Final Artist Statement

Making this project is something that is more than just a idea, it’s a statement. It’s a statement that needs to be made to the unknowing public, it’s a statement that generally goes unheard, and it’s a statement that goes ignored. When I first saw the possibility for this project, I was excited. Not only did I not have to spend much time finding a claim to make, but it also was something I was passionate about. As a criminal justice major, I have been taught that you have to catch kids at an early age to teach them values. As I have also noticed at Escuela Vieju, teaching at the young age is done at its best. However, once they leave, into the real world of the high school of the Milwaukee Public School system, they are not guided by teachers who care, they are only guided by people who want a consistent paycheck and do not care where the kids end up. It may not be the case in every teacher but it is in at least 50 percent of the teachers, supported by the 50% graduation rate. I learned from this project that communities unfortunately are directly impacted by the crime that goes around them. The Walker’s Point neighborhood, after visiting, is not anywhere as dangerous as its crime rating. It feels so much nicer and much more inviting. I’m sorry for the citizens of the neighborhood who directly feel the animosity by other neighborhoods and citizens who look down on them. This is what I wanted to show people, that the citizens of this part of Milwaukee are doing the best they can to make the WORLD a better place, and for that, I thank you all.

Final Project

Whitefish Bay Fiscal 2009

Journal Reflection

Upon reflecting coming into the last week of volunteering, the time i have spent here at the escuela vieju has been an enriching experience that has been something I will never forget. I can honestly see why the university makes it mandatory for student to do at least one of these projects. The amount of fun and joy that I received from helping out with the kids. As I finish up my final project, its fun looking back at the building and thinking about the memories that will last a life time. Its true that teaching children really is a personally enriching job that rarely is found elsewhere.

Journal 2

It has been truly enriching being involved with these young kids. However, I would like to comment on the staff working at this school/boys and girls club. This group of workers and teachers are the most supporting group of people I have ever met in my entire life. Without these teachers, professional and volunteer, these children wouldn’t have a chance at life or an interest in school. The kids after talking to them tell me they like school only because it was FUN. I have never had the opportunity to go to a school that was fun, because my schooling experiences have always been down to business and learning and that was it. I have never looked forward to going to school until I learned how much fun it was to go to this kind of environment. The welcoming and smiling people that surround this building and community are great and some of the most friendly I’ve ever had the opportunity to encounter in my entire life. Unfortunately, I am scared at the same time, not for myself, but for the kids. I am afraid that when they leave and move up in schooling, they won’t have that great support system they are presented with right now.

Journal 1

As this volunteering project goes along, my outlook has changed on how children respect to adults. It was my original thought that children nowadays have become more disrespectful and unresponsive to authority. There are a majority of the kids I work with that I finding out that they just want to have fun, and even though they may get out of control every once in a while, they know that when they ask an adult a question its "teacher", "Mr.", or "Mrs.” That’s a refreshing revelation to know that America's youth, especially America's minority youth, is not as bad as portrayed in the media. It also surprised me that when we were playing flag football outside on Friday’s outdoor time, when I asked the girls if they knew how to play, they all replied they knew how to play. I know that when I was a kid, none of the girls that were in my class in elementary school wanted to play flag football or touch football, but there were 4 or 5 girls out of 11 out there playing with us. I thought it was really nice to see more interest in other sports by girls at a younger age than in years past.

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