2018 CIIP Program Book CIIP Booklet 2018 | Page 45

The Ruth M. Kirk Recreation and Learning Center is a community bastion. Even before my work
at the summer camp began, I saw how the doors would swing open with children coming by to
relax after school, and how familiar faces would stop in for a box when we had a food bank. And
then the camp started: a group of ten to fifteen energetic kids coming to learn and play every
day.
It’s been a privilege to be among them. Not only as a role model – that in itself, already one of
the greatest privileges – but as someone able to witness the growth of their creative, academic,
and personal lives. They have left an impression on me time and time again. The sincerity of their
engagement, their earnestness, and their striving to be heard – these qualities appear so evi-
dently in the eager, waving hands, the concentration of reading a page from a story or a poem,
the pride in having completed a worksheet. And then to see their creativity, their imagination,
their individuality flower in the arts projects we do, as they add buns and curly hair to paper bag
puppets, splatter pink and blue across their paintings with the ends of paint brushes, and layer
stickers and decorative tape and pictures in their “About Me” magazine collages: it is a joy.
Community Partner:
Ruth M. Kirk Recreation Center
Intern: Alicia Badea
Site Supervisor: Arthur “Squeaky” Kirk
What is the Ruth M. Kirk Rec Center?
The Ruth M. Kirk Rec Center was opened
with the goal of giving the kids in the area a
safe place to learn and play but also provide
basic needs such as food, coats, toys, and
hygiene products. We also help those who
have lost track of their educational goals to
get back on track with our GED program.
I am often surprised at the extent of their engagement, too. Amidst their complaints and frustra-
tions that our academic activities far too closely resemble school, they work, anyway. I find myself
in a quiet room, a little caught off guard every time. They focus; they put effort in; they try so
hard. Or they are practically jumping out of their seats for their turn to be called on, to read, to
offer a response, to share.
Has it been a challenge? Oh yes, there have been many challeng es . Dialing down rowdiness,
breaking up fights, showing them how to treat their own emotions and their social interactions in
an increasingly positive manner. But being here with them, as the ring of my name and the tone
of my voice become no longer unfamiliar to them, as I become one stitch in their fabric of their
lives and they, fifteen stitches in mine can only be described as meaningful.
• Created daily lesson plans focused on
language arts and math, including group
reading and discussions targeted at
increasing literacy skills and math work-
sheets individualized per grade level
• Organized arts and science projects to
serve as an outlet for creativity, imagina-
tion, and curiosity
• Modeled positive behaviors to encourage
cooperative social skills, mediated con-
flicts, provided emotional and academic
support, and developed relationships
with the children through one-on-one
conversations
• Helped with food banks and day to day
operations, including meals
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