Journal Entry #1 Theme/Topic: Prompt 9 (What Have You Learned About

Out of School Time?)

After school programs are extremely important to the success of students in school
today. From this course, I learned a great deal about the benefits and the large effects that
ASPs have and why they were initiated. Ever since the implementation of the No Child Left
Behind Act in 2002, a concern in achievement gaps arose among the education system.
According to Tavernise in Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies Say, the
achievement gap between rich and poor children is widening, a development that threatens
to dilute educations leveling effects (Tavernise). This has been a main concern and NCLB

was enacted to ensure that by 2014, all students would score a level of proficient or better
on the standardized tests. Hoping to lower the achievement gap, NCLB unfortunately failed
in reaching its goal in 2014. Thus, Common Core State Standards came into play where
according to the article Afterschool and the Common Core State Standards, the concerns
supplemented by the belief that all states and all students should be held to the
same high standards in order to best prepare them for college and careers, resulted in the
development of the Common Core State Standards.
As stated in the article Afterschool Programs in America: Origins, Growth, Popularity,
and Politics, after school programs first emerged primarily from historical changes in
childrens participation in the labor force and formal schooling (Halpern, 2002). The need
for American children to participate in the labor force decreased in the 19th century and at
the turn of the century, the idea that more structured play activities would be beneficial for
childrens growth and development emerged (Lee, 1915). People began to view after school
programs as extremely beneficial and helpful in the meeting of the federal achievement

standards. For youth and schools who are at risk of failure, ASPs are viewed as the saviors
of students academic achievement. After school programs are those that offer academic
enrichment opportunities as well as extracurricular activities to all youth. It is a time where
students can spend quality time enriching and boosting their academic background as well
as self exploration. By attending these sites, students can receive help in homework and
school subjects while enhancing and discovering any hobbies and/or talents. According to
Gardner, Roth, and Brooks-Gunn, in Can After-School Programs Help Level the
Academic Playing Field for Disadvantaged Youth? participation in after-school programs
can lead to gains in academic outcomes. Research has also provided tentative
evidence that youth who spend more time in afterschool programs may derive greater
academic benefits than youth who spend less time (Gardner, Roth, Brooks-Gunn, 4). From
these learnings, I realized that my new knowledge on after school programs was proved
correct from my experience at my fieldwork site.
My fieldwork site is called Irvine Art and Music Center and it is an extremely helpful
and great after school program that provides for students from Kindergarten to middle
school. It implements not only academic support, but also extracurricular activities in art,
music, and language. From my experiences at my fieldwork site, I witnessed the great
benefits that it provided for the many students that attend. Not only are kids receiving
enrichment in academics, but also they are either learning a new language, instrument, or
art lesson. These students have the opportunity everyday to discover something new about
them, whether it is a hobby or talent and are able to express themselves through enjoyable
categories like art and music. I see my students genuinely enjoying their time at the center
and effectively getting work done constantly. By working at this site, I also became

accustomed to the Common Core Standards for the first time. While helping my students
with their school homework, I was very surprised when I saw how difficult elementary and
middle school students homework had become compared to my time in school at their age.
I was sometimes very confused with the homework problems because it was a type of
question that I had never come across before. I was also taken aback when one of my
students helped me solve a problem, which was when I realized that many of my students
are more intelligent and smarter than I was at their age. This was when I first witnessed
the working effects of the Common Core state standards. My after school fieldwork site
proved to me in many aspects that my learnings from this course were accurate and
correct. Overall, after school programs are truly beneficial to the outcomes of students.
Source:
Gardner, Margo, Jodie L. Roth, and Jeane Brooks-Gunn. "Can After-School Programs
Help Level the Playing Field for Disadvantaged Youth?" Can
After-School Programs Help Level the Academic Playing Field for
Disadvantaged Youth? (2009): 4-7. Http://www.equitycampaign.org/.
A Research Initiative of the Campaign for Educational Equity
Teachers College, Columbia University, Oct. 2009. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
Mahoney, Joseph L., Maria E. Parente, and Edward F. Zigler. "Afterschool
Programs in America: Origins, Growth, Popularity, and Politics."
Journal of Youth Development: Bridging Research & Practice 4.3
(2009): 3. Web. 15 Dec. 2014.
Tavernise, Sabrina. Education Gap Grows Between Rich and Poor, Studies

Say. The New York Times. The New York Times, 09 Feb. 2012. Web.
15 Dec. 2014.

