Sunday, June 22, 2014
Final Reflection
This was your last week working with the students. What did that feel like? What kinds of things were running through your head as that reality began to sink in? Was it difficult to say goodbye to some students? Why do you suppose that is? Were they the students that made you think more, work harder, question your decision about becoming a teacher or confirm your decision about becoming a teacher?
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On my last day volunteering with these particular group of kids. I watched them be excited for summer and for the playing outside in the warm weather. I also listen to them become so excited to be second graders and anticipate who their new teachers and classmates would be for the next year. I will miss this group of kids. I have really grown to love them. I want to see what each of them will do with their lives. I have been able to see their strengths know they can do great things. I love watching their eyes light up when they see me or start to love learning when they grasp a new concept. Knowing that I have been able to help a child learn and feel loved helps confirm my decision to become a teacher. Each child in this classroom had a different personality that helps me prepare to be a better teacher. I was able to see what types of teaching methods will work best for a variety of personalities.
ReplyDeleteWhat a great experience for you. Having back-to-back experiences with the same group of students is such an amazing opportunity.
DeleteThe last activity I attended for Hope Kids, was one that I was in charge of. It was arts and crafts night at the library. We only had one child attend with his mom. I will call this child C for the purpose of this post. He had to use a walker to get around and had some difficulty with the motor skills needed to do the crafts, but was able to do so with some accommodations. He was 14 years old and had a smile on his face the whole time. We enjoyed talking with him and getting to know his likes and dislikes. His mom was very grateful to us for providing the activity.
ReplyDeleteI have thoroughly enjoyed my experiences volunteering for Hope Kids. I have fallen in love with these children and have decided to continue to volunteer at there functions as much as my schedule will allow me to. I have made some good friends with the moms and the children of Hope Kids. I am actually having a few over to my house to play with my kids and to give their mom a much needed break from having two Hope Kids to take care of all of the time. I admire these families. My heart hurts for the struggles they have gone through and have yet to go through. I am so grateful for the opportunity I have to be a small part of these kids lives. This has just reaffirmed in my mind that teaching children is what I need to be doing and love to do. At the Nature Conservatory activity, there was a little boy P that I ended up carrying, and his mother told me at the end of the activity that he is usually really shy and that she had never seen him get so attached to someone so quickly. He was a sweet kid and I am grateful for the opportunity I had to meet him and explore the conservatory with him.
I truly appreciate the commitment you have made to Hope Kids. Nicole has really been impressed with your level of support and involvement with this organization this summer. I hope you found this to be a rewarding opportunity.
DeleteI feel very fortunate to have been able to volunteer with TURN, and I am so excited to be able to continue working with them throughout the summer. I have come to love the individuals I work with very much. I have been able to work with individuals with diverse disabilities, personalities, and backgrounds. It has truly become the joy of my week to meet with them. I am constantly amazed by their positive, "never give up" attitudes, and their passion for life. My favorite client is an older gentleman who loves his Mickey Mouse hat and always has a smile on his face. At the Barbershop this week, the young technician who was trying to shave this gentleman kept asking him to close his mouth so she could shave under his lip. That only made him smile more and I told her she was asking for the impossible: he just can't stop smiling. This wonderful man finds joy in everything he does and everyone he's around. That attitude has affected me so much, and every time I leave after being with him I try harder to see the joy in my life. If this man, who has seen so many terrible things and experienced so much pain can have a happy outlook, undoubtedly I can too.
ReplyDeleteMindi Cella
What a great opportunity this has been for you. I am thrilled you will continue to work with these individuals, this will only further develop your skills as a future teacher.
DeleteThe detention center was not everything I was expecting. Actually, I can not even remember what my expectations were the first day I walked in there. This volunteer opportunity was rather indirectly involved. I did not stand up in front of a classroom and command the attention of students. I observed and was present while the students filled in work books, slept, or talked. Every visit I was able to help a student with a problem or explain a concept, and a couple of times, I lead a group discussion. We played games like pictionary and Jeopardy, where the students wrote the answers for the group. The games were great fun for me because I had a chance to see the students relax and be themselves, for the most part.
ReplyDeleteEvery visit there was new faces and couple more had left since my last visit. It made it difficult to make any connections. The students that I did recognize seemed appreciative of our help and just the fact that we were their and were not getting paid for it I hoped showed them that we were good people.
I did not question my desire to become a teacher during this volunteer opportunity. I did reaffirm my intentions to work with elementary kids. I like to interact with teenagers but I do not want to teach them. One of the reasons for this is I think that teenagers are too for gone for a teacher to make a significant impact on them. They think they know themselves and what they want and they are absolutely sure the know it. It is a slap in the face when you realize you do not figure things like that out well into your twenties if ever. I'm approaching this from the perspective of a special education teacher. I want to work with the kids that are still malleable and just need a little help to stay 'on track'. Both age groups deserve the same amount of attention, but I know where my attention will make the most satisfied with my career.
My volunteer experience was such that I worked with different children almost every time. It was a very rich and rewarding opportunity. It is difficult to spend time with these children, begin to form a relationship, and then realize I may never see them again. My thoughts have often returned to some of the students I have worked with over the past couple of months, and I find myself wondering how they are doing. I am certain that they touched me more than I them. I have worked with students like these for many years, and the joy I have found is what solidified my decision to become an educator. It is always fun to bump into students months or years later and see how they are doing. I not only enjoyed working with the students, but meeting the families as well. I have come to know over the years that my life becomes richer and more fulfilling as I involve myself in opportunities to serve others. It is this service of helping others that draws me into becoming an educator.
