As I round out my last few days working at ACH Clear Pathways, I can’t help but think back on first meeting the wonderful staff and students of the program. Everyone was friendly and welcoming of me, and by the end of the day I felt like I had been going there for some time. Watching the kids develop both as students and as people has been a real treat for me, and something that I’ll remember long after my college career is over.
Now that summer is here, the students have gotten a little bit more energetic and a little less focused on schoolwork. I’m sure that all they can think about is spending their days at camp, or the pool, or just hanging out with their friends/family. Homework is the last thing on their minds. but for me, it was great to help them out on their worksheets one more time on my last day. I got to really see how much they improved over the past few months, and while some of them say that they’ll forget everything over the summer anyway, I know that anything that’s important will stick with them. Even when it came to just talking, some of the common errors that every kid makes like saying how “much” legos instead of how “many,” had been erased from their speaking patterns.
Since it’s gotten warm, every afternoon is practically a race for the kids to finish their homework so they can go outside and play. They don’t even want to come inside and eat their snacks, they’d rather just be out their all day until it gets dark. On my last day it was sad to say goodbye to everyone, but bittersweet atleast knowing that summer would be starting for me too. The biggest thing I think I’ll miss most is just hanging out with kids and hearing all the funny things they have to say. No one really laughs more than a table full of first and second graders talking about whatever went on in school that day or whatever.
I’ll look back on my time at ACH as not only enjoyable, but also valuable to my work as an English major going forward. I think their is much to be learned about applying English across different fields by seeing it through the eyes of young students who are just beginning to grasp it. Overall, I hope that after my semester at ACH, the kids will remember me as fondly as I’ll remember them.
-Tommy Auchincloss
Building Bridges 