Power of Dedication

"Kung ako ang tatanungin, bibigyan ko kayo ng 9." (non-verbatim)

Hearing this from Ma'am Ishtar, I cannot help but feel proud of my group. Personally, I really think we did a great job in implementing the plan we finalized the night before. Although what really transpired was not what we had in mind, the group was able to adapt immediately.

We were initially expecting at least more than 10 kids to join us in our activity albeit only 4 kids arrived at the clubhouse. We immediately had to engage the kids in an activity to build rapport so we proceeded as planned. Introductions were given and the kids were invited to participate in a dance. I think this activity was also able to help us settle ourselves in the situation and think "Okay. This is it. We're finally starting."

Afterwards, we sat down for a storytelling to show the kids the importance of hand-washing. This was the turning point of our activity. The kids started to show interest and actively participated in the activity. Through token reinforcement (awarding stars), we were able to maintain their attention and encourage them to answer our questions. At that moment, I knew I felt genuine joy in doing something that was originally just a requirement (for me).

To teach the steps in hand-washing, a leader showed a demonstration of the steps on how to do it properly while the rest of the group assisted the kids. In this activity, repetition was important to ensure that the kids will learn the skill. However, although there was an attempt to simplify the instructions to them, I think the group can still improve on that. Nonetheless, we were able to see them perform the steps correctly (with assistance for younger kids) when we progressed to practicing the skill with actual water and soap. The funny thing was most of them wanted to wash their hands again after their first try.

Things were going smoothly and as planned until after this activity. Since it was the highlight of our session, the kids started to behave differently and were not really listening anymore as we taught them when to wash their hands. In the end, we were not able to follow the planned closing activities and the quiz bee.

For this reason, I realized that in a community, especially when teaching kids, your session will not go as you have imagined it would be. A session does not always follow the introduction-teaching activity-closing flow. Hence, as always emphasized, the ability to adapt and be flexible is really important.  It would have been better if we taught all necessary knowledge beforehand and as a closing activity, ask them to repeat the story told earlier to reiterate the important things to remember. In that way, we can evaluate their learning without introducing another set of information and instructions.

I guess the main lesson I learned from this is the power of dedication. Going to a community takes a lot of time, money, and patience but it was a really fulfilling experience. Even though I was tired and worried of other deadlines I need to meet, I was happy. I hope the rest of the class enjoyed their own experiences and also for the younger batches to appreciate this activity in the future.