…and it changed my life.
City lights, walking the Ben Franklin Bridge, and spending some quality time at Spruce Street Harbor Park were not the only exciting things I experienced while living in Philly this summer.
This past summer I was a teaching fellow in Philadelphia. I spent unbearable amounts of time working on lesson plans, dealing with staff meetings and gathering student data, but in the end none of that mattered. What mattered was having a positive impact on my students and making sure I built a safe community for them.
A lot of what teachers do goes unnoticed. In our society, we teachers are looked down upon and are inferior to other professions, but through this experience I saw the real struggles of teachers and I saw what it truly means to be an educator. Sure, we have sleepless nights and exhausting hours outside of “work time” to do work, but it all leads up to something greater.
As an education major this seemed like the perfect opportunity for me and although I have had experience working with students, I was still uncertain. I had no idea what to expect and what would come out of this experience. I was afraid because I did not believe I would be able to manage the classroom by myself, but luckily my fears and weaknesses became my strengths.
Whenever people think of inner city their minds quickly fade to all the negative connotations attached to it. There is a stigma towards inner city students. Outsiders believe that these students are misbehaved, have no goals or motivation in life and that they all come from broken families; however, this was not the case. I was surrounded by students who sought for a better life for themselves; students who were confident and ready to learn because they knew that education was their key to success; students who wanted extra work to improve their skills, so they can practice the concepts more; students who were determined, motivated and who truly cared. Yes, at times they were tired, they wanted to give up and would rather play than learn, but they stuck through it and were able to fight through.
Annotations, cause and effect, and response to text paragraphs weren’t the only things I was teaching in the classroom. Positivity, embodying leadership skills, and setting goals for the future were some of the life lessons I was able to share with my kiddos. In return, I was learning as well. The students taught me how to ‘hit the folks’, enjoy any type of music and shared some of their personal struggles and challenges in life. Just as I was teaching, I was also learning.
This experience validated my life goal and these students touched my heart and changed my life. “Thank you for believing in me even on my bad days” wrote one student, “Thank you for pushing me to try harder” said another; and with these words I will continue fighting, continue to work hard and be the teacher I have dreamt to become.
For all the future educators out there, keep doing your thing!
And remember…