the classroom, sharing stories of hilarious encounters, chaotic lessons, and the occasional meltdown. I used to imagine that I would be just the same, redirecting every mundane conversation back to “my Jumpstart kids.” Now, I know that this is the case.

I have three partner children in a classroom of 26, in an all-girls charter school.  The school itself is remarkable; children are not referred to as “children,” or even “students.” At this school, they are “scholars.” The name is fitting, as every four year old is brilliant. In training, I was coached on how to explain the concept of print, and of how to describe each letter in the alphabet, as the pre-kindergarteners wouldn’t have even begun to be exposed to these academic ideas.

My Jumpstart scholars, however, know how to use print. They can sing the alphabet, and write their first names all by themselves; reviewing the letters on their own name cards have soon become passé, and we can now work on spelling my name, and the words of objects around the classroom. Last week, when I pulled Peter’s Chair out from under me when it came time for reading, they shouted the entire synopsis at me within seconds. After Read to Reconstruct, I asked: “Peter’s little sister must like the color pink, but not all girls have to like pink. What’s your favorite color?” Sitting crisscross-apple-sauce on the musty carpet with these four-year-old girls, I was unable to resist combatting gender roles in my own little way. “I like blue!!” one scholar replied, shooting up in excitement. At the same time, and at the same volume of voice, another scholar informs me that she loves pink and purple. “Like my princess bed!!” she shouts.

I have plenty of experience babysitting; I have been caring for children of varying ages since my middle school years. I know how to cook mac n’ cheese and peas with two kids hanging off my arms, I am an expert diaper wrangler, and I can hold a thorough discussion about any Nickelodeon Kids show. However, observing kids of the same age range in an academic setting allows me to see them from a new perspective. I don’t have the same tools for “management,” and I have very different goals for my time with them. Through Jumpstart, I am beginning to recognize their true intellect. My scholars can read me and make calculated decisions about what I want; they act according to their position in relation to their peers, the teacher, and me. Every day at work is a process in humbling myself, and I am so grateful to love what I do. I am also now aware of just how much gratitude my day care teacher deserves.  

~Aya Laurel Iwai-Folk

Corps member

Team Compassion