ReplyDeleteI felt like my hours went by very fast. I was glad I was able to split my hours and get to experience two very different settings, with very different children. I loved getting to know the children at youth impact, and I felt like on Wednesdays they were very happy to see me. I knew I was making a difference in their lives even if I was just there to be a friend to them.
ReplyDeleteI also loved going into the special education classroom. I am just going into elementary education, not special education, so it was really nice to see what it will be like on the other side of the fence so-to-speak. It was very interesting how little time the special education teacher has with these students, and I saw how much of a difference it made just to have me in there to help. It helps me to see that as a teacher, I should try getting parents involved, because even if there were just parents in the special ed. room volunteering, it would help. I am very excited to be a teacher still, and I feel like I have a better understanding of the possibilities of what I could have in my class, and I am glad I was able to have a chance to participate and learn before I actually went into my own class.
Wednesday was my last day at Youth Impact for this class but it was definitely NOT my last day volunteering there. I loved going there weekly and seeing the kids! I fell in love with some of them and will go back as much as possible! I have learned so much from going to this organization and observing these students. It has made me question my choice in teaching as I have been faced with difficult situations. But it has definitely confirmed my choice and has made me so excited to proceed in my goal of becoming a teacher. Prior to this class I had no experience with at risk students. I am very grateful that I have had this opportunity to be exposed to them and get a better understanding of how to handle these kids. Before this course I didn't know what Youth Impact is, I am so glad that volunteering was our assignment so I could be influenced by these wonderful students. Last week I got a phone call from a friend that works at Bluff Ridge Elementary. She informed me of an open position at there school and I immediately contacted the principal. That same day I went in for an interview and got the job. Starting August 25th I will be working with special ed students in the functional skills classroom.I am so excited for this job offer and I am glad that I took this course in the summer. It really prepared me for this new job and I am so grateful I took this class when I did. I think I am going to keep my textbook so I can refer back to it and I will be using my notes from class! I cant wait to start the teaching program and continue in this direction. Once again, I really enjoyed the time I spent at Youth Impact and I will be returning!
ReplyDeleteToday was my last day at Youth Impact and I was full of emotion. This has been a wonderful experience and I have enjoyed it so much! I am so impressed with this organization and the services they offer to young children. I am overwhelmed with the love and respect the staff and students have for each other. This experience has helped me reach outside my comfort zone and interact with others. It was hard to say goodbye to several of the students. I have made lasting friendships! I felt each week as I went to Youth Impact that the students got familiar with who I was. I also tried to bring activities to help get involved with them. The students were always happy to participate. Through volunteering at Youth Impact I have a greater desire to teach. I want to help others succeed and feel good about themselves. This is an experience that I will never forget and I look forward to going back and visiting!
ReplyDeleteIt is sad that this is over; I can continue to be a volunteer of course so that is good. I have made a great bond with one by and it is so awesome to see his face light up when he sees me. It will be hard to get over there with school starting up again so I was really sad leaving today. I made a great connection with this boy and he is so fun. I love kids and I thought when I started that there would be so many I would be around that having this final day would not be hard, but it was. This kid wanted to everything with me and I always had fun with him. I just wanted to be a good example in his life because he really is such a sweet kid who is very motivated all the time. This boy did make me want to become a great teacher because it is kids like him who are so sweet you want to do everything you can to provide knowledge and opportunities. This is why I want to become a teacher; I want to make a difference, even if it is just being an example. I want to show them that anything is possible and be a positive role model. This was such a great experience and I have learned a lot from it. I really think kids teach us a lot about who we are and make us see what kind of person we want to aspire to be in life.
ReplyDeleteHonestly, I only got to work with and try to form a connection with one student during my experience volunteering with Hope Kids, and that's only because she's the only one that showed up to two activities. The rest were cancelled or nobody showed up. I wish I was able to work with more kids and be able to form those relationships. The whole reason I want to be a teacher is to build relationships, connect, and have an impact on children's lives. I'm sad I wasn't able to do that during this experience. I want to try to volunteer in the future at more hope kids events where I will be able to work with these special and gifted students.
ReplyDeleteToday was my last day at Youth Impact....for this class requirement. But as I was preparing to leave today, I realized that I enjoy being with these kids. They are a good group of kids who love having the volunteers be a part of their days. I will hopefully be able to continue to volunteer here from time to time. During my time in this volunteer assignment, I was reminded again and again why I want to be a teacher. I want to help students and children reach their full potential. I want to help them become the best that they can. I am excited for more opportunities to be around kids and helping them learn and develop skills that will aid them in the real world. I definitely wasn't ready to say goodbye today.
ReplyDeleteI honestly felt relieved to have my hours done on time. However, I was also sad not to have another opportunity to come back. What was running through my mind was to figure out how to get a job there. I talked to 3 employees there about what I need to do to get a job there. It was difficult to say goodbye to some of the students. I think this is because I developed positive relationships with them and their faces lit up when they saw me. There were a few older students that confirmed my decision to teach elementary school instead of secondary education. Their language and behavior indicated that they had been exposed to a lot of inappropriate things and often didn’t stop when asked. I have observed elementary students not to behave this way as often. This does not necessarily mean they have not been exposed to negative things. But I think it is less “cool” in elementary to profane and talk about inappropriate things.
ReplyDelete