Michaela - TFA - Blog 2

Today was a far different experience than yesterday. To begin, Trina and I only had one bus we had to take to get to the elementary school. Once we arrived we were welcomed with open arms from both the staff and the students, also the school was very colorful and well decorated. The main reason for this is because Howe Elementary is a public school but ran by a company. This basically means that the school was going to shut down due to bad performance but a company came in and completely flipped the school upside down. They did this by renovating the school, firing all the staff and hiring new teachers/faculty, and now holds the school to higher standards than normal public schools.

As soon as we arrived in the classroom the work began immediately, with a class of 28 students, half being first grade and half second grade, there was always a child needing assistance. Though many of the children were very rambunctious I really enjoyed when I was able to get a student to focus on the task at hand. It was apparent with most of the children that the only reason they were acting out was because they were wanting one-on-one attention with a person that cared about them. I came to this conclusion when I helped one little boy named Camorion. He had been the trouble maker all of class, not wanting to do work and bugging every student. But once I went to give him individualized attention he completely transformed. He went from being restless to quietly working and from uninterested to engaged. This one moment showed how much children need support and encouragement and also how important it is for them to have a love for learning and a strong educational foundation to build off of.

Though this day was a lot more exhausting than yesterday, having multiple kids come up to me, give me hugs, and ask if I would be back tomorrow made it completely worth it. After spending a day at the high school and a day at the elementary school I am not sure which I prefer. But one thing I do know is that after only two days I see how passionate the TFA members are and how that has convinced me to do TFA once I graduate.