[nobe-l] First day volunteering

Sun Jun 18 18:04:04 UTC 2017

I have a trouble with trying not to stress about things. I get so scared. I don't want to do anything wrong or make a mistake.

Sent from my iPad

> On Jun 18, 2017, at 10:41 AM, Judy Jones via NOBE-L <nobe-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
> 
> I don't think you are a whiner at all, you are just expressing what happened
> and trying to find answers.  Each volunteer situation is different, but
> Ashley is right about the advocacy.
> 
> Judy
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: NOBE-L [mailto:nobe-l-bounces at nfbnet.org] On Behalf Of Kayla James via
> NOBE-L
> Sent: Sunday, June 18, 2017 2:20 AM
> To: National Organization of Blind Educators Mailing List
> Cc: Kayla James
> Subject: Re: [nobe-l] First day volunteering
> 
> I don't know. I have been changing majors a lot and want to stick with
> something. But that's another thing that happened. They were finger painting
> and I couldn't help.
> I am sorry if I am whining or complaining. Please forgive me.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPad
> 
>> On Jun 17, 2017, at 11:15 PM, Ashley Bramlett via NOBE-L
> <nobe-l at nfbnet.org> wrote:
>> 
>> Hi Kayla,
>> 
>> Enjoy the volunteer experience and do your best. Interact kindly but
> professionally with them.
>> You can explain to the kids how you want to proceed with activities and
> what they should say. Since you cannot see them, you can request they
> verbalize to you if they are leaving and where they are going.
>> First grade is a fun age to be with. I prefer middle elementary school
> when kids have more vocabulary and can read better such as 2 to 4th grade.
>> I also think you should pursue a teaching degree. You can always change
> majors if you feel its not working out.
>> I'm on the list here as I'm interested in teaching or tutoring kids still
> even though I did not get an education degree but a communication degree. I
> tried education but it did not work for me for a variety of reasons such as
> the demanding outside work and lack of accessible texts as well as trying to
> observe as part of our class work which did not go too well. The kids did a
> lot of visual stuff like coloring pictures so I did not fully get a sense of
> what was happening even though I tried using other ways like asking some of
> them.
>> I figured I can still help kids even though it might be on a volunteer
> basis now unless I try to go to grad school for education.
>> 
>> Anyways, about volunteering, don't be so hard on yourself. Maybe the kids
> thought they were supposed to leave. Maybe they did not know what to do
> afterward and did not think to verbalize they were leaving. I think
> volunteering on a temporary basis can be challenging, but with time it can
> be overcome. Unlike teaching, as a volunteer someone else set up the room
> and schedule. As a volunteer, you cannot discipline kids although you can
> certainly set boundaries and rules of curtesy for interaction with you. I'm
> saying as a volunteer you have somewhat less control over the environment
> than a teacher has in the classroom. This does not mean you cannot do it,
> but it does mean you need to advocate more and perhaps do things a little
> differently than other volunteers.
>> 
>> I tried volunteering at a nonprofit summer day camp. It did not work out
> for reasons which I do not know but they asked me to come in only an hour
> after my second week there when I thought things were well. I then
> volunteered at another summer camp which went better; it probably went
> better because I had better support from staff.
>> At my first volunteer summer camp at Facets, a very similar thing happened
> to me.
>> I sat with the kids as they played their choice of board games. I was just
> there to see they played cooperatively and that they cleaned up afterward.
>> Well, the kids often finished a game and ran off to do something else.
> Sometimes they told me and other times they did not.
>> This was a free form time of recreation. Still it would have been nice if
> they told me what they were going to do and where they went.
>> 
>> Another time at Facets, I had a child read to me who was probably in third
> grade. The kids were told to read to a buddy, usually another volunteer.
> Well, my kid did the reading and fairly well for her age. I had a hard time
> hearing her due to the noise of the crowded room sometimes.
>> She finished the book and got up to leave just as in your situation. I did
> ask the leader where she went and found out.
>> Like your situation, none of the camp leaders were interested in teaching
> although they were also college kids.
>> I think things will go better with some advocacy. Even if they do not,
> again, don't be so hard on yourself. Sometimes the volunteer environment is
> not a good fit. If its not, you can always try another volunteer setting.
>> 
>> I'm wondering how people keep track of kidsin a child care setting.
>> The only suggestion I have is for you to ask kids to communicate with you.
>> It seems challenging. I have low vision, but kids seem to get lost in the
> crowd.
>> 
>> I did have a better experience at another camp sponsored by the nonprofit
> Wesley Housing development Corporation and am thinking of returning, so it
> all depends on the situation.
>> So Kayla, keep volunteering and don't compare it to teaching too much.
>> 
>> Ashley
>> 
>> 
>> -----Original Message----- From: Kayla James via NOBE-L
>> Sent: Wednesday, June 14, 2017 11:42 PM
>> To: nobe-l at nfbnet.org
>> Cc: Kayla James
>> Subject: [nobe-l] First day volunteering
>> 
>> 
>> 
>> I began volunteering today. I helped four first graders with reading and
> Math. It went okay, but suddenly all of my students got up and left. I felt
> embarrassed and had to ask the "teacher" to bring them back.
>> All of the teachers were college kids like me, but none were interested in
> being teachers.
>> I felt drained when I left there. Once again, I wondered if I was cut out
> to teach.
>> Will update again the next time I go.
>> 
>> Sent from my iPad
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