“If we can teach the young kids how to be accepting of everyone and accept everyone’s diversity and differences because they’re the future, then our world can be more kind and inclusive,” Grace Steckel, a Mosaic Project second year Youth Leader and Berkeley High School sophomore, said. “It’s important to be a role model to the kids … when I’m getting frustrated with my cabin and they’re not listening to me, (I) take a deep breath and then ground myself, reminding myself they’re kids,” she added.
The Mosaic Project is a local Bay Area non-profit organization that focuses on teaching fourth and fifth graders about community building and conflict resolution. Even the name Mosaic is a lesson in its own, an acronym where each letter represents a different value of the project. “M” stands for mutual respect, “O” for open-mindedness, “S” for self respect, “A” for attitude, “I” for individuality, and “C” for community. “(Mosaic) also represents what an actual mosaic is, which is all the different tiles, that … all have different colors, shapes, sizes, and they all fit together to make a beautiful piece of art,” Steckel said. Youth Leaders like Steckel are teenagers aged 15-18 who volunteer their time to go to the Santa Cruz mountains for one or two weeks to work with a cabin of fourth and fifth graders, teaching them about the three keys to peace (listening, empathy, and assertiveness), how to celebrate their differences, and their connections to themselves and the earth. “I decided to become a cabin leader because I really liked the lessons that they were trying to teach the students. I thought it was really important, and the training weekend just showed me a lot more of the intention behind it … I fell in love with the community of Mosaic, I thought it would be a really good opportunity to learn not just about the program … but also about myself,” Encinal High School junior Amaya Guzman-Eyre said.
With kids so young, it can be hard to make sure they are truly processing and implementing the lessons being taught to them, and the stress of that usually falls back onto cabin leaders. “The most challenging part of being a youth leader is that you are not heard by the students, you can gain their respect over time, but for now, they don’t see you as an authoritative figure,” Steckel said. Retaining so much information in so little time is a common issue amongst kids visiting Mosaic, but by the end of the week, most kids, if not all, will have the tools and experience to treat others more kindly.
Koan Lee, a BHS sophomore and second year Youth Leader who went to Mosaic as a kid, shared how the Mosaic project shaped his own experiences and methods for dealing with conflicts and uncomfortable situations. “Growing up, I was really self-conscious about my physical appearance and that kind of stopped me from fully just being myself and embracing the hobbies I liked … being yourself is the best and most vulnerable way you can show up to someone, it shows that you can put enough trust in them,” Lee said.
Even those who experienced Mosaic themselves as young kids find it hard to remember what they learned there, so being a cabin leader allows high school students to refresh their memory and learn about how best to maintain and spread peace. “There’s so many good things that you can get out of it, I feel like it’s definitely something that reshapes your mindset, and I feel like you come back as a different person … you’re not just learning the lessons, but you’re also learning things about yourself and it definitely teaches you really important values and just how to function as a person, almost as an adult in society, too, because it gives you an opportunity to be a leader,” Guzman-Eyre said.