The Red Shirts Are Here, Roaming the Streets of Bristol and Warren!

The brightly colored shirts belong to Bristol and Warren Grade 4 students who are emerging from the shelter of their homes and neighborhoods and classrooms to view their hometown with new perspective. Armed with the newly-acquired knowledge of its history and the beautiful architecture that surrounds them, the students are walking through their towns, taking photographs, and making notes on what they see. 

For their guides, leading these tours is like watching butterflies emerge from their cocoons. It is amusing, but inspiring, to witness the children make observations only possible to see through the eyes of the innocent. The students are suddenly pointing out columns and lintels and arches. ‘Corinthian’ is the new favorite word.

They ask questions, “Why does that house have two front doors? Isn’t the Congregational Church ‘asymmetrical’?” Each building is observed with the same scrutiny, whether a famous landmark or an obscure house on a side street. Some children are interested in the look of the building – its windows and doors.  Others are intrigued by history – “Who lived here?”  “What was this building in ‘the old days’?” "This building used to be a jail? Cool!"  

Sense of Pride is an enrichment program sponsored by Mosaico and made possible by donations and sponsorships. The program is divided into four parts. During the first segment, Lane Sparkman, the program coordinator, goes to each elementary school to present an interactive history of the towns, starting with the Native Americans, and traveling through time to the first settlers, the British Bombardment, and then up to the present. 

The second segment, presented by volunteers Richard Greenwood, Lombard Pozzi, and Arnold Robinson, covers architecture. The students use hula-hoops and other props to learn about the historic elements that are visible in so many of the homes and buildings in both towns. Suddenly, the students are looking around, pointing out features they never noticed before.

The highlight of the program is, of course, the walking tour, followed by a day of community service that includes an illustration of a watershed model, presented by Save Bristol Harbor. During that day, the students pick up trash, plant flowers and vegetables, and install markers at various storm drains throughout the town.  Essentially, this is the day when children learn it is important to ‘give back’ to their community.

At the end of the program, the children have a greater understanding of their heritage. In learning by doing, they gain a certain ‘Sense of Pride’ in the town in which they are growing up. At Mosaico, we are happy to bring this important program to Bristol and Warren children. We cannot do it alone, though. We can only do it with the help of our volunteers and the donations and sponsorships of local businesses and organizations. On behalf of the children, I want to personally thank everyone who helps to make the Sense of Pride program possible.  Thank you!

I also want to encourage you to go for a walk with a fourth-grader. You may learn something!