A couple of weekends ago about 20 students and 3 teaching fellows from MS 331 (right here in the Bronx) visited Rose Hill to tour campus and watch the Rams play Colgate in football. Organized by the Rose Hill Society and The Dorothy Day Center for Service and Justice, "Football and a Tour" aims at exposing inner-city students to college life. But what I thought was going to be a learning experience for these impressionable 6th graders ended up being more of a learning experience for myself. After eating in the cafeteria, chatting during the football game (our mocking "Toothpaste! Toothpaste!" chants against Colgate worked to no avail), and playing some familiar school yard games on our quad, I couldn't help but feel a special appreciation for these wide eyed 12 year olds.
Each child was a part of some cool extracurricular activity (from writing for their newspaper, to taking cooking class, or being a part of their finance club) that has taught them valuable life lessons that I was completely unaware of at 12. They eagerly shared with me the logistics of printing a school newspaper, the importance of eating healthy and portion control, and how to spend my money wisely. Being surrounded by their youth and excitement to learn and share that knowledge made me feel like a kid again. A thank-you email from one of their teaching fellows that expressed how much fun the students had and how anxious they are to come back for "Basketball and Tour" in February made the experience all the more memorable.
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