You’ve Never Heard Of “Fifty” or “Jabooba?!” In the After School Program You Will Never Stop Learning.
Last Thursday’s After School Program started like many others: the kids had answered the riddle of the day, were eating their after-school snacks, and were receiving help from student volunteers and staff on their homework. This pattern continued until 5:00 pm, when the kids excitedly dispersed within the youth building for “Free Time.” Some started playing an intricate game of shop keeper wherein different playing cards represented different monitory values, some played pool or foosball—forming teams and creating their own rules, and some wanted to play dice with the volunteers and staff.
I found myself among the seven individuals whom Skylar, an eight-year-old in the program, had enthusiastically convinced to play a surprisingly intricate dice game he had learned in school, called “Fifty.” The primary rule of the game was that one needed to role fifty points to begin playing (as represented by a five on the die), and after one earned one’s fifty points, one could continue to gain points by rolling more fives or multiples of another number. If one does not role any fives at all, however, one’s turn is skipped entirely. This description sounds somewhat simple in writing, but is slightly less so in practice.
Somewhat confounded by the intricacy of the game, the other adult volunteers and I quickly realized that Skylar was not alone in his knowledge of this game; all of the kids in the After School Program seemed to know some rendition, and caught on with relative ease. Predictably, It wasn’t long before the kids’ scores were almost double those of the volunteers and staff. Although the we did catch on eventually, we sat for the majority of the game with mouths agape, puzzled and humbled by the infinite “Fifty” wisdom exuded by Skylar and the other five through ten year old in the After School Program.
After “Fifty” came to a close (with Skylar clearly proving to be the winner), several of the kids expressed their desire to go outside and play soccer and tag in the sun. After we had all gone outside, however, it became clear that the kids wanted to play another game I had never heard of; a rendition of tag called “Jabooba.” Although “Jabooba” was much simpler that “Fifty,” I still found myself asking the kids for rule clarification three or four times throughout the game, and was impressed by their collective determination to make sure all of the staff and volunteers understood the rules.
I tell these stories because as one who is used to assisting or teaching others, I am continually awe-struck by the amount those whom I am teaching ultimately end up teaching me. While the two instances I have provided above are slightly more quantifiable examples of what I have learned as a Youth Program Intern at the Rescue Mission, I have also gained less quantifiable knowledge—such as better understanding how to positively communicate across age, class, and race barriers—communication skills that can translate into nearly any environment.
Come join us in the After School Program and get to know some of the most valuable teachers you will ever meet; K-12 students whom you tutor or mentor.