Journal Reflection 1

I spent my first day volunteering at Escuela Vieau making a quilt with the students. Each student had a small square of fabric to write a message about their families with a picture. I helped draw on the squares and write down their messages; most of them in Spanish. They wrote about their mothers, fathers, siblings, grandparents, or anyone important to them. They talk and joke with each other just like any other kid you would find at any other school. Many of them are friends with each other and know each others families quite well. The staff designated to run these programs genuinely care about the well being of their students and make an effort to connect with them. They speak with many of the children in Spanish even though most students talk to each other in English. Students there are much more respectful of adults than they were at any of my schools. Everything is run very much like a family, the staff and students are all very close with each other and the atmosphere is incredibly comfortable. It is reflected in everything you see in the people there and I am sure the students there benefit from it educationally and culturally.