Issue link: http://educator.cta.org/i/2866
Through service learning students learn to give back Santiago Creek School, an alternative campus in Orange County for students in grades 8-12, is considered a school for tough kids. Some have been expelled from other schools. Some have been in trouble with the law. Most of the teens were fail- ing in traditional school and on the verge of dropping out. They may be labeled tough kids, but you wouldn’t know it by watching them interact with 5- and 6-year-old children, helping them paint ceramic figurines at an art studio. The youngsters are students at Project Hope, a school for homeless chil- dren located in Orange County. Activities between the two groups occur on a regu- lar basis and range from tutoring sessions to field trips, such as a recent outing to the Color Me Mine paint-your-own-pottery studio in Tustin. “Ohhh, your doggie looks so pretty, what color paint would you like?” asks a Santiago Creek School teacher Cyndie Borcoman at the Color Me Mine painting studio in Tustin. teen student in a sweet voice. “Cover up all the white spots on your alligator and try not to get paint on your shirt,” she gen- tly admonishes. When Santiago teens first began this service learning project working with homeless children, they were frustrated because the youngsters were inattentive and disruptive, often hiding under tables and desks and not listening to them, says Cyndie Borcoman, a Santiago teacher and member of the Orange County Schools Education Association (OCSEA). But now the children listen to the teens and follow instructions willingly. They do it because they idolize the older students. “When children are homeless, they suffer from inconsistency and lag in aca- demic achievement,” says Lupe Marino, a K-1 teacher at Project Hope and also an OCSEA member. “They have experi- enced so much in their young lives. Their older buddies are serving as great role models for them. Our kids really look up to them. They were so excited about see- ing them today that you couldn’t keep them calm.” The teens, in turn, are flattered to be considered role models — sometimes for the first time in their lives. In many cases they are changing the way they look at themselves, as well as changing their be- havior. They are treating their own teach- ers nicer, for example, because they sym- pathize with authority figures who want others to listen to them. The shoe, you might say, is on the other foot. “I am always telling the kids to stay in school,” shares Devon Gibson, 17. “I’m telling them to stay in school because they are the future.” Suddenly the little boy at Gibson’s ta- ble scampers away, abandoning his proj- ect to wander around the room. Gibson looks around helplessly, unsure of what to do next. 14 California Educator | december 2008 • january 2009 “Redirect, redirect,” calls out Borco- man encouragingly. “It’s part of being a teacher.” “Come on back and let’s finish your art so it can go into the oven and get shiny,” says Gibson, and the child returns to the table and resumes painting. “These are the type of students that generally don’t volunteer,” says Borcoman.