Project: Free form creation
To start off the week, Jake and I arrived to SJYA and ended up waiting up staff to get back from lunch to start the class. we waited for 50 minutes until we decided to leave and try again Wednesday. The visit wasn't a total loss. One of the students who has been a regular in the clay group was being released while we were waiting. As he left, we were able to say goodbye, and shake hands one last time. As soon as he left the fences of the building, Jake made a comment that his whole body language changed. I could only imagine the emotions and thoughts he had leaving those fences after so many months.
I returned Wednesday by myself since Maddie was sick and was helped into a room and a group of guys arrived ready to make some clay. Since i was unable to meet with the guys on Monday, I figured the project had to be something simple and able to be completed in one day. I told them they could make whatever they desired and showed a few examples of how to make name tags for desks and other quick things. At the begging of class, the faculty member in charge of the class pulled me aside and asked if i could cut the class short today by an hour and 15 minutes, since he doesn't get paid to sit in the room and do nothing. I said sure and went back to join the guys. The faculty member led the room, so i asked the guys, "do you all enjoy this, making clay and creating things?" which they replied "yes of course" that "its a stress reliever and lets us get our minds off things". When they said that, i felt sorry for them, that this is something they enjoyed doing, but because of someones selfishness to not contribute unpaid time to the group of incarcerated youth, that makes them happy creating and making, they were unable to express it fully and enjoy it longer. I then informed them that class was going to be cut early today which they all asked why. I said "because of time purposes" trying to find some reason to not explain that the staff member in the room wasn't getting paid to sit in there and give them his time. Then the staff member spoke up and said "i don't get paid to sit in here, i have other work i need to do" which the guys remarked back to him in sarcasm joking that he should give them time. One student who made the leaf object, was enthused i returned that day and was happy to be making more things in clay. He even took charge and continued to teach a new student the terms of certain tools and techniques that go into creating and making that we had gone over the previous week. He was full of smiles, energy, and laughter throughout the whole class. When he made the leaf, he told me that i need to keep it, not to throw it out, and proceeded to sign it and made other guys in the class sign it as well. Two of the others students made a few things throughout the class but one was inappropriate so when class was over it was returned back to the bag of clay. The other smashed his into a ball and started to throw it at the wall. He was super intrigued with how the clay exploded and stuck to the wall when he would throw it at it, which caused a lot of laughter and jokes to be made. I didn't see any harm in it, and as long as they were having fun and enjoying class i let it happen. The guy who made the leaf joined him in throwing clay at the wall, and they took turns throwing it, and picking it back up, making it into a ball and throwing it again. The staff member kept telling them to stop, not with too much authority, and since i was a little salty that class had to cut short, i didn't speak up or tell them to stop, i actually encouraged in so many words without seeming like i was pushing them to do it. Telling them stories how me and my friends would throw clay balls up into the ceiling in my clay class in high school when the teacher would have their back turned to the class. Class ended with me handing out packs of Oreos, and raffling one pack off by doing a random number game that i have been doing in every class to allow a winner of a snack. This week the student who made the leaf, was teaching the other students about tools and techniques, and had a smile on his face the whole class won the extra pack of Oreos, which i was stoked about, as if it were an extra reward for his energy output towards class. We cleaned up and parted ways again.
To start off the week, Jake and I arrived to SJYA and ended up waiting up staff to get back from lunch to start the class. we waited for 50 minutes until we decided to leave and try again Wednesday. The visit wasn't a total loss. One of the students who has been a regular in the clay group was being released while we were waiting. As he left, we were able to say goodbye, and shake hands one last time. As soon as he left the fences of the building, Jake made a comment that his whole body language changed. I could only imagine the emotions and thoughts he had leaving those fences after so many months.
I returned Wednesday by myself since Maddie was sick and was helped into a room and a group of guys arrived ready to make some clay. Since i was unable to meet with the guys on Monday, I figured the project had to be something simple and able to be completed in one day. I told them they could make whatever they desired and showed a few examples of how to make name tags for desks and other quick things. At the begging of class, the faculty member in charge of the class pulled me aside and asked if i could cut the class short today by an hour and 15 minutes, since he doesn't get paid to sit in the room and do nothing. I said sure and went back to join the guys. The faculty member led the room, so i asked the guys, "do you all enjoy this, making clay and creating things?" which they replied "yes of course" that "its a stress reliever and lets us get our minds off things". When they said that, i felt sorry for them, that this is something they enjoyed doing, but because of someones selfishness to not contribute unpaid time to the group of incarcerated youth, that makes them happy creating and making, they were unable to express it fully and enjoy it longer. I then informed them that class was going to be cut early today which they all asked why. I said "because of time purposes" trying to find some reason to not explain that the staff member in the room wasn't getting paid to sit in there and give them his time. Then the staff member spoke up and said "i don't get paid to sit in here, i have other work i need to do" which the guys remarked back to him in sarcasm joking that he should give them time. One student who made the leaf object, was enthused i returned that day and was happy to be making more things in clay. He even took charge and continued to teach a new student the terms of certain tools and techniques that go into creating and making that we had gone over the previous week. He was full of smiles, energy, and laughter throughout the whole class. When he made the leaf, he told me that i need to keep it, not to throw it out, and proceeded to sign it and made other guys in the class sign it as well. Two of the others students made a few things throughout the class but one was inappropriate so when class was over it was returned back to the bag of clay. The other smashed his into a ball and started to throw it at the wall. He was super intrigued with how the clay exploded and stuck to the wall when he would throw it at it, which caused a lot of laughter and jokes to be made. I didn't see any harm in it, and as long as they were having fun and enjoying class i let it happen. The guy who made the leaf joined him in throwing clay at the wall, and they took turns throwing it, and picking it back up, making it into a ball and throwing it again. The staff member kept telling them to stop, not with too much authority, and since i was a little salty that class had to cut short, i didn't speak up or tell them to stop, i actually encouraged in so many words without seeming like i was pushing them to do it. Telling them stories how me and my friends would throw clay balls up into the ceiling in my clay class in high school when the teacher would have their back turned to the class. Class ended with me handing out packs of Oreos, and raffling one pack off by doing a random number game that i have been doing in every class to allow a winner of a snack. This week the student who made the leaf, was teaching the other students about tools and techniques, and had a smile on his face the whole class won the extra pack of Oreos, which i was stoked about, as if it were an extra reward for his energy output towards class. We cleaned up and parted ways again.
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