Educators combine resources to provide natural experiences to needy youth

For a growing number of educators, sustainability entails far more than just planting trees and learning about rainforests. It’s about reaching out to others, supporting the next generation and building upon the strengths of young people as they discover and explore their own dreams and aspirations. For the past three years, teacher candidates from Gonzaga University’s School of Education have taught art, science, reading and other topics to children in the YWCA’s after-school and summer program for homeless youth. This year, a group of GU students enrolled in the Master of Initial Teaching program decided to create art, cook meals, play music and build community with these at-risk kids – children ages 5 to 12 who live in shelters or with relatives, who couch surf, whose families sometimes spend nights in cars. “It’s especially important to nurture that sense of hope and belonging among at-risk youth,” said Deborah Booth, associate professor of teacher education at Gonzaga and one of the originators of this service learning model that connects college students with homeless children. “A sustainable community is possible only when we take care of the people who are most vulnerable,” Booth said. From their experiences with the university students and other volunteers, these children who endure hardship and face daily obstacles begin to feel empowered. “They realize that they can help themselves and others,” Booth said. The partnership between the YWCA and the Master in Initial Teaching Program is part of Heart to Heart Art, a program established about four years ago by Booth and Jerri Shepard, associate professor at Gonzaga’s School of Education. The women, who have spent their careers working with at-risk youth and researching child resilience and protective factors, wanted students to gain first-hand experience to help them address issues like sustainability, social justice and solidarity with the poor. The professors gradually developed this service learning model, which has grown this past year. The students not only translate theory into practice during their lessons at the YWCA, Booth said they also “respond to possibilities for cooperation and interdependence in addressing issues such as homelessness, poverty, injustice and discrimination.” During a recent gathering with the themes of giving and sharing, teacher candidates created lesson plans involving nature and art. Together, they read Shel Silverstein’s “The Giving Tree,” which depicts friendship between a young boy and a tree. Using music and storytelling, the children and adults discussed nature’s many gifts, the “gift of giving” and the satisfaction that comes from a life of service. To reinforce this theme, the children and teacher candidates made cards, painted terra cotta pots and planted flowers, which they later distributed to senior citizens at a local nursing home and assisted living facility. “It’s really fun,” said 8-year-old Desire Scott, who has been taking part in the YWCA’s homeless program for the past year. “I like making things for other people.” Many of the youth appreciate the artwork, the time in the kitchen and the relationships with the teacher candidates and other adults. “I feel like I’m in my own little world here,” said Bri Offt, who’s 10 and in the fifth grade. “I don’t have these things at home. … We can make art projects for our parents. We can cook. Every time we cook (at the YWCA), it’s something different and homemade.” About 20 students at a time are enrolled in the YWCA’s afterschool and summer programs, according to activities coordinator Ryan Callan. The children are identified through Spokane Public Schools, which provides assistance to homeless families to enable children to continue attending their home schools. Last year, Spokane Public Schools served more than 1,000 homeless children. Most of the children who come to the YWCA attend Holmes, Audubon and Stevens – elementary schools where at least 70 percent of the student population qualify for free or reduced-price lunches. During the school year, Callan picks them up after school and brings them to the YWCA, where they play games, do homework and take part in activities until 5:30 p.m. Mondays through Thursdays. During the summer, the kids are there from 9 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Despite the fact that they don’t have much and are often forced to move occasionally in order to live with relatives and friends, these children are really no different from other kids, said Callan. “They’re average, everyday kids who just happen to have been dealt a difficult set of cards,” he said. “They’ve got the same interests, dreams and aspirations. They’re capable. They want to be included, respected and make friends … They’re good kids and they are survivors.” By spending time with the teacher candidates from Gonzaga, the youth are exposed to role models who enlighten them and improve their lives, Callan said. They not only learn how to cook, do art projects and engage in learning – activities that they would normally not be able to partake in since they’re homeless; they also discover that going to a university and getting a degree “is not in another realm,” Callan said. “Education becomes part of their goal.” The students also learn practical, sustainable skills. This summer, children grew vegetables and fruit at the YWCA’s Victory Garden. They used their harvest to cook meals they ate together. “If they’re ever in a situation someday when they’re having trouble making ends meet, they’ll remember that for a few dollars, they can plant seeds and within a few months, have food,” Callan said. “They’ve learned what grows in the area and what it takes to survive off the land.” These efforts create a more sustainable community, he said, because the children gradually find ways “to break the cycle of poverty.” For the teacher candidates, spending time with the youth has been an eye-opening and enriching experience. Before becoming part of the YWCA’s homeless program, some Gonzaga students told Booth that they had never worked with people in poverty and felt intimidated by the prospect of teaching at-risk youth. One student said she had the misconception that all homeless kids were orphans. After their first visit, the teacher candidates “fell in love,” Booth said. In fact, they fell so hard that they kept coming back. Instead of feeling pity for the children and viewing their volunteer work as “charity,” the teacher candidates from Gonzaga developed an admiration for the youth. Despite their poverty and other life challenges, the children were always happy to be together and to see their “friends” from Gonzaga, according to the teacher candidates. They remained resilient. They had hope. “They are beautiful, happy kids,” said Booth, who has worked with youth in the inner cities and the Navajo reservation as well as with AIDS orphans in Kibera, Kenya. “They need to have the same opportunities that all other kids have.”