{"id":124,"date":"2022-04-29T14:09:58","date_gmt":"2022-04-29T14:09:58","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/theresettlementproject.com\/?p=124"},"modified":"2022-05-04T17:13:47","modified_gmt":"2022-05-04T17:13:47","slug":"passion-for-volunteering","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/theresettlementproject.com\/?p=124","title":{"rendered":"‘This makes a difference in your life’"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Morgan McGrath<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Chelsae Poelking has been teaching English as a second language for the past two years, and every Tuesday night, she can be found in an Akron Crossings classroom, laughing with students as they collectively crack some jokes. <\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cGod made all people valuable,\u201d she said. \u201cEveryone is valuable in his eyes, no matter where you\u2019re from, or what you\u2019ve been through. That\u2019s why we want to love them [refugees] and help them have the best chance they have.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poelking first fell in love with volunteering during a trip down south to Clarkston, Georgia, just a 20-minute drive outside of Atlanta. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Historically, Clarkston is known as the \u201cmost diverse square mile\u201d in the United States, with residents from 40 different countries who speak a total of 60 different languages. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

While volunteering in Clarkston, Poelking was introduced to Bena Paisley, the founder of non-profit organization Akron Crossings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201c[I] just got to know more about her personally, got to know a few other people that were involved down there, and just about the very unique opportunity we have in Akron, with so many refugees in different populations being settled there.\u201d <\/p>cHELSAE POELKING<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Roughly 9 months later, she decided to get involved with Akron Crossings. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In 2021, Poelking taught a level five-course, which is the highest available option at the \u201cschool.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now, she\u2019s at the second-highest level, and on a weekly basis, her class number ranges from anywhere between 2-8 students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI find it easier time in the higher level because I can engage with them, I can have the conversations, they know some of the vocabulary,\u201d she said. \u201cIt just seems to suit my personality better.\u201d <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Students come from countries such as Afghanistan, Myanmar, Ecuador, and El Salvador, to name a few. No matter what language they grew up speaking, they now join together with a common goal in mind: learning English. <\/p><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Flags represent the countries of those who have resettled in the North Hill neighborhood of Akron. Photo by Kelly Krabill. <\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n

For Poelking, a typical class session includes a review of previous material, practicing relevant vocabulary, listening to spoken language, and learning grammatical concepts and structures. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Due to Akron Crossing\u2019s religious roots, each of the course sessions involves reading a short section from the Christian Bible.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know, a lot of these cultures, even our students who aren\u2019t from Christian-based countries, are very story and oral culture driven,\u201d said Poelking. \u201cAnd so even just the idea of traditions and beliefs and stories resonates with them.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Poelking says that religion is not forced on the students, and if they are unwilling to participate in the more Biblical-based portion of the class, this is not a problem.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

She also says her students\u2019 typical struggles relate to grammatical discrepancies with English speaking and writing. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For example, it might be tough to understand the difference between could, would, and should, especially for those who didn\u2019t grow up speaking the language. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

These challenges might also depend on a person\u2019s country of origin. Certain dialects have trouble with specific sounds more than others. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cYou know, for example, a lot of Hispanics, starting a word with \u2018S\u2019 is hard. They add an \u2018E\u2019 at the beginning because they don\u2019t have certain sounds,\u201d said Poelking. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, these challenges provide room for conversation and growth amongst students. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

In one instance, Poelking had just taught a class lesson on medical terms, including blood pressure and prescriptions. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

A week later, one of her students came into the classroom and said he was able to communicate with a doctor after his coworker had gotten injured at work. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cIt was just this moment of remembering, you know, yeah, I\u2019m giving you homework I\u2019m grading and we laugh a lot, and it\u2019s great, but this makes a difference in your life.\u201d <\/p>CHELSAE POELKING<\/cite><\/blockquote><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

She is proud of her students\u2019 accomplishments and the relationships they have formed in the classroom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

For Poelking, when she\u2019s not at her full-time job, her Tuesday nights are spent tucked away in a classroom, laughing with students and having fun. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI know that if I asked them for something they needed, they would do it in a heartbeat, and that\u2019s just so encouraging to me when there\u2019s so much in the world that doesn\u2019t feel like the way it\u2019s supposed to be,\u201d she said. \u201cYou know what I mean?\u201d <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Morgan McGrath Chelsae Poelking has been teaching English as a second language for the past two years, and every Tuesday night, she can be found in an Akron Crossings classroom, laughing with students as they collectively crack some jokes.  \u201cGod made all people valuable,\u201d she said. \u201cEveryone is valuable in his eyes, no matter […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":14,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[46,32,30,15,33,35,10],"class_list":["post-124","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-stories","tag-akron-crossings","tag-barriers","tag-language","tag-north-hill","tag-religion","tag-volunteering","tag-work"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/theresettlementproject.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/theresettlementproject.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/theresettlementproject.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theresettlementproject.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/14"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theresettlementproject.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=124"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/theresettlementproject.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/124\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/theresettlementproject.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=124"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theresettlementproject.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=124"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/theresettlementproject.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=124"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}