Getting Experienced With All Types of Learners

Entry One:

Since August I have been working at Walnut Hill Day Care for about 6 hours a week. At the Day Care I am the teacher's assistant. My job entails taking care of the children, setting up and cleaning up snack, putting the children down for nap and waking them up, taking the children outside, and cleaning up the classroom. I work with anywhere from 1-30 children. This experience lets me get to know a lot of different types of children as well as their parents. Throughout this experience I have encountered a lot of unique situations.

One child I have been working with is a five year old boy. He spends a lot of his time bullying others on the playground but is extremely sensitive to being scolded. I have had to find other ways to get through to this boy other than disciplining him by making him have a time out and talk to me. Recently we have sat down with his mother and his father to discuss this on going behavior. We came up with a system for disciplining that we all can agree on.

Another experience I have had is working with children who primarily speak Spanish. This language barrier is difficult to handle because I have no knowledge of the Spanish language. I have had to begin learning Spanish in order to communicate with my children.

At the day care there are also students with ADD, those who don't listen to instructions, angry children, and those who are slower at learning. I interact with all of those children and have to have different ways to approach every situation and every child. I get to know them on a one to one basis as well as with their parents.


Entry Two:

When I am home on breaks from College I have volunteered my time at my church in their after school program. I grew up and live in a very urban environment with drugs, gangs, and a lot of violence. My church created a program called "Hope's Hangout" that provides a space for children to come after school to keep them off the streets, provide them with a place to get help with their homework, and then offers them a good meal. The program has been running for years and whenever I get the chance I take time to help work with the children. The center just requires that the child attends school. The program has really been influential in the community.

When I am working with the students I notice how their learning is not always reliant on whether they can complete the work. Many factors come in to play when dealing with young children and their learning: did they get enough sleep, are they hungry, do they have the supplies necessary to complete the homework, and do they know how to complete the homework. When I sit down to work with the student I take the time to talk with them about their day and then I ask them about their homework. I want the students to feel that they have an adult that they can depend on in their life. Beyond their well being I have learned that even if several students have the same assignment they all need different points addressed and have different needs when I am teaching them. The experience at "Hope's Hangout" has given me the ability to see the child behind the student and I believe that it is this ability that makes me a good teacher.

Every student has different needs in life and in learning. Being a good teacher means recognizing those different needs and meeting those needs to the best of your ability. I have always wanted to work with children and each opportunity I have proves this to me time and time again.