The 2023-2024 school year is closing out, I find myself asking: Did I connect? Did I give it my all? Did my interventions help? Did I make a difference?
According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, safe spaces and nurturing relationships help children combat Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) and reach their full potential. Intellectually, I know that our school-based mentoring program is giving students an opportunity to build resilience, but it is sometimes hard to notice the ways that I am directly contributing. So why are these questions making me doubt my impact?
Here is the truth: Connecting with youth today is a challenge. My interests do not always align with theirs, and I am not always caught up in the “hot tea” or latest lingo. Additionally, our Give Back Academy (GBA) staff sees our students only once a month for one class period. Now let us throw in the obstacles that many of our youth must face just to get to school each day, making them less open and trusting of adult connection.
As I write this blog post and really reflect on the past school year, I experience a blissful contentedness. I remember all the connections I made through anime, one of my favorite past times; debating with students' which anime character was superior and who would beat who in a 1v1. I remember all the times that students were eager to connect as they entered the classroom; giving me life updates (the good, the bad, and the ugly). I remember the quiet, suspicious, and guarded students who now make eye contact, wave or ask for help. I remember the countless hours of Spanish translation I prepared for and delivered in class and the relief I saw on the student’s faces when they see me as they walk into class or walk off the field trip bus usually greeting me with a huge hug.
If you work with children in any educational capacity, this feeling is familiar to you too. In the business of the school year, it can be hard to really see what difference you made until you take the time to quietly reflect on the small progress individual students made or the little ways that you impacted their day. I will miss the connections that I have made this year and I hope I can build on many of the same relationships next year. With a new sense of confidence in the difference I am making, I look forward to many more hours of anime debates, life updates, and connecting in Spanish. Those are the ways that I can uniquely contribute to our students’ sense of safety and community. Now, I encourage you to take the time to answer this question for yourself!
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