North Carolina LiteracyCorps

Becoming More Independent: A Year in Review with NCLC

As this service year draws to a close for me and I prepare myself to depart for service in Peace Corps Madagascar in just a few weeks, I thought it would be best for me to sit down and reflect about what I learned over the course of my time with NCLC and The Raleigh Boys Club.

My thoughts on North Carolina LiteracyCorps

Having served previously with another AmeriCorps program, I have found that not all AmeriCorps programs are the same and they all have their different benefits. Here are some of the benefits of serving with NCLC:

• Agents of change – I am proud to be a part of a group of people that were chosen to serve with NCLC. This group of people each brings a diverse set of skills and knowledge to the program which has made for a very enriching year of service. Many have provided their knowledge and expertise in areas on how to help diverse learners, how to set goals, and provided better ways to help with volunteer management and recruitment to name a few.
• Different methods of providing literacy instruction – NCLC has provided me with awesome training on a variety of methods for providing literacy instruction to meet the individual needs of the students that participate in my program.
• Conference opportunities – I have had the great honor of being chosen to participate in the IMPACT Conference where hundreds of volunteers and organizations convened to share best practices in the areas of service, action, and advocacy at UMASS Amherst. This conference positively influenced me to continue in the area of public service where I can build the capacity of the people and communities that I serve.

A cold day but that didn't stop the smiles on our faces! #IMPACTCONFERENCE2016

• Service Days – All of our service days have been purposeful in engaging volunteers, our service sites, and the community. Whether it be collecting book donations to be given to youth in need or having the community come together and participate in fun literacy related programming, you can always know that NCLC is making a positive impact.
• Awesome Program Director – NCLC’s program director is very personable and I’m thankful for the working relationship I have formed with her as she is readily available to provide feedback and resources to ensure that everything goes well for our training days, service days, and at our service sites.
• No micromanagement – For those that value #gettingworkdone on their own (such as myself), I have found many chances to test out different techniques and ideas at my service site as freely as I wanted.

My thoughts on The Raleigh Boys Club (Boys and Girls Clubs of Wake County)

I personally think that I got the best service site in NCLC!

While my work with the previous AmeriCorps program only focused on teaching literacy to 6th graders, I am now doing that with the addition of math, history, and science and whatever my students need help with while covering grades k-8. This is great because I am currently anticipating working with elementary or middle school students with the Peace Corps.

I piloted a program called Brain Gain Read which helps with learning loss in the area of literacy for grades K-3rd. My site director gave me the go ahead to flow as freely as I wanted with the program. I was then tasked with writing the curriculum for The Boys and Girls Clubs of Wake County that would work best for the different clubs. Again, great experience for Peace Corps. I have also learned how to set up a classroom to provide structure for my younger students as they need it the most.

In addition to providing literacy instruction, I am also in charge of volunteer management and recruitment.  This has been my most challenging area as our volunteers come through the administration for the entire Boys and Girls Clubs of Wake County and someone is already tasked to handle that. What I did do with this was that I created a list within Constant Contact for 200+ volunteers and tagged them by their interests so that they can be contacted when we need volunteers in a particular area. I then focused my attention on managing the volunteers at the Raleigh Boy’s Club by keeping up with their volunteer schedule.

I got to work with the most amazing staff at the Raleigh Boys Club. They are very knowledgeable in the area of youth development and was readily available to answer any of my questions and to give advice. They are very passionate about what they do.

My site director provided me with many professional development opportunities such as attending different workshops and working with staff in administration to learn more about how the organization functions.

In addition to that, I got to sit in on weekly organization wide staff meetings where I learned a lot about how the seven Clubs in the organization comes to together to function as one unit while still maintaining their individuality of their Club. Along with this, I got to attend some pretty high profile events such as the Holiday Board Program where my Brain Gain READ! program was highlighted, the 50th Anniversary Luncheon where board members and community leaders gathered to show their appreciation for the Boys and Girls of Wake County, and the Youth of the Year luncheon where top performing Club Members were celebrated along with sharing the positive impact of the Boys and Girls Clubs on their lives.

The greatest and most important thing I will take away from the Raleigh Boys Club is the relationships that I have built with my students. I have gotten the chance to learn about some of their personal backgrounds and their triumphs, share laughs and jokes with them, give relevant advice for life, talk to them about their plans for the future, and to be a mentor and role model for them. I am going to miss them terribly but I know that they are in good hands.

