August 28, 2009

Thought for the day: “Ask not what you can do. Just do it.” Paraphrase of a phrase from John F. Kennedy’s Inaugural

By Jean (John)

At the beginning of the two weeks at Reymontowka, planning the lesson for the next day was an angst-filled exercise. Would it work? Would the camper-students like the choices formulated by the volunteer teacher? Would those choices keep them engaged for the duration of the two, three, or four instructional periods? Then a phenomenon began to unfold – probably not unique to this group of volunteers but a phenomenon nonetheless. It became apparent from the discussions the volunteers were having among ourselves that we had stopped agonizing over the details, and we began to feel comfortable just doing it. Whether it was a conscious decision or a gradual realization, it became a natural impulse to present activities that somehow interested the kids. It was probably a combination of things that brought the volunteers to that point: getting to know the camper-students better; having more confidence in our ability to do the job; and the knowledge that whatever we did was bound to be a novel, interesting, and educational experience for the kids.

Thus we came to the last day of camp knowing that we had advanced the cause of engaging the kids in conversational English. We no longer had worries about whether they understood and could define every word we used. If they didn’t understand, they were rarely bashful about asking politely, “Would you please repeat?” How gratifying it has been, this mutual and reciprocal recognition that we’ve done some good and that they’ve gotten something out of it.

Friday, the last day of camp, started out as usual, with instructional sessions. The skits for presentation to the parents on Friday evening had been undergoing active production for most of the week and, on Friday morning, they were practiced in the final rehearsals. The camper-students were sent off on the scavenger hunt at 11:30 a.m., running through the halls, waving their lists of objects they must find, count, or otherwise identify. It was very clear that they enjoyed it.

The big moment came for each of the camper-student groups commencing at 6:00 in the evening. The performances of the long anticipated skits were presented with enthusiasm if not professional precision. The kids showed off their imaginations and creativity. It was stupendous – the dancing, singing, and general revelry. Hands down, the filmed skit prepared by Zack, Stas, and that crew was the winner, but it was all astounding.

The bonfire followed – kielbasa, s’mores, and the conviviality of the moment. Then, almost suddenly, the whole thing came to a close. An unaccountable sense of sweet sadness fell over the scene as the camper-students departed, some stopping to introduce their parents, hug or shake hands with one or the other of us and others leaving without looking back. We, the volunteers, however, do look back, knowing that we just did it.