JoMaNa Team: A View from the Home Front

We’ve been home for 9 days now, and we haven’t let up. Ask any Jomana student what’s happening in the classroom now, and in their own words, they will tell you that it’s business as usual on the Home Front. Two-thirds of the class reported to school on Friday, a day and a half after our return from NOLA, and were greeted with their usual academic core: Writing assignments (poetry), podcasts (an interview with a poet on the HBO series, “Treme”), science lab (we made habitats for milkweed bugs), a math review (studying linear equations), and social studies (requirements were given for a Response/Research paper on NOLA). Nothing less for the Jomana team!

It really felt good to return to Madison greeted with so much enthusiasm and pride in our students. Thank you for all of your feedback! It was especially meaningful to know that you followed us on our blog and on our Facebook page. To have support from the Home Front helped us stay connected. We needed your bit of news, your cheering from afar, and your comments to help us stay grounded on our trip. It was a great feeling! On the day we boarded the bus to come home, we knew how important it would be to process and reflect upon our experience, as well as to ask the question, “What next?”

It is still a looming question to all of our Jomana students, and to us as well. As expected, most “want to go back to NOLA to be more helpful.” Several would like to return as early as next summer to be a part of a service learning project for the Lower 9^th Ward Community Village, run by the influential Mr. McClendon, aka “Mr. Mack.” One student, perhaps one who stands out to us because of the significant changes we saw in her through this school year in terms of her insight and academic progress, said it best: “If I do anything more, one thing I’d do next is find ways to keep on giving. Give to New Orleans, to Madison, to Sherman . . . “

Giving back right here on the Home Front. That is our greatest hope – to help students find projects right here in Madison where they can keep on serving. As we move forward, students are still defining for themselves what service means and how they will continue it. We can help, but we are also hopeful that this trip will lead them into the world of service independent of us. After all, they initiated this Epic Education to New Orleans, and with some guidance, we are confident many will continue to lead.

Students are continuing to process the experience daily and we have a ton of pictures and videos that we are still sifting through. An upcoming event is an invitation from the UW-Madison where our students will be discussing their learning experiences before, during, and after New Orleans. We would love to see you there! Click here for more information.

Finally, we’ll leave you with a video and a few pictures to keep the spirit of service-learning alive.