Journal Entry #2 Theme/Topic: Prompt 3 (Why Would You Attend?)

Irvine Art & Music Center is an after school site that is extremely focused and
oriented toward academics and outside activity enrichment. At this program, students are
extremely productive and accomplishing a plethora of activities all in one day. When kids
arrive at the center, they immediately start on their school homework and mainly focus on
finishing it. Because parents are occupied with work, they do not have the time to check
their childrens homework. Thus, the main goal of the center is to guarantee parents that
their children will be able to go home with all their school homework done and corrected.
Once homework is finished, students move on to complete an enrichment packet either on
math or reading where they get to complete it together with their classmates. Two of my
third grade students Victoria and Shriya stated that they loved coming to the center
because they were learning something new everyday such as from Chinese class and from
the packets. They liked being smart kids and doing the packets because it gave them a
feeling of pride and knowledge. They also claimed that they loved being able to work on it
with their friends during class and help anyone who did not understand a problem. Julia,
who is another one of my students, said that she liked being able to finish her homework,
which enabled her to spend quality time with her parents and siblings when she got home.
Victoria also said that she loved all the teachers and staff members because they were all
very nice, helpful, understanding and interactive with her. She specifically told me that she
liked me as a teacher because I made reading time fun for her when I would quiz her on

what she read to ensure she did the reading. I witness so many children at my fieldwork
site thoroughly relishing in their many activities such as Chinese lesson, music lesson, art
class, and even during homework, packet time. It is clear that the students genuinely want
to learn, become smarter, and be productive. The greatest part of the center is that they are
able to do every single activity with their close peers. Two of my male students Kenny and
Tony, when asked why they liked coming to the center told me that they were best friends
who did not go to the same school, but were able to see each other when they came to the
center and do their homework together. Tony also said he liked all the activities, parties,
and special projects that he got to do during special holidays like Christmas. Kenny loved
being able to bring electronics and toys to share with his friends.
I love coming to work at my fieldwork site because it is extremely satisfying and
comforting to see so many children have positive experiences at the center. Its amazing to
see an after school program where kids are able to not only get academic enrichment, but
also gain experience in extracurricular activities that enables these kids to express
themselves at a young age and explore their hobbies and talents. As Noam stated in his
article Learning with Excitement: Bridging School and After-School, What is important is
that programs aim to create some across-learning opportunities, achieve integration of
some learning goals, and deepen childrens exploration and skill acquisitionafter-school
programs divide the time into nonacademic activities. and academic activities, such as
enrichment in language arts, science. and homework support (Noam, 124). Irvine Art
and Music Center offers four benefits to kids in academics, language, art, and music. When I
was younger, I remember having an extremely hectic and busy schedule due to my many
involvements in piano lesson, Korean school, ballet, and tutoring which were all located at

different sites. I attended many different after school programs when I was younger and
they all only offered academic enrichment in the four core subjects of Math, Reading,
Science, and History. I have never seen a program such as Irvine Art and Music Center
where a site offers so much for students other than academics. It truly lets students explore
and learn a lot about themselves. The center has a great interactive staff, a helpful program,
and most importantly students willing and ready to learn and have fun. I am confident that
if I had attended my fieldwork site when I was younger, I would thoroughly enjoy spending
my time at this center as much as my current students do.
Source:
Noam, Gil G. Learning with Excitement: Bridging School and After-School
Worlds and Project-Based Learning. New Directions for Youth
Development 2003.97 (2003): 124. Web.

