When I got to Centro Mater I was a little scared. Many people have said that Little Havana is a little dangerous. I never thought that it was dangerous, at least not like the reputation that Overtown has. On my way there I noticed it was a poor neighborhood. Its appearance was old and abandoned; at least that’s how it seemed to me. It looked dirty and the houses as well as the stores weren’t property maintain. The paint was decayed and for some reason everything was smooched together, I guess because it had limited space.
Finally I enter the place and the first thing I noticed was the security. There wasn’t enough security, there was only one security guard and it was an old man. I found that a little strange. I went to the office to sign in, and fill out the papers necessary to be authorized to volunteer there. I was assigned the same class as my friend, so we became partners. On our way to the class we passed through the cafeteria; it was very small. During that time the kids were in the playground. They were running around and laughing. Some of them where riding the tricycle and others where under a climbing play set.
I introduced my self to the teachers and I sat in a wooden house. Next to me it was a little blond boy sad and with his eyes watery. I asked him in Spanish what was wrong but he didn’t answer. I asked him again and he still didn’t answer, finally he angrily said; “I don’t speak Spanish”. Astonished to his reaction, I never thought that kids in little Havana wouldn’t speak Spanish. I kept asking and trying to make him open up to me. After a little while he told me his named was Seth and the reason he was there and not playing was because the teacher was mean. He also confessed that he didn’t like school because the teachers didn’t understand him. He showed me a fake tattoo that he had in his right upper arm of a blue dragon and a scar in his knee. After a long conversation he stood up and asked me if I wanted to see a magic trick and he asked for a quarter. His last words before heading back to class were “are you a teacher, you are nice”.
I entered the classroom; it was very small with limited space. I sat all the way back in a little blue chair. Next to me it was a little table with a black and a white doll, which reminded me of the doll test. Soon it was home work time and more kids entered the class. One of the teacher sat in the table I was sitting a little girl. The teacher sat her apart from the other kid because supposedly because she has a bad behavior. Her name was Yesenia and she doesn’t speak a lot of English. I noticed that she was very quite and smart. A couple of minutes later the teacher sits Seth in the same table because he wanted to the homework with me. The teacher gets close to me and says; “I don’t know what are you going to do because these are the worse kids in class. I doubt you will get them to finish the homework, especially Seth’s”. I helped them with their homework and they both finished their homework and stayed calmly talking to me. They behaved excellent.
Soon it was time to eat, all the kids lined up to go to the cafeteria. Although the place looks poor, the food served was appropriate. They have a chicken sandwich, salad and fruits accompanied with chocolate milk. When finished all the kid returned to class to draw, but by that time most of the kids had left already. The last girl to leave was Yesenia.
At first I have to confess I was a little uncomfortable, maybe the reason for this feeling was the fact that I was in an unfamiliar place. As the time passed I became familiar with the place and the kids made it easier for me to adapt. Thanks to the kids and their acceptance I was able to enjoy being there with them. They don’t care neither they judge on your appearance. They don’t look on how well are you dressed or if you are fat or too skinny, they have the power to see underneath, they see your heart. Seeing them play and laugh made me feel immensely content. Not only they lighted up my day but see that they appreciate the time and care you give to them it’s the greatest reward I can receive.
I learned that no matter what you do or where you go kids will always appreciate any little time and care you give them. They are joyful and very understanding. Although people think kids are annoying and the only thing they do is play, well I can sincerely say that they are wrong. By all means, they are smart, they understand many things because they are fast learners, and their minds are like sponges that absorb everything. Also they have feelings and anything that you say or do to them, they will remember. If you have patience you can conquer anything with kids, all you need to do is be calm and try to be as fun and as understanding as possible. At the end you will see how satisfying it is to be able to teach them something and that they learned from you.
No comments:
Post a Comment