Prompt #7

This experience over the last ten weeks has really shown me that teaching has both positive and negative outcomes. It has taught me that every student is different and really do have their own stories, not one is exactly the same. Some have single parents, some are taken care of by other guardians for one reason or another, some have more money than others and some students live in a home where English is never spoken or understood.

One girl named Erin, in particular really taught me about caring and going that one extra step further to help the students. It’s not that they don’t want to learn or understand they just aren’t familiar with how to. I would try and change up how I was teaching certain activities/lessons really helped her, and a number of other students understand better. I can finally see her picking up on things little by little, and putting all the pieces together. She has improved so much in the short amount of time I’ve been going to Joseph L. Smith Elementary School.

This other student named Steven also helped me a lot in forming the beginning of my teacher’s identity. He is five years old like most of the other children in the class but mentally is at a three year old level. They school councilor is having a hard time trying to figure out what is the exact problem behind it all, and has expected Mrs. Blue on a number of occasions to put forth all attention to this one boy. Yes he needs help but so does every other student in the classroom. So Mrs. Blue has showed me a very successful way of trying to keep Steven on track and understanding what is going on while making sure none of the other students are losing out. When I work with Steven one on one he has taught me how to be patient while trying to get him to understand the necessary information, also by thinking outside the box to try and come up with ways to get him to understand. It isn’t his fault he was placed in this class were he obviously is behind, so why should he be left to suffer.

Many of the other students with their different backgrounds have also helped me realize that children need us. Not only to teach them, but to really allow them to grow and learn as much as they can for a successful future, also to feel important because not everyone of them will get it within their homes, unfortunately. They need us to really enjoy what we are doing, to care, to understand, to support and to encourage them. I always had assumptions of what I thought a teacher needed to be like but now I have such a better understanding. Not all teachers feel the same way though, and there are plenty out there that just don’t care. I don’t want to be one of them, and these students really showed me that I can’t be, it’s not fair to them.

I can also say that Mrs. Blue has truly showed me what a “good” teacher is like. She always goes that extra mile sometimes even spending her own money, even though she doesn’t have to, just so her students can receive a better experience while learning. She understands that everyone doesn’t have the same home life and works to do her best to try and supply them with the necessary things to take home with them, such as books and math activities. I’ve talked to another individual helping out within the same elementary school but with the other kindergarten teacher. He said she was nothing like mine, I got extremely lucky. It was a very positive experience that has shown me the teacher I want and need to be to benefit the students for their whole lives, not just while they are with me for a year.

This experience has really changed me for the better and I have come out of it with so much. It reminds me of the Joseph Kahne and Joel Westheimer’s article: In the Service of What? The Politics of Service Learning. I didn’t just end up going to the school to go there as a form of charity and to receive the credit for the hours I needed for the service learing section of this class. I went because I was gaining something from it while I was helping the students who needed it. Each one of the kids I have assisted in the time I have been there has improved so much it’s amazing to me. They have also helped me start forming my teaching identity. Everyone of us benefited from this experience.