12-21-09
Learning that I am Free
By: Annie W.
I believe that I'm free to do whatever I want to do.
I can definitely remember when my teacher first gave us the career project, in fifth grade. The teacher told me to have the first pick of what I wanted to be when I grow up. There was very long list with at least a hundred different options, there were three tall and long columns of names I could be. The teacher on the list caught my eye and that's when I remembered that my mom said, "Being a teacher is a good job." She also said that I would have lots of breaks on the weekends and in the summer. It would be fun working with kids drinking and eating snacks during class.' As my heart was raising and I was thinking if I wanted to choose teacher or not. It took me forever, but as I was thinking I choose the teacher. So then I had to write an essay on being a teacher. The essay took quite a while, and I had to look up a lot of facts on the computer and in a few picture books. Once I was done with the essay I realized it would be kind of boring to me, and I would have a lot of papers to grade. After the essay I decided I did not want to be a teacher.
When I picked to be a teacher, I thought about how to do my essay. I was thinking maybe I didn't want to be a teacher after all there was a lot of papers to grade and meetings. At first I was surprised and astonished I picked and wanted to be a teacher.Towards the end I learned I didn't want to be a teacher. I was pretty surprised about that too. I don't know what my mom would think, but I kind of like the feeling of following my own rules.
Now I am still a little surprised I don't want to be a teacher, and that I even picked to do my essay on a teacher. Now I think maybe I can be something that looks fun and interesting to me. Maybe I could work with manatees or own a craft shop. That would be pretty fun. When I grow up I'm going to be something thats really fun to me.
I know that I don't have to be a teacher. My mom wants me to, but I want to be something else. When I grow up I want to follow my heart. Today when I look at a teacher I wonder if they really like their job and what they think of it. I know that I am aloud to choose what I want to be. I can take classes in college for what I want to be in the future. When I grow up I now know I don't want to be a teacher.
Monday, December 21, 2009
Thursday, December 17, 2009
This I Believe
This I Believe
I believe that life presents you with opportunities in which you can show compassion and “save the day” for someone else.
My heart was racing and my pits were sweating as I realized that I was without my typing book, and class was about to begin. I had missed the previous week of school and was working feverishly to complete all of my class work. I was given permission to take the typing textbook home to work that evening but was given a stern warning that I was to return it the next day. I feared Mrs. G my typing teacher. She was by far the meanest teacher I had ever encountered, and I was shaking in my boots when I realized that I had left the book at home. I was too scared to go to class to face the wrath of Mrs. G., so I did the only thing I could think of…. I ran to my dad’s classroom and begged him to retrieve the book for me. He did the unthinkable. He agreed to run home and get my typing book and then wrote me a pass to return to class. The day that my dad showed extraordinary compassion; he became a hero in my eyes.
What I realize now is that I learned a very powerful lesson that day. This lesson was far more influential than facing the natural consequences of forgetting my book. I learned that sometimes when people fall they need YOU to help them back up. When I first realized that I had forgotten the typing book I was panicked. There were four minutes between classes, and I had just realized it before class. I didn’t have much time to react, so I took to my natural instincts and ran to my dad for help. When he agreed to run home to get the book, still perched by our computer, he gave me the greatest gift… freedom from my shortcomings. I didn’t feel joy knowing that my dad had to bail me out; I was simply relieved that I didn’t have to face Mrs. G. knowing that I had let her down.
I have used this lesson to help mold the person I am today. As a student, it made me more responsible. I never forgot important things again. I was always checking twice to make sure that I had what I needed in my backpack. I also learned that there were benefits to going to the same school where my dad was a teacher. Sometimes it was hard to have my dad at school with me. I was in middle school, and I wanted the chance to grow and be who I wanted to be. I didn’t always want to be under the watchful eye of my dad and his colleagues. This led me to the discovery that every situation in life has a silver lining. Sometimes you really have to look hard to find it, but in all things…. good exists! It still amazes me that this one simple gesture shaped my life in the way that it did.
When I look back at this event, I think about how it has changed the way I think about both parenting and teaching. Most often I feel that both students and my own children need to learn from their own mistakes. By learning from your mistakes, you are able to really think about the effects of your actions. I also learned that there is a time and a place to offer grace. There are situations where you need to just be there for your child or your student. I can remember the FEAR I felt towards Mrs. G the typing teacher. As a teacher, I want to make sure that no student ever experiences that. This situation has reminded me that it is important for me to set boundaries and expectations as both a parent and teacher, but also realized that kids need to feel safe and loved.
Each and everyday you have the chance to make a difference in someone’s day and potentially in someone’s life. What will you do with the opportunity?
By Megan
I believe that life presents you with opportunities in which you can show compassion and “save the day” for someone else.
My heart was racing and my pits were sweating as I realized that I was without my typing book, and class was about to begin. I had missed the previous week of school and was working feverishly to complete all of my class work. I was given permission to take the typing textbook home to work that evening but was given a stern warning that I was to return it the next day. I feared Mrs. G my typing teacher. She was by far the meanest teacher I had ever encountered, and I was shaking in my boots when I realized that I had left the book at home. I was too scared to go to class to face the wrath of Mrs. G., so I did the only thing I could think of…. I ran to my dad’s classroom and begged him to retrieve the book for me. He did the unthinkable. He agreed to run home and get my typing book and then wrote me a pass to return to class. The day that my dad showed extraordinary compassion; he became a hero in my eyes.
What I realize now is that I learned a very powerful lesson that day. This lesson was far more influential than facing the natural consequences of forgetting my book. I learned that sometimes when people fall they need YOU to help them back up. When I first realized that I had forgotten the typing book I was panicked. There were four minutes between classes, and I had just realized it before class. I didn’t have much time to react, so I took to my natural instincts and ran to my dad for help. When he agreed to run home to get the book, still perched by our computer, he gave me the greatest gift… freedom from my shortcomings. I didn’t feel joy knowing that my dad had to bail me out; I was simply relieved that I didn’t have to face Mrs. G. knowing that I had let her down.
I have used this lesson to help mold the person I am today. As a student, it made me more responsible. I never forgot important things again. I was always checking twice to make sure that I had what I needed in my backpack. I also learned that there were benefits to going to the same school where my dad was a teacher. Sometimes it was hard to have my dad at school with me. I was in middle school, and I wanted the chance to grow and be who I wanted to be. I didn’t always want to be under the watchful eye of my dad and his colleagues. This led me to the discovery that every situation in life has a silver lining. Sometimes you really have to look hard to find it, but in all things…. good exists! It still amazes me that this one simple gesture shaped my life in the way that it did.
When I look back at this event, I think about how it has changed the way I think about both parenting and teaching. Most often I feel that both students and my own children need to learn from their own mistakes. By learning from your mistakes, you are able to really think about the effects of your actions. I also learned that there is a time and a place to offer grace. There are situations where you need to just be there for your child or your student. I can remember the FEAR I felt towards Mrs. G the typing teacher. As a teacher, I want to make sure that no student ever experiences that. This situation has reminded me that it is important for me to set boundaries and expectations as both a parent and teacher, but also realized that kids need to feel safe and loved.
Each and everyday you have the chance to make a difference in someone’s day and potentially in someone’s life. What will you do with the opportunity?
By Megan
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)