TAC Bookmobile and a Girl Called Ada
The first bookmobile activity of this year was held on Saturday, October 14, 2017. The library on wheels for this community service activity, sponsored by the Turkish Language and Literature Department, took us to Kelahmet Village Elementary School. About fifty bright eyed students welcomed our students and Mr. Önder Şit, the Chair of the Turkish Literature Department, who accompanied them. Lessons were taught, games and matches were played, cookies were served, and beautiful books were presented to the students who had the opportunity to choose something to their liking. It was an enlightening and awareness raising activity.
Among the students was a little girl called Ada. She said, “I can write, but I do not get to have a book since I cannot read.” We wrote her name in the sand. Her tiny hands, using a stick as her pencil, scratched her desire for learning in the sand.. She smiled to the future as she picked up her reading and writing books.
Here are the thoughts of our students about this meaningful activity:
‘’It was a new kind of activity for me which stressed humanity. The first thing which struck me when we arrived was the desire of these kids to learn; I saw how they tried to learn something new although they were not receiving a high quality education. This activity made me see how valuable education is and helped me to realize the opportunities we actually have. It was very pleasing to see these kids trying to learn and to overcome ignorance. There are good things happening, and providing these students with the light of knowledge may change this world which is full of ignorance. The experience also made me realize how I taken for granted the opportunities that I constantly have, like studying at a school like TAC. Lastly, I can say that, “All children in the world deserve a better education and every child is special”.
Prep / Mustafa TOSLAK
‘’Today, we were part of the bookmobile activity in Kelahmet Elementary School of Tarsus, and we had the opportunity to teach the students some English, drama, and lend them books for which they have five weeks to read. When teaching them English, we played games and we organized contests. All in all, we had fun! Following these in-class activities, we went to the vehicle which housed our mobile library. As the children told us about their interests, we helped them choose the right book. We loved the look on their faces as they found the books they really liked. I am feeling thankful for joining this activity this year.’’
Grade 9/ Emir AKGÜN
‘’As we got on the bus, I really did not know what to do as it was my first time participating in this activity. When the bus stopped, we found many young kids looking at us curiously. I was concerned, as it was the first time that I was going to teach. While I was thinking these thoughts, the school bell rang, and we went inside as a group. I was in 2B, but the classroom had students from every class. When I looked at them, I felt happy – although I did not know why. We played games with the kids, drew pictures and danced together. When they are happy, you are happy too. Helping kids learn something, playing games with them, showing them new things is amazingly beautiful. You feel this happiness, as so many kids are listening to you and want to learn from you.
At the end of the forty-minute period, which seemed to fly by, we were to distribute the books. All of the young students ran to get their places in the line and you could see the joy in their eyes. While some were a bit sad because another student got the book they wanted, they were still happy to be a part of the experience. I, too. was happy, as one would be when seeing new people and new environments. It makes you even happier when you share your knowledge with them!’’
Prep / Arda UTAŞ
‘’Each community service project provides an experience, and an adventure to an individual. We realize what we have and how meaningless it is to worry about small things. We almost get angry at ourselves, promosing to feel thankful for the smallest things we have.
Today, I was a part of the first bookmobile activity of this year. Different from last year, I knew what to expect this time. The classroom, which several of my friends and I went in, was full of grade 7 and 8 students. We were seperated into two groups, teaching two different lessons using two seperate blackboards. One classroom period we spent with these children was enough for me to see the hardships experienced by my peers in a different setting. The light in their eyes was the living proof of the value they placed on spending this time with us.
As I mentioned earlier, the most important thing community service activities teach us is the realization that the things we take for granted can, in fact, be the greatest dreams of others. I hope more students can be part of such activities and realize how lucky they are.’’
Grade 9 / Zeynep Eylül ÖZDOĞAN
‘’I think that the Bookmobile activity is the most interesting and useful one among all extra-curricular activities offered by the school. Plenty of books are offered to young children to read. These children receive classes in certain subjects as well. Another interesting aspect of this activity is its benefits for the students of our school. Bookmobile provides an excellent climate for the “Feynman Learning Technique”. The Feynman technique is based on the principle, “explain if you want to learn”, so the best way to learn something is to teach it to somebody. The students participating can learn the topics better by teaching them to students who have not received the same quality of education as they did. This will make their lives easier, both from an academic and experiential viewpoint.’’
Grade 9 / Esat Tuna ERDAĞI
‘’For me, Bookmobile was a brand new experience. I was to be a teacher: observing students and teaching them. I was full of pride when I saw that my students were still thirsty for knowledge although as a society we are not strong in education. Assuming the responsibility of a teacher to some extent, I found out about all kinds of responsibilities a teacher has; it really is difficult to explore and find out the best way to teach a kid. Implementing it is even harder, but I saw that the willingness of students to learn relieves this load and reinforces the teacher’s passion to teach. It is with the same motivation that I taught my lesson today. I also realized how ungrateful I could be, as I was looking for perfection. I was criticizing teachers, lessons, physical facilities and my friends. However, here, I realized that I do not need to look for problems but rather recognize how lucky I am.’’
Prep / Kerem GÖKŞİN
‘’During the bookmobile activity, I both taught and had a lot of fun. Several of my friends and I tried to teach Mathematics and English to seventh and eighth graders. We also took some snapshots after the lesson. We danced with second graders, recommended books to them and distributed these books. We also gave cookies to those who got a book. I believe that by doing this, we were able to contribute something to society and education. It was wonderful to meet with new people and to put a smile on their face. I have decided to join all future TAC bookmobile activities.’’
Grade 9 / Ayşe Sıla KÜTÜK