Volunteers
Success Story from Natasha Brown, Symantec Corp employee and JA volunteer:
I just returned from my 2nd volunteer session at Suncrest Elementary. I'm a little stunned. The first session went as I expected, wiggly first-grader bodies and all. Today, however, I knew that I was in for a challenge because I had to teach the difference between "needs" and "wants." I have my own little first-grader that I asked about needs and wants last night. His response was to give me his Christmas wish list. I realized that my children have never known what it is like to go without anything, and I was hard-pressed to describe the difference between those two words.
I got into the first activity and I could tell that these kids were looking at me like I was from another planet. So I just ignored the remainder of the first activity and went to some needs/wants flashcards. Suddenly, everything clicked in their heads and in mine. I held up the flashcard that showed a gas-pump for cars. I asked, "Is gas a need or a want?" And a hand shot up. The response? "It depends on if you have a car, which me and my mom don't have, so that is definitely a want." I think I just stared. The rest of the responses were similar. One girl told me that clothing was both a need and a want, depending on if it was just a hand-me-down that you "had" to wear, or something you wanted that was pretty. A little boy said that winter coats were "wants" because Santa Claus lives where it is snowy all of the time, and it doesn't snow here all of the time, so he "can get by without one." Gulp. I don't think the promoters of the Winter Olympics had heard that one...
In all, I taught them very little. With my double-income family, college degrees, and my ability to communicate, I learned the difference between needs and wants today--from a bunch of wiggly first-graders.
K. Natasha Brown
Information Developer
Symantec. Corp-American Fork
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