Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Last Day of the Jr. Community Garden

School will be out next week, and so we had the end of the year celebration as a swimming and pizza party at my house.  All of us five women who steadily appeared two or three times a week for the entire year to make this Jr. Garden Club happen are breathing huge sighs of relief.

This was hard! In the first weeks we were exhausted by the kids' energy and disrespect. They screamed and leapt around and seemed unable to take any kind of direction. Yet, they kept on coming and gradually became good gardeners who knew the plants and how to grow them. They loved harvesting their crops and they loved cooking and eating the collards and carrots and beans and so much else!

As the year wore on, and we had a steady cohort of young gardeners, things got better. We grew to know these kids and we had amazing conversations with them as we weeded and cooked. We provided many wonderful activities planned - all with some connection to growing food. 

We wanted these kids to have a sleep-away camp experience, and our local garden club was eager to finance this at a lovely environmental education camp pretty nearby.  It was the hardest thing of all to sign these kids up to go to a great camp (for free!)

For helicopter parents this would have been easy. But for our parents here it was another world they could not understand. Of course, none of them had any camp experience and it would be a very big reach to send a kid off to someplace unknown for a week. And, then, they did not understand applying online, and many of them had no access to that anyway. The kids , of course, are wild to go on this adventure-camp! So, we held their hands, brought our laptops, made calls over and over, made the camp physicals available. And still, there were all those tag ends to complete. 

But! We have six kids signed up to go to Camp Wekiva this summer. Done deal. We know that we'll have to have some meetings about what to bring, where to go, how to get there etc. We'll have to provide some sleeping bags and swimsuits and whatever. Maybe we'll have to offer to drive some kids to camp. But, the end thing is that these kids will have such a wonderful experience and learn so much! (Of course, I fear that some of these parents will forget about camp.)

So, today, I knew that it would take some time to get the kids loaded up for the short drive to my house. It was herding cats. A few of them had forgotten their swim suits or their permission forms and had to call parents. One child was clearly disappointed because his mother was in the hospital and so nothing was working for him that day.

When, finally, we got all the kids unloaded for their afternoon of swimming and making/eating pizza, it was pretty much mayhem. They loved the swimming and they loved all the bathrooms with lockable doors and they loved running around inside the house. Some kids helped on the pizzas and salad and everyone loved eating all that stuff and the melons. They always checked to see if they could have more if they wanted.

After they ate (in five minutes) they went outside to play volleyball. Some of the kids kept peeling off and we had to make sure they were not by the pool or some other dangerous place. They had no idea of keeping track of their belongings, so there were many damp piles of swimming gear here and there. They had no idea about helping clean up anything.

And yet, I believe we have made a lot of progress with these kids! 

Some of the kids went upstairs and discovered the room where our grandson stays when he is often here. It is filled with intricate Lego buildings and models he has made, and there is a large collection of Lego bricks and pieces, books and toys. I just glimpsed that raw envy and it saddened me.

These kids have taught me so much.


Tuesday, May 13, 2014

It Takes a Village

Carlos, skinny, small for his age, like a little professor, strides purposefully to the front of the classroom. He is about to give his speech to his class.

All the kids in this fourth grade room are preparing for the speech contest next week in front of the whole school. I have listened to speeches about baseball, hunting, cheer leading, pets, and the predictable topics that interest nine year olds. I have volunteered to help the kids who need a little extra.

Carlos' speech is about Gandhi and peace. Obviously, he has carefully researched the life of this world leader and cares a lot about his topic. I wonder how it could be that this child in this poor hispanic community came up with this? I was blown away!

Through Carlos and his family, whom I have come to know in the ensuing five years, I have learned so much. This child, like so many others across America, is undocumented, and knows how hard it will be to make it step by step to where he wants to be. He knows that his supportive family are always there for him. He knows the fears of trying to be an undocumented family in this country. He appreciates the fact of being bilingual.

Carlos, and so many others like him, are our treasure in America (the home of the free and the brave).
Now, Carlos is about to graduate from eighth grade. He's replete with honors all the way through school. He's on the way to being an Eagle Scout. He'll begin high school in a brand new program for the academically gifted.

And now, I try to think of a good graduation gift for this lovely gifted boy. His mom and I believe he needs a good laptop. How can we make this happen?  This needs to come from the community with no one's pride damaged. So, I have put out the word to the 'village', and so many folks here who know Carlos as "one of ours" have contributed.

I think that all of us here believe in the potential of kids, all kids. We believe that families want the best for their children.

On that graduation day coming up Carlos will have his laptop. Little by little our mean spirited legislature will begin to know that our undocumented Floridians are worthy of going to college and having the same shot to success as anyone. It is starting!