Bryant seniors teach Providence youngsters
Lily Himmelsbach '09 and Chris Martineau '09 led an afterschool program as part of their sociology and service learning class.
It was a Friday afternoon in early November, and Ms. Lily (Lily Himmelsbach '09 of Hampton Bays, NY) had just finished leading a lesson as part of an afterschool program at the Highlander Charter School in Providence. She and a classmate, Mr. Chris (Chris Martineau '09 of Lawrence, MA) had spent two days a week over the previous two months observing and planning activities as part of a project for their Sociology 250 (Community Engagement and Service Learning) class. This was their last day volunteering at the school.
As the first group comprising sixth through eight graders was leaving the classroom to move on to their next activity, another group of kindergarten, first, and second graders was waiting outside the classroom of Ms. Lily and Mr. Chris. As the door opened, a little girl came running and jumped into Ms. Lily's arms. That's when Himmelsbach knew the project was a success.
"We walked away with the satisfaction of making a positive difference in the lives of the students," she says.
Research shows that afterschool programs are important in the development of children because they provide a safe environment of supervised, structured activity. Students who take part in these activities develop better social skills, perform better in school, and are less likely to use drugs, studies have determined.
"Through our work with the children, we realized what a huge impact afterschool programming has on these students and their families," says Martineau.
Hands-on learning
With the help of Associate Sociology Professor Sandra Enos, students identified projects that related to topics they were examining in class. Himmelsbach and Martineau began their work with the charter school in September by observing and learning what went into organizing the afterschool program. Before long, the Bryant students began building relationships with the youngsters.
"By volunteering, college students can positively change their own lives and the lives of others," says Himmelsbach.
As part of the project, Himmelsbach and Martineau created a lesson on the importance of recycling, which they taught during their last day at the school. The charter school students were then encouraged to create pictures and posters to hang in the school and at home about the benefits of recycling.
This was the first sociology class at Bryant for both Himmelsbach, an international business major, and Martineau, a finance concentrator. They were attracted to the course because it was a change of pace from other classes they have taken.
"We really loved the community service project and the classroom discussions that sparked new thoughts, heated debate, and conversations that made the class everything we thought it would be," says Himmelsbach.
"Getting involved in the community brings awareness to new issues, which can be very rewarding," adds Martineau.
As the first group comprising sixth through eight graders was leaving the classroom to move on to their next activity, another group of kindergarten, first, and second graders was waiting outside the classroom of Ms. Lily and Mr. Chris. As the door opened, a little girl came running and jumped into Ms. Lily's arms. That's when Himmelsbach knew the project was a success.
"We walked away with the satisfaction of making a positive difference in the lives of the students," she says.
Research shows that afterschool programs are important in the development of children because they provide a safe environment of supervised, structured activity. Students who take part in these activities develop better social skills, perform better in school, and are less likely to use drugs, studies have determined.
"Through our work with the children, we realized what a huge impact afterschool programming has on these students and their families," says Martineau.
Hands-on learning
With the help of Associate Sociology Professor Sandra Enos, students identified projects that related to topics they were examining in class. Himmelsbach and Martineau began their work with the charter school in September by observing and learning what went into organizing the afterschool program. Before long, the Bryant students began building relationships with the youngsters.
"By volunteering, college students can positively change their own lives and the lives of others," says Himmelsbach.
As part of the project, Himmelsbach and Martineau created a lesson on the importance of recycling, which they taught during their last day at the school. The charter school students were then encouraged to create pictures and posters to hang in the school and at home about the benefits of recycling.
This was the first sociology class at Bryant for both Himmelsbach, an international business major, and Martineau, a finance concentrator. They were attracted to the course because it was a change of pace from other classes they have taken.
"We really loved the community service project and the classroom discussions that sparked new thoughts, heated debate, and conversations that made the class everything we thought it would be," says Himmelsbach.
"Getting involved in the community brings awareness to new issues, which can be very rewarding," adds Martineau.
