I was nervous during the volunteer orientation this morning. I had never worked with children in a school setting and certainly never any kids with bad enough behavioral issues to warrant a special school. Everyone was assigned to a different classroom so we were going in this alone. I was assigned to the middle school class where the ages ranged from 12-15. This is the same age group that my mom teaches and I have heard so many stories that my nerves were shot before I even entered the class.
I was welcomed to the class by the teacher Pete, and his teaching assistant Ms. Johnson. My job was to help the teacher in any way possible which was usually one-on-one teaching. It took all of ten minutes for me to figure out how the class would behave. Outbursts, curse words, and threats were a part of the daily lectures in teaching these extremely hyper kids. I did my best to talk to each kid in the classroom as I was trying to figure out the best way to help them. I was successful with some and couldn’t motivate others to do their work.
During orientation we were told that some of the kids might latch on to you. I figured it was possible to happen but I did not realize how quickly it could happen. Throughout the day I realized that the same four students were always asking me to sit at their table and help them with their assignments. At first I thought it was so I would help them and make their work go by faster so they could do other things. But the way they listened to my instructions and tried to do their best showed me I was wrong.
I left exhausted, not physically but mentally. I’ve always had a decent amount of respect for teachers since a lot of my family members are in that profession. Today’s experience at Epworth showed a glimpse of what they have to go through every day.
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