Walden Green students work for real

Sat, Dec 20, 2008    to del.icio.us

I am one of about 20 Walden Green Montessori School students who worked at community businesses this week as part of a seventh- and eighth-grade internship.

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I did my internship at the Grand Haven Tribune, where I learned how to conduct an interview, how to write a story for the paper and how newsroom computer programs work. Some of my classmates worked at nursing homes, auto body shops, bakeries and nonprofit organizations.

Joslyn and Christian Hicks, the two middle school teachers at Walden Green, have been sending middle school students to work during a one-week period each year. They began coordinating the internship program for their students seven years ago.

"The community is amazing," Joslyn Hicks said. "They always say yes to having our students work with them."

She said the students' experiences working in the community helps them realize they have talents and skills to share with others.

"It improves the students' confidence, communication skills and experience to build prior knowledge for when they go into the real world," Joslyn Hicks said. "They learn to follow through and they build relationships in the community."

To get a quality experience during their internship, students are encouraged to really get their hands dirty.

"It's different than job shadowing," Christian Hicks said. "Instead of following someone around and watching, the students perform meaningful work for the business."

I think he's right. This internship at the Tribune has really boosted my self-confidence. I did something to help, like write this education story — something that was needed.

"We do these internships because we know from recent research on adolescent education and development needs that they need to feel connected with the larger world outside of the classroom," Christian Hicks said. "Our three main goals for the internships are: to make learning meaningful and purposeful; to refine communication skills, how to behave and communicate in a work setting; and to enhance self-esteem."

For their internship experience, some students chose to work in food service. Others chose technical or industrial jobs.

"I picked Jumpin' Java for my internship because I come here a lot and I like their coffee," eighth-grader JeriLyn Converse said. "I learned that the work world is a lot different than the school world. You have to show more responsibility and there aren't as many breaks, like Christmas and summer vacation."

Converse said she thinks an internship provides better chances of getting a job. "It's a good thing to add to your resume," she said.

Chris Heinin, the manager at Jumpin' Java, spoke positively about the Walden Green internships. "It's a great experience for the students, before it all really happens," she said.

Heinin said Converse did everything an actual employee would do — she waited on customers, washed dishes, served coffee, worked the cash register and washed tables.

"She learned really fast," Heinin said.

Eighth-grader Samantha Danielson worked at the Dee-Lite Restaurant.

"It is a good way to find a career that you like, for later in life," she said.

Danielson said she learned that "you need people skills," and said she feels she has improved quite a bit this week in that area. She worked with classmate Kaleb Winter at the downtown restaurant, where they bussed tables, served drinks to customers, worked in the kitchen, took orders, placed orders into the computers, prepared silverware, washed dishes, poured coffee, served food and learned how to use an ice machine.

"I stepped out of my comfort zone," Winter said. "I learned that I am brave, and that I shouldn't be scared of people."

Seventh-grader Amrr Okasheh completed his internship at Brilliance Audio. He said he learned how to build a Web site at the company, and thought that the internships we do are a "good experience for when we grow up." Okasheh said he also learned to be confident, and said that he won't be as nervous when he is an adult and gets a real job.

"I was really nervous the first time I stepped into Brilliance," he said.

Jacob Bovid, a seventh-grader, worked at American Metal Products where he used a computer design program.

"I got to use a laser to cut metal and build a 3D dinosaur puzzle," he said. "I learned that the work world is a lot more complicated."

After completing the week-long internship, students write reflection essays.

"I always see positive things from the students," Christian Hicks said. "They say that they learned to do things that they thought that they couldn't do. They go from scared to very self-confident during the internships. They learn how to act when put into a brand new situation. And one of the biggest things I hear from the kids is that they felt needed by the larger community, and needed by the place they work for."

Doing internships at Walden Green last year as a seventh-grader (when I worked with dog trainers) and this year as an eighth-grader have been amazing experiences for me, especially working here at the Tribune. Even though I am only 13, I still felt that I was important, and that what I did and learned was more important still.