Advice needed for my students

[SacramentoMike]

Spoke to the principal today. He doesn't want anything to do with it. He said something about fearing liability with this thing.

Perfectly reasonable. One of those balloons could explode in some kid's face, resulting in hearing loss and PTSD.

You just can't be too careful. ,

Hey, at least you got them out there doing something.

 

[weekend rider]

All money earned should be donated to a worthy cause like, a food bank in your area, to help the homeless, something that the kids will be proud to be a part of and see the need and value of helping the less fortunate.

Your objective was not clearly defined, now let them define the outcome of the money and let it be a lesson learned about life and not for sellf gain..

 

[garyahouse]

... I'll be instructing the kids that already worked for the man that they're on their own and will need to contact the owner on their own with out any further involvement from me. They've earned his respect and if he'd like to ask them to come back, that's between them.

Final update: a week has come and gone. I explained to the kids that they were on their own, that the boss appreciated them, and would love for them to come back. WHILE THEY WERE THERE ten days ago, they all wanted to "Do this again," as they put it.

However, hindsight is 20/20 and 13-14 year old kids rarely do what they say they'll do. I know that by experience in the classroom (fund raisers, homework completion, etc.) and now I see it outside the classroom. Though several kids said they'd call the boss, make arrangements, and take it from here; none did. Not one kid called, not one kid showed up. Each had an excuse, ranging from "I forgot" to "our family had other plans." One thing I've learned again is the importance of two things: what they did, and what I didn't do.

WHAT THEY DID: they did something amazing, giving of their time and energy to volunteer to help out a local business. This kind of thing is WAY outside their comfort zone. How do I know that? Several kids didn't call the boss this week because they "Didn't know what to say." Translation for those of you who don't work with kids this age: they were scared to talk to a grown up on the phone. Children are much more eager to do that which is new - and therefore exciting - it seems. However, they did a wonderful job on the one day that they came, and the experience was a good one for them. This wii no doubt pave the way for their future decisions about volunteering.

WHAT I DIDN'T DO: I relearned something. I knew that without these 3 things: teacher motivation, enthusiasm and planning, most kids won't succeed in the classroom. I learned that volunteering for things outside the classroom works the same way. If I provided the same three things the second week that I did the first, the second Saturday would have been as much a success for the kids as the first, and no doubt other kids would have jumped onboard as well. But when I handed them the reins the second week... oh well.

But then again, this whole project was not what I'm called to do. I did what I could, enjoyed the kid's accomplishments, and we move on. Thanks so much for all your input. It was a great experience for me. But this whole thing was so much like what I do every day. I plan and plan, seek advice, think of creative ways to implement it all: then I launch the whole thing, and watch and learn. Sometimes I learn more from what doesn't work than I do from what does. And tomorrow, we get back up and start all over again. You guys got to be a small part of it, and thank you for that.

Gary

darksider #44