Monarch Park Collegiate...What Can WE Learn?

I think that the story of Monarch Park is just one of many inspiring stories of how communities are stronger and more prosperous when they work together for the greater good.
Because of the Free the Children speaker that went to their school, the students of Monarch Park Collegiate have begun to realize that the ability to make a positive change is within each of us regardless of of where we come, what we did in the past, where we live, our race or nationality. None of this really matters. What does matter is that we act..not to help ourselves but to understand that the greatest joy comes from making a difference in the lives of others.
This story also goes to show how even the most unlikely of people can make an amazing impact on others if given the knowledge and the opportunity to act. You take a school like Monarch Park that is notorious for violence and gangs and so many other things and you teach them the meaning of changing from Me to We and all of the sudden they are completely transformed as they realize how big of a difference they can make...no matter what other people think.

Belonging

The group that I think I feel most connected to would definitely be my closest smaller circle of friends. These are the people who i can trust with my life and who can make me feel good even on the crappiest of days. These people are the ones who are genuine;y interested in my well being and my happiness and I know that they will always have my back. I feel safe and secure and welcome and encouraged and calm when i am with these people and they always seem to bring out the best in me. These people play a HUGE role in my life because they are the ones who give me courage and confidence in myself and they are often the reason why I get up in the morning because I know that by being with them, I will feel that mine was a life worth living because I had the opportunity to brighten someone else day or simply make someone else smile.

Grade 8 is Such a Difficult Time...

So the grade 8 tours...that was interesting. It wasn't at all what i was expecting it to be. The group that we had on the first day was a little bit of a shocker. I was expecting the kids to be fairly cooperative and interested in checking out the school they would soon be attending but that’s not at all what we got. We had a fairly large group of kids consisting mostly of boys and although some were extremely well behaved and attentive, most of them were just rowdy, defiant and some even disrespectful. There were a few different times where I had to break up disputes and other times where I had to use everything I had to keep the kids focused.
In spite of all of this I think that what we did was a huge help to some of the kids and it gave them a chance to get to know IDCI and hopefully calm their nerves a little. It also helped teach a lot of the tour guides patience, confidence, self control and good communication.
One thing that I think could help improve it for next year is to have the groups more even and to have them sorted better by the elementary school teachers so that they can put kids in groups with other kids that they will work well with.

Lions, Tigers and Zebras...OH MY

The whole idea in this story about how we as humans, like the zebras, need to work together collectively and rely on each other is probably one of the most important yet difficult lessons to learn.
It was explained so clearly in this story that humans are social creatures. Relationships with others are important not only when it comes to getting things done; they are essential for living a life that has meaning and value. It was just like the Maasai guide said,
"The zebra belong together. One zebra is weak, many are powerful. That is their strength. It is our strength too. Like the zebra, the Maasai people act together. No one person can live alone; it is not possible. We need each other. When we come together we are powerful. We too belong together."
This just goes to show just how amazing the results can be when people act together as a community with a common goal for the common good. Human beings are not particularly strong, stealthy, or fast, but our ability to cooperate with others - to think, communicate, and work together - makes us powerful. Communities share knowledge, responsibility and leadership and with the collective unique talents of each individual working together, incredible things can be accomplished. One person is easy to target and tear down, but a collective mass...that's a different story.

Kim, Mike and Brenda

After reading the stories of these three people's transformation from me to we, I think the one I admire the most was Brenda's story. Brenda didn't even have her high school diploma and no one expected her to go very far since she was simply a hairdresser, but man did she ever prove them wrong. Brenda found her calling in providing hair and skin care for cancer and chemo patients and was able to council tons of cancer patients and survivors and eventually began teaching others how to follow in her footsteps. I was just so impressed at Brenda's heart for people and how she was willing to do all that she did for complete strangers. She gave so much of her time and effort to them while still maintaining her job and family on only a hairdressers salary. All she wanted to do was help people and that grew into something amazing. I was able to take three very important lesson from her story and I think everyone can learn from them:
1) Even the most unlikely of people can make the change from me to we and make a huge difference in the lives of the people around them, so no matter who you are, you can help.
2) It doesn't take a huge petition or a trip across the country or anything like that to 'be the change'. You can do that right in your our community. Even if it's just one person, you are still making a difference. People in third wold countries need our help and we should be there to give it, but North America needs help too.
3) Helping others can be one of the most satisfying things you could ever do. When you try to make a difference without expecting anything in return you actually end up with the most valuable rewards in all the world...true happiness and pride.