How I Changed Over the Course of My Service 

I would describe myself as a no-nonsense type of person. I typically like structure and a plan. Serving at the Raleigh Boys Club, I found that I have become less rigid and have learned to go with the flow as a lot of things tend to happen that aren’t routine. My patience has also grown by leaps and bounds and I have learned how to handle disappointment in a more constructive manner.

I am immensely grateful for my time with North Carolina LiteracyCorps as I can definitely say that I have grown as a person in my thinking and the way I view the world, the way I provide instruction, and the way I communicate and build relationships with others around me.

Thank you NCLC and the Raleigh Boys Club for everything.

Job Description

PROJECT DESCRIPTION

Volunteers will participate in Peace Corps’ newly-developed Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) training program which allows them to earn a Peace Corps TEFL Certificate upon successful completion of program requirements. This program provides 120 hours of standardized training and practice teaching along with two years of supervised teaching experience framed through quarterly online learning events facilitated by post staff. This training is designed to respond to the goals of TEFL Volunteers. The Certificate program is validated by the Center for Applied Linguistics in Washington, DC. The US State Department and the English language learning sector worldwide have touted Peace Corps’ TEFL Certificate program as a high-quality, game-changing credential. Peace Corps Madagascar is the first post in the world to issue a certification following service.

Madagascar’s Teaching English as a Foreign Language (TEFL) project aims to promote interest and skills in the English language among middle and high school students. As an English teacher, your primary assignment will be to teach English at a lycée (high school) and/or a middle school for a maximum of sixteen (16) hours each week. The Ministry of Education recognizes the importance of English in developing an international workforce in the areas of education, medicine, technology, and tourism.

As an English teacher you will also work with local English teachers to improve their English skills, to share different teaching techniques, and to jointly develop new pedagogical materials for use in the classroom. In addition you will help to build teachers’ capacity through communities of practice.

Furthermore, you may involve the broader school community in your work by organizing evening English classes for adults, broadcasting English shows on local radio stations, or creating extracurricular clubs for students. Please note that TEFL Volunteers are expected to continue their community-based work during Malagasy school breaks.

Another component of your responsibilities will be to get involved in your community during school breaks. It’s a great opportunity to develop more hands-on activities like organizing field trips with counterparts or secondary projects such as malaria awareness campaigns, gender equality workshops and or starting an environment club.

Madagascar is one of the Peace Corps countries participating in Let Girls Learn, an important initiative promoting gender awareness and girls’ education and empowerment. You will receive in-depth training on incorporating methods of gender analysis into community assessment and development efforts. During your service you will find culturally appropriate ways to incorporate gender awareness and the promotion of youth- especially girls- into your work. As part of the initiative, you will also report on these efforts and their impact.

REQUIRED SKILLS

• Competitive candidates will have a Bachelor of Arts/Bachelor of Science degree in any discipline and a strong desire to teach English

DESIRED SKILLS

•Experience Teaching English as a Second language (TESOL) or Teaching English as a Foreign Language ( TEFL)

•Experience working in schools, after school programs, and or with young adults

•Strong desire to teach English and adapt teaching methodologies to Madagascar’s educational system

REQUIRED LANGUAGE SKILLS

There are no pre-requisite language requirements for this position. Please take a moment to explore the Language Comments section below to find out more on how local language(s) will be utilized during service.

ADDITIONAL LANGUAGE INFORMATION

Post prefers applicants with French skills.

We recommend that invitees take an intensive French course before departing USA for Madagascar. They may not use in much of their daily work, but many partner organizations, technical reports, newspapers, and tourist activities are in French.

LIVING CONDITIONS

Volunteers are strongly encouraged to bring a laptop which not only in increases options for internet access, but also enables Volunteers to complete required assignments off-line and upload them at a later date. While Volunteers may also complete the assignments through local internet cafes or other access points, having a laptop will facilitate successful participation in training. Please note that tablets and smart phones are not an effective alternative

During service, housing consist of a private room and individual outdoor bath and latrine with no running water or electricity. Vendors may provide electricity/battery recharges by using generators. Cell phones operate but with routine outages. Peace Corps provides a bike to assist daily routines, biking to nearby markets, or visiting sites around your village. Malaria is highly endemic and PCVs must be prepared to take chemoprophylaxis *consistently.* It is possible but difficult to maintain a vegetarian diet.

