The Benefits of Childhood Enrichment
Sitting in my second grade classroom, eight year-old me was prepared only for the basic lesson planned for that day. Writing, math, reading — I cannot remember.
What I can remember, however, is the short lady in a green dress that entered shortly after. A stranger bearing droopy earrings and glasses to the end of her nose quickly made herself known to the beaming, curious eyes of fifteen second graders, and soon after asked for me and some other students to come with her.
Hesitantly, the other students and I rose to follow the strange woman down the hall into a small, unmarked yellow room. In response to our quietness, “I assure you,” she said, “you are not in any kind of trouble.”
As we entered the room, we were greeted by a couple small desks and chairs fitting for our eight year old bodies. After sitting down, we hoped to finally gain some clarity in regards to our situation. “Helllllllllllo! My name is Mrs. Springer,” she said, “and you have all been brought here because your teachers think that you are very talented for your age.” She went on to explain that we were selected for the enrichment program, where we would receive extra work in reading, writing, and math that would be more fitting for our level of learning.
As a lower-class student attending a primarily upper middle-class school, I was used to usually never being at the top of any social situation, so this news was a shock to me. Sitting alongside me was some of my classmates, all looking as excited as me.
The prospect of me being at the top of something was foreign to me, but the undertaking seemed like a good challenge, so I accepted.
The program itself was relatively simple: I would do extra work and participate in more advanced literary activities to further my learning.
One experience I distinctly remember was when we had read a book or two about lives at sea throughout history, and then we embarked on a field trip to a museum of a ship. We had completed proprietary work and reading regarding the hardships many sailors faced, such as the disease scurvy, caused by an extreme vitamin C deficiency, prior to the trip. Part of the itinerary for the day involved the daring task of trying highly condensed ascorbic acid, a remedy utilized by sailors to treat such a condition.
This was, of course, a challenge reserved only for the strongest of sailors. Knowing little me best, you can bet I tried it.
The venture itself proved to be a fantastic addition to the program’s curriculum, as it would accentuate the learning and really make it come to life. Often times I find that at those initial grade levels it is not common for field trips to be as academically enriched as this one was, rather than offering something such as a Funtown or zoo trip. Had I not been in enrichment, I may not have developed these connections as early on as I did.
It was one thing for us to read about things in books growing up, but to actually see and visit them is a whole other state of learning. This was one of, if not my first, truly enriching field trip — fitting to the program name.
It wasn’t always field trips and activities, however. A great portion of the program consisted solely of extentuous homework, which initially many of us in it would struggle to keep up with. Luckily, we were blessed with the greatest resource: each other. One of my classmates, Clarice, by chance happened to live in close proximity to my own home. We had always walked to and from school together, and soon realized that we could actually do some of these assignments together, so we did. Every Tuesday and Thursday (The days on which enrichment took place), near without fail, we would go to one of our houses and do the homework together. It was a routine dedication which we took very seriously, and gave our all.
This connection through dedication to education was something I had never experienced before, as throughout the years many fellow students had brushed me aside, or downright bullied me due to differences I know today were based primarily on my lower class upbringing. The reality is that this was the first time I had the chance to make that connection with another student, so I embraced every syntax, grammar, or reading assignment with a friend by my side.
It was here I realized that I was not and should not be a lone wolf in my studies; that support and friendship was always close by. In fact, over the years, Clarice and those other classmates would prove to be some of my greatest allies; From elementary to high school, and from high school to today, we have used each other for help and support — and in a way — competition.
Our desire and dedication to learn initiated an introspect in one another, and ignited some sort of academic sport within us to strive to go further in our academics in a way that I would never thought possible.
The program itself has to this day benefited me greatly, as it helped me better explain my thinking in ways I couldn’t before, and through it I gained a true passion for learning and many different aspects of it, as it laid the foundation for which I would base many of my studies on years later.
What I realize in hindsight is that the program taught me more than just advanced writing, reading, or how scurvy is treated out on the water: but rather that with a big challenge and hard work to follow, the barriers we face in life — whether financial or social — can be overcome.
And to this day that most sour concoction remains an all too familiar taste, but more importantly serves to remind me of how the words I read on the pages of those books truly came to life and had meaning.
