Whitehead Boys and Girls Club (Atlanta –Thursday)

Today we are off to another Boys and Girls Club to educate young minds. We have decided to ramp up our curriculum and teach about healthy eating as well as hunger awareness. In true BGC fashion, we are left with 30 very rowdy and misbehaving 8 to 12 year old boys. Surprisingly though, they are good students for us. I have to remind them not to talk several times but they are engaged and practically jumping out of their seats to answer questions.


Me working with the boys.

Next come the 8 to 12 year old girls and wow were they bad. Boys and Girls Clubs will tell you that they are not daycares (although parents sometimes treat them as such). Kids are free to come and go as they please and it is not their job to discipline. I, however, feel that a little discipline is in order. Several kids got sent to time-out under my watch for essentially beating one another and being down right mean. It really makes me wonder what kind of parents they have. Of course, this is only a generalization of the worst kids. Some of them were fantastic and very bright.


MacAdam let the girls turn him into an artwork.

My favorite thing about children is their innocence when it comes to worldview. I have lived in situations where I have been a visual minority (yeah Spain). And let me tell you, you notice it, everyday, all day. This is a very odd feeling after coming from an environment where I am a visual majority. People do judge you on how you talk and the color of your skin; it is a fact. It is what you do with those judgments that define you as a person though. Children are a little different. They have not quite had enough time to form biases yet which lead to some really funny situations.


Alex working with the boys.

At the Whitehead BGC we were the only white kids and Willen was the only Asian for miles around. The little kids take no notice of this however. When I ask the girls about their cornrows and beautiful hair, they are shocked that I have never had my hair braided like that. “Nope.” I tell them, “Never.” Now they are really interested and explain the whole process to me. To sum it up, it sounds painful but the end result is really cool especially with the beads.


The kids liked to show off their work.