Journal Entry #3 Theme/Topic: Prompt 5 (Program Directors Strengths)

The main program director at my fieldwork site, Irvine Art and Music Center, is
Jennifer Wang. Jennifer is a great program director with many strengths and skills in
running an after school program. Being Asian myself, I have a good knowledge on how
Asians run certain systems that I personally disagree with. I once worked for an after
school program that was run by people of Asian background and I was highly unhappy with
how their education system for students was programmed. I initially had my doubts about
Jennifer due to her Asian descent. However, I was pleasantly surprised by how she ran her
center. The article Core Competencies For Afterschool Educators lists many qualities of
program supervisors and staff that ensure the positive outcomes of after school programs.

Some of these include: Has a working knowledge of and abilities to use resources within
the broader community, Ability to successfully manage program staff, Ability to design
program activities that support program goals and incorporate needs and interests of
program participants, their families and the broader community, and Ability to effectively
carry out program operations and policies to achieve program goals and meet needed
requirements. Jennifer portrayed all these qualities.
Being fluent in both English and Chinese, Jennifer has an excellent level of
communication with parents, which is extremely important. She portrays a very caring,
nurturing personality towards her students and shows a genuine concern for parents and
the success of their children. When I went in for my interview and was first hired to work
at the center, Jennifer told me that her main goal was to assure parents happiness and that
parents would be very disappointed if their kids did not finish their homework by the time
they came to pick them up. She established this important rule with me and made sure that
I was aware before I was officially hired as a teacher/tutor at the center. My job, is to make
certain and verify that each and every one of my students finish their school homework and
do it correctly. Due to the majority of parents busy schedule with their jobs, they do not
have the time to help their kids with homework. Jennifer is exceptionally understanding of
this and guarantees parents academic and extracurricular enrichment for their children.
Throughout the day, Jennifer constantly circles the center and walks into every
classroom at least twice to ensure that things are running smoothly with other staff
members and the students. She scolds any teachers who are not properly doing their jobs
and gets verbally aggressive with any misbehaving kids who are out of conduct. I view her
verbal aggression as effective and helpful as it gets the kids back into shape and work

mode. The centers students still respect her and treat her with high regard proving that
even the kids understand that she only utilizes this when necessary and it shows a genuine
care from her to the kids. While circling the classrooms, Jennifer scolds any students who
are not in proper posture, for not cleaning up after themselves during snack time, and for
not returning their pencils and erasers to the pencil box once finished. She makes sure that
the center is looking clean and presentable at all times and educates the youngest children
in this as well. I know that her biggest concern overall is parents satisfaction and her
centers success. While I was working, I witnessed a concerned parent inquiring with
Jennifer about why her child was unable to finish his homework when she came to pick him
up. At first, the mother who could not speak English very well, was confused by what
Jennifer was trying to explain. However, Jennifer made sure the mother understood
everything before she left. She stood there explaining with great detail and effort as to what
her sons issues and struggles were and showed the mother what her son would spend his
day doing at the center. Another effective method Jennifer runs at her center is the rewards
system. Students receive tokens for doing well and get to buy a prize after collecting a
certain amount. There is a visible prize station that is very alluring and motivating for kids
to work hard and behave well. She also holds special holiday parties and field trips for her
students occasionally and announces that anyone who misbehaves will not be able to
attend, further motivating and driving them to do well. Overall, Jennifer demonstrates a
professional and successful program site coordinator for her program. Many students
enroll and are still enrolled into Irvine Art and Music Center for a reason and that is
because a supervisor like her is around to ensure that success. I hope that every other after
school program can have a coordinator like her to ensure the success of their program.

Source:
"Core Competencies For Afterschool Educators." (2009): 11-13. After
School Professional. C.S. Mott Foundation, Mar. 2009. Web. 15 Dec.
2014.