An Educational Experience: My Day at Roberto Clemente School

In October, I was part of a group of SOM students and staff who took part in the Junior Achievement of Southwest New England volunteer day at Roberto Clemente Leadership Academy. The day was organized by the Education Club and the dean’s office, and it provided an opportunity for us to spend the day with K-12 students.

My task was to lead a second-grade class of 22 students for the day and to teach them real-world concepts related to community, jobs, money, and voting. I was nervous going into the class. Luckily, I was well-prepared by the wonderful Junior Achievement staff, as well as by the former teachers among my classmates, who gave me great tips like clapping to quiet down a room and dancing to get the kids’ energy out.

As the existing classroom teacher introduced me to the class, I was pleasantly surprised by the trust that she placed in me—a stranger without teaching experience—to lead her kids for a full day. That spoke to the strength of relationship that SOM and Junior Achievement has built with Roberto Clemente. It certainly put pressure on me to deliver, and to be a good representative for my sponsoring organizations.

During the lesson about jobs, I was impressed by the passion that students demonstrated toward public service careers. “What jobs do you want to do,” I asked. The responses that came back were teacher, firefighter, police, doctor, nurses, and even the odd zookeeper! As a former government official who knows how difficult it can be to recruit the best talent into the public service, I was heartened by their enthusiasm.

In the lesson about voting, a few students naturally got upset when they lost a mock vote and did not get the outcome they wanted. I asked what they thought should happen next. One student raised her hand very high, so I asked her to speak up. “I don’t feel good, but I will go with the group’s vote,” she said, “because we are a community.”  I was proud of her response, and grateful to be reminded of that lesson.

Volunteering opportunities like these are a large part of the reason I chose SOM. The school’s mission is to educate leaders for business and society, and it is expected that we all participate in community service and that we all become part of the change to move the world forward. I am also so grateful to Junior Achievement for arranging this partnership and to Roberto Clemente school for the very warm welcome into their community.