I did a full school year of afterschool

my first time doing one continuous year. and I'm coming back next year.

I'm really proud of it. I'm proud of the kids and I'm proud of the program. I think my big takeaway, the big lesson I learned was that the program worked best when it was student-centered.

Yesterday we were supposed to sit down and start planning for the next year. And what the official program is concerned with is coming up with THEMES for the kids. Like "Willy Wonka" or "The Rainforest" and we're supposed to dress up everything and then also teach the kids math somehow. I don't know. I'm not about it. It's a teacher-centered approach.

Because it assumes you have all these humans who are devoid of knowledge and interests and motivations and unless you dress everything up and put something in front of them, then they are just going to be empty vessels awaiting information and fun. That's silly. I'm casting it in the worst possible light but that's just silly.

I was talking to my coworker and we focused on things like "how can we make the lighting in this cafeteria less harsh?" and setting up the environment for success.

The kids already like things. They're full of ideas and motivation and interests. What they have a harder time with is structure and organization. So anyway, my guiding principle for the next year is listening to what the kids say and do and then framing it and organizing it in a way that is presentable and memorable.

Taking pictures, doing write ups in the word of the bird, making art out of their art, showing interest, adding extra facts/info/context, getting supplies to enhance it.

yeah!