As early as kindergarten, I always wanted to be a teacher. There’s a home video from my first day of school where my dad asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up, and I didn’t hesitate to answer. For a long time, my heart was set on elementary school, specifically second grade. That particular year held a special place in my heart: My teacher, Mrs. Oliver, passed out snacks during recess, our tables were categorized by rainbows, suns, moons, and stars, and I met my best friend of ten years in that class.
I’ve had quite a few “teaching” opportunities come my way throughout the years. My middle school was a 5-minute walk from my former elementary school and since they were connected by a gated path, they offered an elective course called “Peer Counseling.” Middle schoolers in the course were assigned to elementary school classes to tutor first through fifth-grade students. I took the course for a full year and I got placed with my top choice, second grade. It was so nice to visit my elementary school and former teachers at the same time as working with the grade level I wanted to one day teach.
My high school had a similar program, which was called Leading the Youth, with a different elementary school. Instead of it being during school hours, though, Leading the Youth took place after school. I did this for two years, and I got to work with both second and third graders. The funny thing is that the schools were a bit farther apart, about a ten-minute walk in total, and since I was in cross country and track, I’d have to end practice about a half-hour early to make it to the after-school program on time.
Those were just the volunteer opportunities I had as my first exposure to working with students. It wasn’t until I got hired in 2020 as a coach for a high school poetry competition called Poetry Out Loud that I started to change my mind from teaching elementary to teaching high school. While there are certainly going to be troublesome students in any grade level – especially at the high school level – there’s something about mentoring someone on the cusp of adulthood. High schoolers intrigue me for the very same thing that got me here in the first place: There’s something about sensing the potential in a high schooler as they get closer to graduation and beginning their journey in the real world. My mentor once told me while I was in high school that we had to work on my voice because I was extremely shy, yet talented.
Of course, when the pandemic hit and schools shut down, I wasn’t able to coach or do anything. In January of 2020, I had just been offered the opportunity to tutor high schoolers for the English portion of the SAT. I got to conduct one SAT practice test and one English lesson the following week before everything was shut down. It was unfortunate and I’d missed working with students ever since.
Thankfully, things are looking up now. Schools are open and following safety precautions for teachers and students alike to return to school. This past winter, I was invited back to be a Poetry Out Loud coach. In addition, I was offered to teach a two-month long poetry workshop series at one middle school and one high school.
I accepted the offer in March and I’ve been teaching poetry ever since. I’m about halfway into the session now and let me tell you, it’s a whole other experience to be in an actual teaching position. I make my own lesson plans with different poets and poems to give as examples to the students, I teach them new poetic devices every week, and I give them a template and time to write their own poems. At first, I was nervous about it – these lessons happen during the school day so I act as a teacher when I do this – but now that I’m four weeks in, it feels like second nature.
The students, both at the middle and high school levels, have been opening up to me over time. They write incredibly insightful poems about their families, identities, and passions. I’m proud to act as a mentor and role model to them and I’m grateful for this opportunity. Every single one that’s come my way has made one thing absolutely clear: I want to be a teacher just as much as I did when I was younger, if not more.
I think the greatest thing about working with students is that you just never know when a student, especially one who’s shy or quiet, might surprise you with their potential. After all, I was that student once.