Project MARS/AmeriCorps collects “Great Stories” from its members in which they reflect on their experiences mentoring in the classroom and the progress they see in students. This month’s story was written by Missy Nicole Simms, a school engagement coordinator at Ira B. Jones Elementary School in Asheville.
My first day at Ira B. Jones, I was quite nervous. I was new to Asheville, AmeriCorps, Project MARS. After getting some introductions out of the way, this little girl walked up to me in the hallway. I call her Iridessa like the Southern, sassy fairy from Tinkerbell’s friends. Iridessa, with all the Southern sass of a woman 40 years her senior, says to me “who are you? “You go’n’ help our teachers, good they need it.” When I entered her classroom, she loudly proclaimed she knew me already. Little did I know, I needed her to steel my nerves.
Later that day, I met her self-proclaimed best friend, Fawn. Fawn always had something foreign in her mouth. Her teachers failed to get these foreigners out of her mouth. I would see her in the hallways, tell her a disgusting story about the thing, and ask her to not put anything in her mouth for the rest of the day. She promised to try. Sometimes she succeeded. Now, to date Fawn only puts food and her own fingers in her mouth without the daily reminder.
She and Iridessa always give hugs and tighten up their behavior when I am around, to the point that their teacher always lets me know when they have a good or bad day. I am grateful that I get to serve these students and that they look forward to spending more time with me. I am happy to engage them and have built some bonds in a short time.
