Stay in School, Kids

This past Wednesday, Juan Wade of the Charlottesville school board came to our seminar as a guest speaker and told our class about the Charlottesville area school system. Mr. Wade offered insight into both the strengths and weaknesses of current education patterns here, and stressed the importance and value of after-school programs and loyal mentors for young kids. He said that these two factors alone would have major bearing on whether or not children stayed in school through middle school and high school. Mr. Wade’s visit got me thinking about the seemingly simple things that have such an impact on whether or not children stay in school, let alone take it seriously. It seems these “little acts” can simply be investing in relationships with kids that may not have similar attention or support at home. Children need to be able to see an end goal to their education, and are less likely to become disheartened if they can see their hard work paying off.

After Mr. Wade’s visit, I stumbled upon a program at UVa that does just this! The College Guides Program prepares UVa students to work as counselors in local schools for a year after they graduate. The guides find great purpose in making trips to schools and talking to kids about the value of their education. If nothing else, a group of college-age students sharing their stories would definitely be a way of a younger student seeing the end goal of their education in the flesh. The College Guides celebrated its fifth anniversary last month, and saw 2,279 of the students they spoke to in the past year accepted to universities this fall. This program is rewarding for younger students, but has also had a great impact on the guides themselves. They see the impact they are making, and many choose to follow careers in education. It seems that seeing truly is believing.

College Guides:

http://www.virginia.edu/collegeguides/#id=293&num=1

Be A Role Model

As a UVA student I feel like I have been very fortunate in the life that my parents have given me in order to work towards such a high standard of academics and achievement. I know there are many people out there that do not have the same opportunities as I have had and they do not have strong role models in their lives. This is what Juandiego Wade, a member of the Charlottesville School Board, discussed with our class this past Wednesday. In Charlottesville there are many lower income, single parent, minorities. All of these elements can potentially harm the future of a student. He told us that many of the kids he works with do not have any sort of vision for their future because they simply haven’t given it much thought. Some of them have joined gangs or sell drugs to belong to something. These kids need role models and they need ones that they can relate to. I’m not sure how well I, being a Caucasian girl, would be able to reach out to the kids that Wade spoke about but I think that trying is half the battle. A great program to get involved with to mentor some of the students in the area is the Big Sister Big Brother program. Although this is a short-term program I think that it is a good start to giving these kids a role model that will help them focus on school and think about their future.

Link to Big Brothers Big Sisters Program http://www.bbbs.org/site/c.9iILI3NGKhK6F/b.5962335/k.BE16/Home.htm

Off-Grounds Safety Forum Blog

As I’m sure we all have noticed, UVa email inboxes have been recently been seemingly flooded with messages concerning security on or around grounds. We have been alerted of many assaults on many different occasions. However, a more recent email, that some of us may not have noticed (at least I didn’t), has arrived in our inbox. This email, from Colin Hood, the University Student Council President, asks if we, as students, are concerned about our safety at UVa. More importantly, it provides us with an outlet to express our concerns; a safety forum blog.

This blog is a way for students to anonymously express their concerns for their safety and the condition of safety in general at UVa, on and off-grounds. Not only can students discuss the current condition of safety at UVa, but also numerous ways to improve it. For example, there has already been talk of improving the lighting conditions around grounds, which students feel would be a form of protection when walking home at night.

This blog is only one of many initiatives the student council is taking in order to improve safety around the University. There have been discussions of increased late-night parking opportunities so students who live off-campus don’t have to walk to the libraries as well as increased University and Charlottesville Police Officers patrolling areas tighter, such as the Corner.

This forum is a great opportunity for students to let their voices be heard. It’s important that we speak up, and vocalize our concerns for our safety here at UVa. For more information, check out : http://www.cavalierdaily.com/2010/10/06/site-allows-students-to-air-worries/

The Hope Center in Charlottesville

Charlottesville, most known for being the hometown of the “Wahoo’s”, has the least unemployment rate. For this reason many refugees are relocated to Charlottesville after arriving in the United States. And there are centers that host and help assimilate the refugees during their first six months in America the fact is that after that six month grace period they are expected to stand up on their own two feet. And this is hard to do when these days 98% of jobs require people applying to adequately read and write.

