The Joys Of Teaching
Hello gents! All is well. Halloween is approaching, shakin' in me boots. It's been a while since I last posted, but I was waiting for the right time to do so. I was waiting for something good to come up and I could post about. You might be asking yourself, "What happened?" Well, let me tell you.
I have been sitting in with a class full of third and fourth graders. Most of the kids are Hispanic, so they thought it appropriate to have me, being that I am bilingual, sit in and help out. The first couple of classes I sat, listened, and observed. Then, the lesson was handed over to me and I took over, sort of. The kids sat there, listened, and we're sort of in awe. Not because of what I was teaching them, what I was wearing, or that I am so damn good looking (lol, j/k), but because they were happy to have a younger guy teach. I guess they felt a connection. The boys showed off and wanted to look cool. The girls were courteous, jumpy, and even flirty. Flirty may be the wrong word to use, but they did want the attention. A girl asked for a hug, another wanted me to listen to the story she wrote, and a few others wanted me to pick on them to read...all the time. The teacher told me they hardly ever want to read, but since I've been there they all want to! So damn cool! The kids are really nice too. I have never met a class full of great kids. Seriously, they never made fun of each other, didn’t call each other names, and didn’t laugh at others mistakes. They did laugh when the word "naked" showed up on a couple of sentences, but hey, at least it showed they were normal kids.
After class was over, they all walked out into the hallway. I walked out there, said my goodbyes, and observed the kids. I wanted to see how they were outside of the classroom. Little brothers met with their older sisters and brothers. Little sisters joined the rest of the little girls, didn’t look for their older sisters. They did, however, look for their older brother. I heard a little boy say to his older brother, "Xavier!" I missed you." They were only apart for an hour. Xavier hugged his little brother and made sure he was with the rest of the boys. A couple of the girls called Xavier's little brother over, but Xavier held his little brother and said "don’t go over there, they wanna tease you." Xavier then hugged his brother and smiled. What amazed me is that this kind of behavior is not expressed between Hispanics. Especially at such a young age, all do as they want without worrying about anyone else. But Xavier did care and was watching out for his little brother. Then there's the one kid, Antonio, whom at first I did not like. He talks...talk...and talks. I'm serious; the kid never ever stops talking. No exaggeration either. He walked out of class and stood outside the door and talked to the kids around him. His two girl cousins waked out of their class and up to Antonio. Antonio switched from this mouthy kid, to a caring, loving, and warm person. He smiled and said in a very happy tone, "hi, veronica! Can I have a hug?" He said this to his younger cousin, who was in kinder. It's weird, but good, how these kids get along so well. It makes my job easier, "funner," interesting, and it makes me a lot more compassionate. I can’t wait till next week.
Next week I will be teaching the class myself, no help from the other teacher. Don’t know if either they or I should be scared? I hope I do well. Will I succeed? Will I fail? Will I cry myself to sleep that night (j/k)? I will keep you all posted. Did you seriously read this far? If you did, thank you.
Alex
I have been sitting in with a class full of third and fourth graders. Most of the kids are Hispanic, so they thought it appropriate to have me, being that I am bilingual, sit in and help out. The first couple of classes I sat, listened, and observed. Then, the lesson was handed over to me and I took over, sort of. The kids sat there, listened, and we're sort of in awe. Not because of what I was teaching them, what I was wearing, or that I am so damn good looking (lol, j/k), but because they were happy to have a younger guy teach. I guess they felt a connection. The boys showed off and wanted to look cool. The girls were courteous, jumpy, and even flirty. Flirty may be the wrong word to use, but they did want the attention. A girl asked for a hug, another wanted me to listen to the story she wrote, and a few others wanted me to pick on them to read...all the time. The teacher told me they hardly ever want to read, but since I've been there they all want to! So damn cool! The kids are really nice too. I have never met a class full of great kids. Seriously, they never made fun of each other, didn’t call each other names, and didn’t laugh at others mistakes. They did laugh when the word "naked" showed up on a couple of sentences, but hey, at least it showed they were normal kids.
After class was over, they all walked out into the hallway. I walked out there, said my goodbyes, and observed the kids. I wanted to see how they were outside of the classroom. Little brothers met with their older sisters and brothers. Little sisters joined the rest of the little girls, didn’t look for their older sisters. They did, however, look for their older brother. I heard a little boy say to his older brother, "Xavier!" I missed you." They were only apart for an hour. Xavier hugged his little brother and made sure he was with the rest of the boys. A couple of the girls called Xavier's little brother over, but Xavier held his little brother and said "don’t go over there, they wanna tease you." Xavier then hugged his brother and smiled. What amazed me is that this kind of behavior is not expressed between Hispanics. Especially at such a young age, all do as they want without worrying about anyone else. But Xavier did care and was watching out for his little brother. Then there's the one kid, Antonio, whom at first I did not like. He talks...talk...and talks. I'm serious; the kid never ever stops talking. No exaggeration either. He walked out of class and stood outside the door and talked to the kids around him. His two girl cousins waked out of their class and up to Antonio. Antonio switched from this mouthy kid, to a caring, loving, and warm person. He smiled and said in a very happy tone, "hi, veronica! Can I have a hug?" He said this to his younger cousin, who was in kinder. It's weird, but good, how these kids get along so well. It makes my job easier, "funner," interesting, and it makes me a lot more compassionate. I can’t wait till next week.
Next week I will be teaching the class myself, no help from the other teacher. Don’t know if either they or I should be scared? I hope I do well. Will I succeed? Will I fail? Will I cry myself to sleep that night (j/k)? I will keep you all posted. Did you seriously read this far? If you did, thank you.
Alex