Summer Reflections
Mr. Lerner performing his part of an original rap, "All the Way Learned Up."
My name is Jacob Lerner, but here at the Sunflower Freedom Project, I go by Mr. Lerner. I have been interning and teaching here for the last seven weeks, and it has been one of the best experiences of my life. We have spent one week planning, five weeks teaching at the LEAD center, and one week at Ole Miss, not including the class trips. I came here because I had a slight interest in teaching and have always cared about education. Before this summer, I had never really considered teaching as a long-term career and I just was hoping to have the experience this summer of being a teacher to use for other careers, maybe more policy oriented ones. However, partially in thanks to the students, the other staff, and the actual teaching, it has become much more of an option that I am definitely considering. The students are not perfect, and we have definitely had our rough spots, but they are truly inspiring. Regardless of their past or hardships they have faced, many of them still look towards the future with hope, and it made me hopeful. It feels so great when working with a student and seeing the topic click for them. I was teaching one student integers, and it made me so happy when he said that he had been learning about integers all year but it was not until this week that he understood how to add and subtract them. It lets me know that what I am doing is working and making a difference. In that sense, the benefit of teaching is doubled. The students learn and gain the tools for success and I am able to gain satisfaction from their success. Beyond that I have learned about myself and gained many skills, that will benefit me no matter what I do. I have learned classroom management, how to communicate with middle school kids and one of the hardest things is how to remain a teacher and keep discipline while trying to have fun with them and remain their friend.
The hardest part about this summer, is going to be next week when I get ready to go. I feel like we have been in a Sunflower Freedom Project bubble, and despite this hope, I wonder what is going to happen in the future. I would love for all of them to be highly successful and make it on to college. I know they all want to, but there are so many obstacles and I worry that some may not make it. Since I am leaving in a week, it will be more difficult to impact them. I understand that there are many people out there that can help these students, but it is mainly up to them, and I feel like they can handle the hardship. I would love to stay here longer, and I hope I can find ways to stay a part of their world. My wish is that ten years from now, if I find them, they will be successful, great, respectful people.
-Jacob Lerner, a Robertson Scholar from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, interned with the Freedom Project this past summer. He taught math, media, and study skills.
