Will Crowley's Story

Now for something a bit different, ya'll.  As you might remember, we did interview our teammates, but we also asked for written submissions.  Will Crowley chose the latter option, to our immense delight.  If this essay was for a grade, I would give it an A+!

Name: William Crowley

Age: 25

Location before AmeriCorps: Brewster, WA

Service Site: Todd Beamer High School. I work with 9th-12th grade students in the AVID program, in science and math classes, and during Titan Quest, the after-school tutoring program.

Friends and Family: My friends and family have been nothing but supportive of me during my two years of AmeriCorps service. Many of them initially asked me what AmeriCorps was and what my role would be during my service. After doing my best to explain to them what my service entailed they were very enthusiastic for me.


Describe a moment when you were overwhelmed. What happened? How did you react?
The beauty of working with people lies in the uniqueness of each individual. There can never be a foolproof method for any one situation that will always work 100% of the time. I found this to be true when working with one of the AVID classes. This particular class tends to be more energetic than the others. They feel the need to talk more, move more, laugh more, etc. When first working with this class I held the belief that these attributes could only lead to disruption. There’s a funny thing about having a strong belief: when you “know” something is true you will make it true. This was my initial problem. I saw this group’s energy as acting out, and what I needed to see it as was potential energy for learning.
 

One day when the group was particularly energetic I felt like leaving the classroom. There was no way I could work with them on so little sleep. Then it struck me. I had been doing a lot of reading on Taoism lately and had yet to implement my new-found knowledge into practice at work. Many of the teachings of Taoism can be related to certain martial arts’ practices regarding the flow of energy and how that energy can be used. I made the realization that I had been fighting against the class’ energy up to this point. This could only lead to more friction, more struggling, and more opposition to their facilitator - me. What I needed to do was gradually redirect their energy into learning. This did not mean I would let them argue incessantly about the best rappers of our time or who was dating whom at school. I learned the best approach was to get involved with their conversation (unless it was altogether inappropriate for the setting), be a part of it, and then bring their attention back to the academic question at hand. When I got good at this technique it would take no less than one, maybe two, minutes. Even when the students realized what I was doing they were shockingly compliant to get back to business. I learned many things from this group of students, the most prominent being: No one can force any other into doing something. The only way a student can truly learn is by having the desire to and be given the opportunity to do so. My role is to make it possible for them to acquire both.

 More after the jump!

What is something that you have learned about serving at a high school that you want to share with others?

High school is full of judging. Students are judging students. Students are judging teachers. And worst of all, teachers are judging students. When I started my service for AmeriCorps the judging is what worried me. My memories of high school, although mostly positive, were littered with insecure students who very often said mean things to each other and about one another. How could I work in a high school now and not get sucked into that vicious cycle of negativity?
 
What soon became apparent to me was that how I act, present myself, and react to others is completely my choice. Students are going to act out, test the waters, and, at times, try to be as naughty as you’ll let them. If I judged these students for what they were doing I would have a completely negative view of the entire student body. I believe that students act out for a number of reasons and most of those reasons are unknown to us because they are reflections of conflicts happening outside of school. With this understanding comes a grave responsibility.
 
Having expectations and holding students accountable is crucial, but this needs to be done with a certain understanding. Some students are going to say mean things, things they don’t mean, and they’re going to act as if they hate you when you don’t let them get away with slacking. To keep my relationships strong with each student I start every day anew. Whatever happened yesterday is over. I do not hold grudges with students. Holding a grudge with a student is possibly the biggest mistake to make. When there’s anger or resentment in the room nothing positive can come from that room. Although it can often be difficult I give each student a fresh slate at the beginning of each day. I will remind them of expectations and will calmly and collectedly hold them to those standards, but I will never be mad at or judge a student for a past mistake.