My Experience at Square Roots Community Center
Creator: Erin Choi
This is a blog post that recounts my overall experiences during my service at Square Roots Community Center, including any observations I made about the community and its dynamic.
The goals of Castle Square Tenants Organization were those that really spoke to me when I first read about the organization, and still resonate with me after volunteering with them. CSTO aims to provide housing for low-income families in the Boston area; Square Roots, a branch of CSTO where I volunteer, is an after-school program that offers tutoring and educationally enriching activities to students K-8. Upon meeting the Square Roots coordinator and her assistant at orientation, I felt confident that I would enjoy volunteering with the kids and cooperate well with coordinator, and after going in a few times, I know I was not mistaken. The people who work there are all visibly passionate about working with the students and are extremely helpful; they continuously provided guidance and did not hesitate to help me whenever I was lost.
The students within the community are very diverse, and the majority of them are of minority groups; the students are of many different races and religions, creating a very heterogeneous group. As I am not completely familiar with the values and traditions held by other races and religions, I need to be wary of how I act and make sure that I am always acting respectful and that nothing unintentionally insensitive or careless comes out of my mouth. Another obvious difference between me and the kids within the community I serve is the age. All of the kids at Square Roots are 6-13 years old, and as an 18-year-old, the age difference is prominent and plays a big role in how I interact with them. I don’t have a lot of previous experience working with young kids, so this is a vastly different experience for me. Thus, I constantly need to make sure that what I say is completely understandable to and appropriate for all of the students, especially because the disparities in the mannerisms and cultures between my age group and the students’ age group are quite prevalent.
Working with these students has been immeasurably enjoyable; I learned a lot from the experience as I made sure to always remain mindful of the differences in age, cultures, traditions, religions, etc.