Thursday, December 10, 2009
we could use a few more "ONG's" around here...
So, a few weeks ago I planned on going to ONG, but I just knew something would go wrong.. .I had a feeling, but I drove out there anyways. Upon arrival I find out that the kids were going on a field trip to Red Arrow Park, many of the kids who normally come to the High School Connection program did not show, but the ones that did seemed pretty excited to go. So, I finally decided I would tag along, and followed the bus downtown. Well, some event was going on down by Red Arrow because there were news vans, police cars and a lot of people, so traffic and parking was terrible. I ended up getting separated from everyone else and frustrated due to lack of parking, so I disappointedly went back home. It would have been nice to see how the kids from ONG interact outside of their “formal” environment because the field tip seemed pretty fun (it would have also been interesting to find out what was going on at Red Arrow that night). I also realized that the following week was thanksgiving, and the students had a special dinner planned for Tuesday, which seemed fun but I didn’t want to interrupt that, so finally I am brought to the first week of December and able to visit the volunteers and students at ONG once again.
Although it is the first big snowfall of the year, it seems like everyone is here at ONG (students and volunteers). Like every other day, the students and volunteers are welcomed with hot food, today it is mozzarella sticks and baggies of chips. Also, like most other days, the students have the radio on in the background, and the night begins with everyone settling in, enjoying food and just hanging out with one another. While the students were all settling in, I awkwardly walked up to a table of mostly volunteers (some from UWM) and a few students and asked if I could sit with them. I still feel some-what awkward coming here to take notes and pictures, so today I decide to just talk with a few individuals and try to blend in. I started by talking with the other volunteers at my table, most seem to have been able to make it down to ONG more often than I have, and most of the students seem to know the volunteers pretty well, it would have been nice to build up those kinds of relationships with the students myself. But I found it pretty hard to make it down to ONG living further away and having work most week nights.
After everyone seemed to have settled in, a very outgoing 10th grade boy, who was only one of two students at our table, began proudly showing off some of his drawings to the other volunteers and I. Although he admitted to doing most of his drawings during class- he told us that his teachers get mad because they think he isn’t paying attention- but yet he still gets “A’s,” the drawings were very creative and a few even had poetry that went along with them. He also had a story to tell us about every one of his drawings. Since he admitted to doing his drawings when he was “bored during class” (aka when he shouldn’t be ) I asked if he was in an art class at his high school, but he replied that he dropped out of an art class he was taking because they didn’t let him exercise his own creative expression. Since there was no organized activity/ art project at this meeting, most students are just socializing in a far corner and a few left early (around 5:20), it would have been nice to participate in an art project and see this creative young man that I have been talking to in action! But, from there we somehow ended up talking about history- which is another subject of his interest. He talked about a civil war movie that was played in class, gave us some fun facts on the assassination of Lincoln, and told us some stories from WWII diaries that he read in a class. He even brought up some facts I had never heard of before- I guess you can learn a lot by just opening up and talking to new people!
Above all else, my experience at ONG taught me that it is okay, even great, to open up to strange environments and people… to break outside my shell (I’m for the most part a pretty shy person). You can learn so much by just putting yourself out there and taking the time to talk with people and really listen. I also learned that more communities throughout Wisconsin (maybe even the U.S.) need more places like ONG. It is just a great place to socialize with others, make new friends, get homework done without distraction, get help on problems, and receive guidance. I also learned (from a few of the students) that ONG provides great opportunities for its students, whether it is through college prep, career planning, or just going on field trips. Lastly, I learned from the 10th grade boy I talked to, that ONG is a great place to let your creative energy flow, be it through organized group projects or individual work. The truth is, I wish I had a place like ONG to go to when I was in high school!
Although it is the first big snowfall of the year, it seems like everyone is here at ONG (students and volunteers). Like every other day, the students and volunteers are welcomed with hot food, today it is mozzarella sticks and baggies of chips. Also, like most other days, the students have the radio on in the background, and the night begins with everyone settling in, enjoying food and just hanging out with one another. While the students were all settling in, I awkwardly walked up to a table of mostly volunteers (some from UWM) and a few students and asked if I could sit with them. I still feel some-what awkward coming here to take notes and pictures, so today I decide to just talk with a few individuals and try to blend in. I started by talking with the other volunteers at my table, most seem to have been able to make it down to ONG more often than I have, and most of the students seem to know the volunteers pretty well, it would have been nice to build up those kinds of relationships with the students myself. But I found it pretty hard to make it down to ONG living further away and having work most week nights.
After everyone seemed to have settled in, a very outgoing 10th grade boy, who was only one of two students at our table, began proudly showing off some of his drawings to the other volunteers and I. Although he admitted to doing most of his drawings during class- he told us that his teachers get mad because they think he isn’t paying attention- but yet he still gets “A’s,” the drawings were very creative and a few even had poetry that went along with them. He also had a story to tell us about every one of his drawings. Since he admitted to doing his drawings when he was “bored during class” (aka when he shouldn’t be ) I asked if he was in an art class at his high school, but he replied that he dropped out of an art class he was taking because they didn’t let him exercise his own creative expression. Since there was no organized activity/ art project at this meeting, most students are just socializing in a far corner and a few left early (around 5:20), it would have been nice to participate in an art project and see this creative young man that I have been talking to in action! But, from there we somehow ended up talking about history- which is another subject of his interest. He talked about a civil war movie that was played in class, gave us some fun facts on the assassination of Lincoln, and told us some stories from WWII diaries that he read in a class. He even brought up some facts I had never heard of before- I guess you can learn a lot by just opening up and talking to new people!
Above all else, my experience at ONG taught me that it is okay, even great, to open up to strange environments and people… to break outside my shell (I’m for the most part a pretty shy person). You can learn so much by just putting yourself out there and taking the time to talk with people and really listen. I also learned that more communities throughout Wisconsin (maybe even the U.S.) need more places like ONG. It is just a great place to socialize with others, make new friends, get homework done without distraction, get help on problems, and receive guidance. I also learned (from a few of the students) that ONG provides great opportunities for its students, whether it is through college prep, career planning, or just going on field trips. Lastly, I learned from the 10th grade boy I talked to, that ONG is a great place to let your creative energy flow, be it through organized group projects or individual work. The truth is, I wish I had a place like ONG to go to when I was in high school!
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