Veronica Baladi, COL ’27, Fair Lawn, NJ
This summer, I was a teaching fellow at Breakthrough Greater Boston. I designed my own curriculum and ran a daily social studies classroom on controversial federal laws. My audience was thirty-five eighth-grade public school students. The Breakthrough Collaborative is a nonprofit education organization I resonated with for its two-fold mission. To begin with, middle school students from under-resourced urban school districts receive optional academic support in summers with an early emphasis on attending a four year college. Meanwhile, college students like myself gain experience in teaching and education policy. Students teach students.
Interested in equitizing laws of public health and education access, I needed to become a practitioner of education first. I chose to teach in a nonprofit space to experience the intersection of policy and practice. Although I have worked in Philadelphia public schools, this was the first time I had full autonomy over the pedagogy of a tight-knit group of students. Essentially, I transformed into a true teacher over summer’s seven weeks. From roasting s’mores on our camping trip to leading daily volleyball circles, I formed profound connections with each of my students. I shared the stories of the many treasured things college has offered me – my favorites being friends to make music with, a class trip to Greece, and academic independence. As a social studies teacher, I found such themes of opportunity relevant to highlight. My students created board games and posters on topics from affirmative action to minimum wage, addressing legislative shift proposals I knew impact their lives. When my students surprisingly beseeched me to do these final projects instead of having their recess time, I was proud that they genuinely enjoyed learning.
At Breakthrough, students and staff choose to be present. Students complete an application at the young ages of ten or eleven; staff complete a meticulous process of mock teaching. Best of all, the students have free access to program from the ten years of sixth grade through their college graduation. The Career Services Summer Funding Grant helped support me to live under non-profit conditions as I forged unforgettable bonds with Breakthrough students of various backgrounds.
Beyond school walls, I got to explore Boston. From my daily eight mile bike rides to work to burgundy brownstones, I lived within the history I taught. I was immersed in the urban neighborhoods my students come from.
I emerged from Breakthrough with a greater sense of empathy, patience, and understanding. Like any age range, eighth graders are not exactly perfect angels. But positively affirming redirection and re-reinforcement encourages them to showcase their pure-hearted selves. I will miss my students, and am lucky to have seen them grow. They have welcomed me with high fives, silly string attacks, and infectious smiles.
This is part of a series of posts by recipients of the 2024 Career Services Summer Funding Grant. We’ve asked funding recipients to reflect on their summer experiences and talk about the industries in which they spent their summer. You can read the entire series here
