The After School Program (ASP) Environment
When you enter your ASP site for the first time, it will probably not meet your expectations. Many volunteers in the past expected the programs to be very structured like a regular school classroom. The nature of the ASP varies greatly from that of the regular classroom. The kids that attend these programs have been sitting in school all day and the last thing they want to do is sit still while quietly finishing a math worksheet. Their brains need time to relax and they need to "let off some steam," so to speak. That being said, the environment of the ASP can seem very chaotic to you as a volunteer. Students will probably try to run around, yell, misbehave, etc. to keep themselves entertained after a long day of school. Do not expect the students to act as though they are in their regular classroom with their regular teacher. When you are at the sites, do all you can to try to control their behavior and support them in doing their work, but do not stress out about the environment. It is the "nature of the beast" and will make having your own classroom someday seem like a piece of cake.
Journal Response #10
What about this description of the environment concerns you? How do you plan to stay calm and collected in the chaos you may find at your ASP?
Do not put your journal responses in the comments section below. Please use the Google document that we shared with you on Google Drive to respond.