There is one main goal at this point in my life – to help students learn. Now, I could sit here and tell you all the experiences in my life that have already helped to prepare me to be a teacher. However, I know these experiences are not what creates a good teacher. They are simply a part of the whole. Grant and Gillette (2007) identify ten different actions teachers can do in order to become excellent educators. I know I am still far from being one of these excellent teachers, which means there are plenty of opportunities and experiences I can, and should, gain before entering the teaching profession.
The story begins two years ago when I was offered a theater internship at a local Boys and Girls Club. I was excited about the prospect of leading a drama troupe and was told to expect about fifteen sixth graders to participate. I was in for a surprise my first day of training. My boss walked up to me and said “Sarah, do you like little kids? It turns out we need you to be an activities leader for first and second grades.” When I didn’t respond to this comment my boss continued by saying “don’t worry, you’ll still be able to do drama club. The kids will love it.”
My first day, I was terrified. I had never worked with young children before. I do have nephews, but that’s different, they have to like me. I found myself walking into a room with 150 screaming children. They were asking to go to the bathroom, some were running around the room playing tag, and others were shouting “I win!” at the foosball table. I didn’t quite know what I had gotten myself into.
As time went on, my mentality began to change. I really loved spending three hours a day with these students. They would draw pictures for me and give me hugs when I walked into the room. I found it easy to start up conversations – and real conversations, not silly superficial ones such as “how was school today” which always received the simple “boring” or “okay” response. We talked about life at home. Actual homework trouble, how to handle issues with siblings and we even discussed our favorite books, games and television shows.
Everyday, I walked into the club knowing these students would make me smile and laugh. On some level, I believe my initial infatuation with this job was the personal satisfaction I received. Students actually looked up to me. After those first couple of weeks though, I also began to discover the disappointment and hardship that came along with this job. One day, one student entered the room wearing his typical tennis shoes – only he had duck tape wrapped around the toes. All the other students were making fun of him and saying “why don’t you just buy new shoes?” My heart broke a little. I knew this boy’s parents, and I knew his father had just been laid off at work. Just two weeks later, a little girl walked into the room crying. She gave me hug and told me I was the only friend she had ever had. Finally, the biggest challenge, and heartbreak of all --A new girl arrived to the Boys and Girls club. Her name was Deja and she was the smartest and happiest little girl I have ever met. She loved meeting new people and wasn’t afraid to walk up to others. Deja was a dwarf. Many other students made fun of her before they got to know her. They never even gave Deja a chance, even though she had a great personality. It was these situations that changed my view of my job. No longer did I arrive to find personal satisfaction. It wasn’t about me at all. It was about the students. I was there to be friends with the little girl who had no others. I was there to help the student with duck tape around his shoe feel welcomed, loved and important. I was there to show a dwarf that she could win in relay races so long as she worked hard and never gave up. In the end, when these students felt better, I felt better. But I know now that it was always about them and never about me.
It is because of the many different students and challenges I worked with at the Boys and Girls Club that I believe I have experience with a variety of learners and their families. I experienced first hand how students learn to socialize, how they learn rules and how they learn to overcome the challenges in their own lives. I also got to see how a parent’s attitude towards education effected a student's beliefs about school. It is because of this experience that I want to be a teacher.
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