MEDICAL CONSIDERATIONS IN MADAGASCAR

Madagascar may not be able to support Volunteers  with the following medical conditions: asthma, including mild or childhood; gastroenterology; some types of gynecologic support; insulin-dependent diabetes; ongoing behavioral health support; seizure disorder.

The following medication(s) are not permitted for legal or cultural reasons: Adderall, Ritalin and Vyvanse.

Volunteers who should avoid the following food(s) may not be able to serve: eggs.

After arrival in Madagascar, Peace Corps provides and applicants are required to have an annual flu shot, to take daily or weekly medication to prevent malaria, and to receive mandatory immunizations.

For Future Applicants

For those of you who are interested in serving with Peace Corps, check out the below links for invaluable resources.

Reddit: r/peacecorps         The countless hours I spend on this site...*sigh* Be sure to check out the
                                          links on the right-hand side.

Peace Corps Wiki            All the information you'll ever need.
                                         UPDATE: Unfortunately they got rid of the wiki *sad face*. But I do have
                                         the goods from the wiki.
                                        Checkout Volunteer Discounts and Interview Questions and these questions.

Facebook Group              Future applicants Facebook group.

BPCV Facebook Group  Black Peace Corps Volunteers Facebook Group. Very much needed.

                      

Medical Clearance Process

Wondering about Medical Clearance?

If you have done your research, you’ll know that the medical clearance process is for the most part a very daunting experience. Whether it be medical costs or extra tasks that you have to complete, the best advice I can give for this stage of the application process is to save your free yearly checkups (physicals and dental if you have insurance) for this very moment.

Medical tasks will populate in your MAP after you have been invited within 6 months from your departure date. If you are within 6 months from departure, they should be available. You have 60 days to get all medical tasks completed. My tasks populated on December 15, 2015 and was due February 9, 2016. Depending on how far out you are from your departure date, here are some things you can have completed before your tasks populate.

-Immunization records/shots (obtain immunization records from your childhood, complete polio shots if needed, tetanus shot – have to have one within 5 years from departure, yellow fever – if your country requires it and has to be less than 7 years from receiving it from departure, varicella proof of immunity, and measles, mumps and rubella proof of immunity)

-If you are a woman within the ages of 21 to 65, you can have your pap smear done up 9 months before departure

Just with what has been stated above, you will have more than half of your tasks completed that are required if your tasks have not populated after your invitation.

For tasks that include your physical and dental exams, I suggest that you try to calculate when your tasks will become available if you are outside of the 6 month from departure date. That way you can go ahead and schedule your appointments.

The dental exam will require the following:

-          A full mouth series OR A Panorex with bitewing X-ray. Periapical or Panorex film must be less than 2 years old. Bitewing X-rays must be less than a year old. Digital films can be easily uploaded to your portal. Please label with your name, DOB and Date of X-ray 

-          Dental exam forms for you Dr to complete. If you have to have dental work done, these forms can’t be turned in before they are completed

The physical exam will require the following:

-          Having your Dr sign off on the HHF form you completed when you first applied

-          Dr sign off on reported medications or any changes

-          Completing your medical compliance form

-          Completing your physical exam form which is a very thorough exam

-          Completing required blood tests (Depending on your country, this could include G6PD)

Check out these screenshots:

Physical Exam

Required Blood Tests

Also, if you are an overweight person, you will be required to get additional blood testing for lipid/cholesterol panel, thyroid panel, and HgbA1c. If you fall into the overweight category, I suggest that you go ahead and order these tests along with the other required tests to avoid another appointment.

MEEE!

Hello!

Favorite picture from 2014 - vibing to Nujabes

I'm Lynette Tillery and I'm glad that you decided to check out my blog! I'm a 25 year old North Carolinian from a small town where we park in the middle of the road (can you guess where?). 

I graduated from East Carolina University (Purple! Gold!) where I earned my bachelors degree in Management - Small Business Management and Entrepreneurship and Fayetteville State University where I earned my MBA and certificate in Healthcare Management. 

I am also a two-time State and National AmeriCorps member. Check out my other postings for more information. 

Other than that, I'm a self-proclaimed Otaku, a person that is interested in Japanese culture - manga, anime, and videogames, avid reader, and professional sleep enthusiast. 

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