Helping los estudiantes
JMU students tutor sixth and seventh grade Latino youth
Posted on February 7, 2008
Students are knocking down the barrier between JMU and the Harrisonburg community by mentoring sixth and seventh grade Latino students.
Every other Wednesday JMU students who are members of the club AMISTAD go to Thomas Harrison Middle School to talk with Latino kids about their own culture and diversity in the cultures and people around them.
“We want to provide a place for the kids to come after school, to have fun, and learn something at the same time,” said Student Leader senior Jessica Murray.
AMISTAD was created in 2005 by JMU Professor Karina Kline-Gabel with the motto “Building bridges through friendship.” The name “AMISTAD” means “friendship” in Spanish, but speaking Spanish is not a requirement. Many of the Latino kids are bilingual and several don’t speak Spanish at all.
JMU volunteers look forward to the meetings as much as the kids do.
“For two hours every other week I can be a kid,” sophomore Grace Pemberton said.
JMU students strive to create a fun environment through art projects and games. Engaging with the students prevents the kids from feeling like the college students are in charge, Murray said. Activities included a “self identity” art project where students took a picture of themselves and surrounded it with things they thought were representative of who they are.
“Each time JMU students try to do something different and each lesson goes along with a topic,” Murray said.
During a read of Dr. King’s biography on Martin Luther King Day, the group discussed the fact that a week before his assassination, Dr. King had actually dreamt he was going to be murdered, and a week later he was.
“Geraldine, a seventh grader from El Salvador, then said, ‘So, Martin Luther King Jr. had two dreams.’ I almost fell out of my chair laughing,” Pemberton said.
Murray has been part of AMISTAD for two years. One of her favorite experiences was a field trip to Court Square Theater during her sophomore year to hear Latino writer and poet Michele Serros, a U.S. born Latino whose parents never wanted her to learn Spanish. Murray said many of the kids were able to identify with her.
“She gave out free T-shirts to some of the kids,” Murray said. “I know they really enjoyed it because it wasn’t just us coming to their school.”
The middle school students however, aren’t the only ones who walk away with a new understanding. JMU students learn patience and leadership and are often reminded about what it’s like to be in middle school.
“One thing about middle schoolers is that they are always ready to laugh,” Pemberton said. “Going from class to class, professor to professor, review sessions and meetings, sometimes you forget to laugh, and AMISTAD provides a very laughter conducive atmosphere.”
Teachers at Thomas Harrison recommend AMISTAD to their students. Next year, there are plans for a new middle school to open up and one of the girls asked if they were going to have AMISTAD there because that’s where she was going, Murray said. The kids want to be there and will ask for JMU students if someone who is normally there doesn’t make it that week.
Murray said, “It’s a great opportunity to help out and get involved with the community outside of JMU.”
