Hello future Trek Students,
There is plenty I would like to tell you guys. First, I should start by saying where I was placed: I worked at Mount Pleasant Elementary as an in-class helper. It is definitely an experience I would recommend if you like kids and consider yourself to be someone with patience. In terms of patience and respectfulness, you will learn – if you haven’t already – that kids have different paces of learning and attention spans.
One of the things that I appreciated from this project is that you get to look at a scenario like you haven’t before. In my case, that meant having a whole new perspective on the Teacher’s job. I was always aware and courteous to teachers, but having to closely follow one of them and observe their doings, made me gain a whole new appreciation. If you do get to volunteer at a School, I would encourage you to notice how much value you begin to give Teachers and the School Administration because of the new lenses you now regard the institution from.
My “job” initially consisted of sharpening pencils, watching out for the kids while the teacher was away, accompanying students to the bathroom or office, and gluing stickers in their agendas. As the children warmed up to me and the Teacher noticed my sense of responsibility, my duties were extended to spelling words on the board, helping correct in-class activities, talking and interacting with kids, distributing work and maintaining order in class.
I definitely wasn’t aware of the authority that I had until one student called me “Miss Carol”. Surprisingly, I was not scared or overwhelmed by this authority I suddenly had because I already felt comfortable in the placement. However, looking back, I can see why this would have been a lot for me to take in at the very beginning. In that sense, it is good that the Trek program forces you to go frequently. I understand now that this policy is not just for the placement, but for ourselves to feel welcomed and assured.
Moreover, it is likely that this experience will help you realize that you are a university ‘kid’ now. Look how much you’ve grown. See if you identify with the teacher’s distress in calming down students and how essential class rules are. Consider how important the foundation of our learning is and be remembered that our entire lives, everything we learn, are just building blocks that create a path to a more enlightened version of yourself.
In addition, participating in Trek has helped me integrate into University as I had opportunities to engage with Professors and different departments/offices at UBC that I didn’t know about.
Further, I got to develop friendships and bond with people from CAP as I shared experiences and frustrations with them. Just having someone to talk to and compare experiences may seem like not enough of “an excuse” to do Trek but it is also a chance to learn about different programs and the distinctive Vancouver communities. Again, this may not seem important because this is only your first year, but trust me, it is the best time to have these experiences.
Being an International student, Trek was an essential tool for me to engage and learn more about the city. In my country, we have a saying that translates more or less to “unite the good with the pleasant”, and that is what I did: I united my desire to volunteer and get to know the place, with my need to have work experience and the opportunity that Sociology provided me.
If all that still did not convince you, you might find useful to know that this is an excellent experiential learning occasion because many of the things that I saw in my placement were connected to larger sociological concepts seen in class. Just to name a few, I got to observe the applications of education, welfare, family background, wealth, networks and other simple things that would normally pass by me without even getting noticed.
One example of class material that really stuck with me was the reading we did on boys and girls stereotypes being projected into children. When I went to my placement, it was clear that there was a distinction between what girls and boys liked and played with that was a reflection of our societal standards and beliefs. Another one is how the amount of work done by the Principle and the Janitor of the School is not representative of their salaries. These broad concepts maybe not mean much to you now, but I guarantee you that they were extremely helpful for me to understand the applications of what we were learning.
To sum up, my only advice is: make the most of the time you have in your placement, learn as much as you can and enjoy while you are at it.
Best,
Carolina