Last year when searching for local non-profit organizations, I stumbled upon the Hope Center. The Hope Center is located downtown on 11^th and 13^th; this organization helps local refugees with their reading, writing, driving, and several other skills while providing a daycare center for their children. I was amazed at the amount of work they did and I was surprised that they were not as known around campus. I began to volunteer with them last year while doing a service project for a course I was taking and realized that while they only had about three main volunteers it never stopped them from holding sessions. Talking to them I found out the difficulties the refugees faced coming to the US and the lack of career services resources of opportunities there were, simply because they did not know enough English. So the Hope Center’s main objective is to help them assimilate by providing driving classes at a low manageable price, and free wiring and reading workshops. The Hope Center does amazing work and I am amazed at their dedication and progress with their clients. The main problem they face is lack of volunteers, so if you have any free time you should look up the Hope Center is Charlottesville and mentions your interest, it’s a great cause and you will fall in love with the program and amazing diversity there.

What are we doing?

We were all kids and some of us still are. Therefore, we all know what kids go through, the stuggles they face, and what they have to deal with. Some of it is great, and some of it is not. So here we are, experienced individuals, aware of children's struggles and what are we doing? How are we helping? Or how are we supporting? For example, I am an only child who was raised by a single mom. For me, after school was a huge part of my life. It was an outlet for me, and growing up in Souther California, a very necessary outlet. So I ask myself, what am I doing? I know how important those organizations are, so how am I helping? Yes I was fotunate, but am I going to be selfish and let the next kid figure it out on her own? No. Are you going to do that too? Join Madison House, volunteer or even work at the YMCA. There are a numerous amounts of organizations that are looking for volunteers and employees. You know how much it helped you, so give back.

Your house is on fire? Too bad.

A recent headline caught my attention and has stuck with me ever since reading it.  On September 29, a house just outside of South Fulton, Tennessee caught on fire, but when the fire department showed up, they provided no services to the owners of the house and simply watched as it burned to the ground.  The reason for their lack of action is that this town of South Fulton has laws in place that require residents of the rural sections of the town to pay an annual fee for access to fire department assistance.  This family supposedly forgot to pay, and when they called 911 about the fire, they were told the department could not assist them because they weren't "on the list."  The man of the house apparently pleaded on the phone that he would pay any and all fees necessary for them to come and help, but his efforts were in vein.  Only when the fire began to endanger the house of someone next door who HAD paid the fee did the firemen spring into action and put out the blaze.

Where is the humanity in this situation?  Sure, the man hasn't paid his fees, but his house - with all his family's cherished belongings and memories - is going up in flames and no action is taken?  Let the man make his payment late, and if you want to be really stringent about it, make him pay some huge late fee or some penalty of that nature, but at least try to put the fire out.

The family also lost three dogs and a cat to the fire, so this could also be seen as an animal rights violation.  No matter how you view this, the actions of the South Fulton Fire Department and this rule that is in place there are both unjustifiable and repulsive, and they made me question the concept of neighbor and community.

Just Ask

Do you want to know about the wide diversity of backgrounds we have here at the University of Virginia. Well, just ask someone what they are doing this weekend. If they say they are going home, ask them where. You look around and see tons of people all here in Charlottesville, but they did not all come from here. I have friends that have come from Maryland or all the way to Utah. You aren't the only person new to Charlottesville. Ask around and see the awesome variety of backgrounds people have. Who knows, it could teach you a little about our community. Most people when they describe their hometown give information about the community. So listen, learn, and work together to see how we can make Charlottesville better. As for me, I live here, so I don't have far to go, so I especially love hearing about other places.