England is always interesting and different. It was refreshing to partner with a group that is already in the schools of York, UK: Global York. For a week we came alongside and boosted their already growing program even more. The exciting thing is that they will still be there long after we leave making a difference one child at a time.
I spent the week with a team going into primary schools. We taught one of the lessons from our teacher’s edition of the Book of Hope about handling conflict. I found myself talking about anger to 983 students, in groups of twelve all week long while the rest of my team did dramas and role playing in stations around the room as new classes filtered in and around every hour or so. (86 sessions in all) It was eye opening to hear some of the responses. It was easy to spot those kids that were in crisis mode and those that were well adjusted. Our High school teams found kids who were very apathetic and wanted proof for everything.
I love having dialog with the students. The common language allows for this to happen along with longer time spent in the classroom. The challenge is that these kids keep you on your toes and you had better be prepared for the hard questions because they really want to know why you believe the way you do.
At the end of the week all the kids that were old enough for Global youth were invited to come out to a loud and vibrant youth meeting. Many of the Year 6 students that we saw came out and many responded favorably. I remember one boy in particular who was struggling at the beginning, left with a wide grin on his face: the results of true transformation.
I spent the week with a team going into primary schools. We taught one of the lessons from our teacher’s edition of the Book of Hope about handling conflict. I found myself talking about anger to 983 students, in groups of twelve all week long while the rest of my team did dramas and role playing in stations around the room as new classes filtered in and around every hour or so. (86 sessions in all) It was eye opening to hear some of the responses. It was easy to spot those kids that were in crisis mode and those that were well adjusted. Our High school teams found kids who were very apathetic and wanted proof for everything.
I love having dialog with the students. The common language allows for this to happen along with longer time spent in the classroom. The challenge is that these kids keep you on your toes and you had better be prepared for the hard questions because they really want to know why you believe the way you do.
At the end of the week all the kids that were old enough for Global youth were invited to come out to a loud and vibrant youth meeting. Many of the Year 6 students that we saw came out and many responded favorably. I remember one boy in particular who was struggling at the beginning, left with a wide grin on his face: the results of true transformation.
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