Why are 5th Graders Awesome???
My trip has been a secret to the majority of the world until recently. Don't get me wrong, my parents and brother knew, and a couple of my close friends, but I tried really hard not to tell anyone about the trip. I did this for a couple of reasons, but the main reason is that I wanted to make sure that I was really going to be in Africa for the summer, before I started telling people that I was going to be taking the trip.
A couple of weeks ago, when I purchased my tickets, I decided to start telling people more about Mozambique. Some of those people that I am around all day, and are a big part of my life are 10 and 11 year olds. For those of you that don't know, I am a teacher, and have 30 children that I work with all week long. I may be a little partial, but I think that they are all pretty swell, and I think that I even like them a little bit more than most other 10 and 11 year olds. I digress, I was so excited to be able to finally share about the trip with them because I was now the proud owner of tickets to and from Johannesburg, South Africa.
I called them all to the carpet and as they sat in front of me on the floor, I showed where Mozambique was on our globe. I then told them about Pieter and Rika, the couple that runs the baby house, and how I am going to help them while in Maputo, Mozambique.
Of course after saying this, three questions came from their mouths:
"Are you coming back?"
"Can I go with you?"
and
"Mr. Berger, why would you want to do that?"
It was so awesome to be able to give them an answer to that final question. I simply explained that I think that it is the right thing to do. I also added that since I am still single and looking for my future wife, I don't really have anyone that I am responsible to take care of during the summer, so I can travel around the world without having anyone that will be depending on me to support them or teach them. I also explained that I want to set an example for others around me of how we can make a difference in our world.
A little girl in the middle of my students huddled on the floor raised her hand and said, "I want to help. My mom just went to Costco and she bought two big boxes full of canned food. If I brought those, would you put them in your suitcase so that the kids will have food." I sat there for a few seconds, which seemed like minutes in silence just thinking, "THEY GET IT!!! They understand how important it is to help others that aren't as fortunate."
As I sat there in silence and admiration of the beauty and innocence of a child's heart, I tried to figure out the best way to respond to the little girl's request to make my luggage ultra heavy. The silence was broken, by more kids chiming in saying they wanted to help out too. I then suggested that we brainstorm a way that our class can make a bigger difference in Africa. In the middle of our discussion, I shared about Food for the Hungry, and how sponsoring a child was the first step that I had taken in trying to make a difference in Africa. They all really liked that idea, and started figuring how much money each student would have to raise.
This conversation happened right before lunch, and by our afternoon recess I was presented with a student created petition signed by all 30 students, stating that they wanted to sponsor a child in Africa. I had two students create a letter to send home to all of their parents, which asked permission to participate. After we typed it up, the students passed it around and everyone signed it. The letter was sent home and slowly permission slips have returned along with support money.
Today after looking at three different packets of children from Zeway, Ethiopia, the 5th graders had to pick which child we were going to help out. Many simply wrote on their slip of paper, "They all need our help, and I can't choose." Most of the others were drawn to a boy named Negu Edeo Ogeto. Negu wasn't chosen by the class because he was a boy, or that he had a cool name, or any other typical reason that a 5th grader would come up with to choose one child over the other. Almost every child's secret ballot stated that they felt that we needed to help Negu because both of his Parents had died of AIDS, and he needed a friend or someone who would care about him.
As I flipped through each child's written ballot, most of the answers said those exact words, or something very similar. I sat at my desk as my students read their SSR books, noticed that my eyes were really watering, and decided that I needed to respond immediately. I went to the phone and called Food for the Hungry Office from my classroom, and told the child sponsor office that I needed to sponsor another child, and that I had his packet in my hand. I gave her the information from Negu's packet and that made it official that the students of room 6 @ Southwood Elementary in Raytown, Missouri are responsible for making a difference in a boy's life in Zeway, Ethiopia, Africa. That is one of the many reasons why 5th graders are awesome!!
jb
A couple of weeks ago, when I purchased my tickets, I decided to start telling people more about Mozambique. Some of those people that I am around all day, and are a big part of my life are 10 and 11 year olds. For those of you that don't know, I am a teacher, and have 30 children that I work with all week long. I may be a little partial, but I think that they are all pretty swell, and I think that I even like them a little bit more than most other 10 and 11 year olds. I digress, I was so excited to be able to finally share about the trip with them because I was now the proud owner of tickets to and from Johannesburg, South Africa.
I called them all to the carpet and as they sat in front of me on the floor, I showed where Mozambique was on our globe. I then told them about Pieter and Rika, the couple that runs the baby house, and how I am going to help them while in Maputo, Mozambique.
Of course after saying this, three questions came from their mouths:
"Are you coming back?"
"Can I go with you?"
and
"Mr. Berger, why would you want to do that?"
It was so awesome to be able to give them an answer to that final question. I simply explained that I think that it is the right thing to do. I also added that since I am still single and looking for my future wife, I don't really have anyone that I am responsible to take care of during the summer, so I can travel around the world without having anyone that will be depending on me to support them or teach them. I also explained that I want to set an example for others around me of how we can make a difference in our world.
A little girl in the middle of my students huddled on the floor raised her hand and said, "I want to help. My mom just went to Costco and she bought two big boxes full of canned food. If I brought those, would you put them in your suitcase so that the kids will have food." I sat there for a few seconds, which seemed like minutes in silence just thinking, "THEY GET IT!!! They understand how important it is to help others that aren't as fortunate."
As I sat there in silence and admiration of the beauty and innocence of a child's heart, I tried to figure out the best way to respond to the little girl's request to make my luggage ultra heavy. The silence was broken, by more kids chiming in saying they wanted to help out too. I then suggested that we brainstorm a way that our class can make a bigger difference in Africa. In the middle of our discussion, I shared about Food for the Hungry, and how sponsoring a child was the first step that I had taken in trying to make a difference in Africa. They all really liked that idea, and started figuring how much money each student would have to raise.
This conversation happened right before lunch, and by our afternoon recess I was presented with a student created petition signed by all 30 students, stating that they wanted to sponsor a child in Africa. I had two students create a letter to send home to all of their parents, which asked permission to participate. After we typed it up, the students passed it around and everyone signed it. The letter was sent home and slowly permission slips have returned along with support money.
Today after looking at three different packets of children from Zeway, Ethiopia, the 5th graders had to pick which child we were going to help out. Many simply wrote on their slip of paper, "They all need our help, and I can't choose." Most of the others were drawn to a boy named Negu Edeo Ogeto. Negu wasn't chosen by the class because he was a boy, or that he had a cool name, or any other typical reason that a 5th grader would come up with to choose one child over the other. Almost every child's secret ballot stated that they felt that we needed to help Negu because both of his Parents had died of AIDS, and he needed a friend or someone who would care about him.
As I flipped through each child's written ballot, most of the answers said those exact words, or something very similar. I sat at my desk as my students read their SSR books, noticed that my eyes were really watering, and decided that I needed to respond immediately. I went to the phone and called Food for the Hungry Office from my classroom, and told the child sponsor office that I needed to sponsor another child, and that I had his packet in my hand. I gave her the information from Negu's packet and that made it official that the students of room 6 @ Southwood Elementary in Raytown, Missouri are responsible for making a difference in a boy's life in Zeway, Ethiopia, Africa. That is one of the many reasons why 5th graders are awesome!!
jb
posted by justin at
5:53 PM
3 Comments
