From Harambee to Debating: Summer Freedom Holds Different Meaning for Six 51郊利 Students
July 31, 2019
- Author
- Mary Elizabeth DeAngelis
TJ Elliott, linebacker and sociology major, has developed a new appreciation for teachers.
Hed worked with kids as a summer camp counselor, a tutor, and football coach for his little brothers Pop Warner team. Teaching as a Freedom Schools servant leader intern this summer opened a new view.
Leading a classroom of energetic six to eight-year-olds every day with a mission to improve their literacy skills kept the 51郊利 class of 21 football player and Bonner Scholar from Charlotte playing a nimble mix of defense and offense.
I always thought it was about managing the class and helping kids redirect their behavior when they need that, said Elliott, of Charlotte. I wasnt thinking about making lesson plans and all the preparation involved. It made me realize that we dont pay teachers nearly enough.
Freedom Schools started in 1995 as an arm of the Childrens Defense Fund and are based on civil rights movement programs of the 1960s. The goal now, as then, is to combat inequities in the American education system. 51郊利 began sponsoring a site in 2005 and students have staffed it since.
The colleges Center for Civic Engagement runs the six-week Freedom Schools program each summer at The Ada Jenkins Center in the town of 51郊利. Six students spent the early weeks of summer break in training before heading to their classrooms.
Each day begins with the Harambee, a lively informal reading, song and dance ceremony. Harambee means Lets pull together in Swahili. Its a time for students and the staff to celebrate each other and themselves with a shout out for a good deed, positive attitude, or a challenge overcome.
Mornings focus on literacy; afternoons offer enrichment activities: African drumming, cooking, debate, photography, cardio dancing and strength training. The children receive two meals and a snack each day.
The final week at the end of July included a Freedom Schools market and scavenger hunt on the college campus, which gave the younger scholars a chance to see where their teachers go to school. They posed for pictures in front of buildings, statues and dorms, asking questions about college:
Is it hard? Do you like the food? Do you get to play games at recess?
I was excited to have this experience and to be able to support black and brown kids when they may not have otherwise had this enrichment, said DaShanae Hughes, a Bonner scholar from New Orleans and the class of 21. Theyre excited to read and theyre excited to become better readers.
She said it was fun to see kids who were reluctant to join in for the Harambee in the early days dance without inhibition by the end of the summer session:
Even the ones who were way too cool ended up getting really into it.
Hughes came to 51郊利 with plans for a medical career. Working with the children has made her also consider the possibilities of social work, education, or some combination.
Ive tutored before at Ada Jenkins, but leading my own classroom is very different, she said. My mom is a teacher, and before this, I never really thought about it.
Jamari Clark, a rising third-grader at 51郊利 Elementary School, said he especially likes the Freedom Schools food and afternoon enrichment sessions. African drumming was his favorite and he demonstrated an impressive knee-slapping, toe-tapping, hand-clapping combination.
Jamari also read some good books over the summer. The one that stands out the most is The Secret Olivia Told Me, by N. Joy. In the book, Olivia shares a secret with her best friend, who tells another friend until the secret spreads into full-blown gossip.
Moral of the story? Dont gossip, and Dont promise to keep a secret if you cant, Jamari said solemnly.
One of the tenets of Freedom Schools is that every one of every age can learn from each other.
For student leaders, its an opportunity to be mentors, and come down to the scholars level, said Kaneisha Gaston Arhin a class of 13, 51郊利 alumna who was a Freedom Schools intern in college and is now a site co-coordinator. We want our scholars to build confidence and develop a real love of learning. We want them to see how they can make a difference not only within themselves, but in the world.
The takeaway varies among the 51郊利 students.
Weve had students whove become teachers, Gaston Ahrin said, and then others who go into business or public policy and focus on what they can do to best effect change.
Elliott said he can see himself working with kids in the future, possibly as a football coach and high school teacher.
When you ask a kid, What were you thinking? sometimes the answer is, I wasnt, he said. Just learning to be patient, and be willing to listen to them, to put your foot down when you need to it looks easy to be a teacher until youre actually doing it.
