Jamaica Day 8 – Teaching Sixth Graders at Allman Hill

 The last three days with the six graders has been really interesting, even though the first day wasn’t really a day that we taught them. I’ve learned a lot through the days I was with them, but mostly I learned how hard being a teacher can be. During the school year I could say my respect for teachers was little to none, but planning a lesson step by step and trying to put that into action are two different things. Also teachers spend many hours, not including being at school, thinking about students. That right there shows me that, to do a job like this, you have to love and have a passion for it. Also, I learned that some students learn differently than other students, which means you have to have multiple ways to teach one thing to reach out to everyone. Overall it was a fun experience and I can say that I taught a group of sixth graders at the age of 19.  It wasn’t too hard, but I learned to show respect to any teacher that I know and any teacher that I will have in the future. The part that I could say touched me happened after the class was over.  This little girl that I had never seen before asked me to write down my name, age, birthday and telephone. At first I thought it was kind of weird, but I asked why and she told me it was because I am a star. That had made me feel like I was a very important person, so I gave her the information and then she ran away with a smile.

After we left Allman Hill we went to a synagogue. Then we found out that no one was there so we went to St. Andrews, an all girl‘s high school. Then we saw the Emrie James Museum, where we got to see the St. Andrews school records, what an impact Emrie made for the school, and how many years she worked there. Then by the time we got done there, I was so drained the only thing I could think of was sleeping. As I reflect on my day, it was pretty good—tiring, but good. I’m just looking forward to tomorrow and the new group I will be working with . . .  THE THIRD GRADE.

Sean J.