Teacher Or Student

I am two weeks into my new job..correction...my service as a literacy coach for at risk students with Americorps. I have to say that so far, seeing as how my toes are still being dipped into the water, it has been an amazingly eye opening experience.

For one, I am based at my elementary school. When I say my elementary school I mean that once upon a time, what I thought of as not so long ago my teeny little feet found their way up and down these exact same hallways. I can remember the library being about where the fifth graders are now with petitions for walls and everything being wide open. There were no lockers, there was no computer lab, and there was maybe one copy room. I learned my ABCs with the help of some friends we knew as the Letter People--Miss A who said "Aaaaaachoo!" Mr. M with his munchy mouth. We kids loved them. The teachers, I'm sure, not so much, seeing as how they were inflatable characters who were strategically placed around the tops of the walls in the classroom and air liked to leave them on a regular basis. But I digress...

Not only am I amazed at the physical changes of the building, I can't seem to get my head around the way kids learn now. We had the card catalog and Dewey Decimal. Kids now have iPads and Google. We used the dictionary. Computers and mobile devices all over the planet have these things called spell check and auto correct. I did math with my fingers, scratch paper, and a whole lot of crying. Today there are calculators that do everything except clean your house. I am in no way saying these are bad things; merely that they are different.

I am also in awe of the way most of the students interact with each other. One of the students I work with is a 5th. grader who is ESL--English as a Second Language. She has only been in Michigan for about five-six months and suffice it to say her English is broken. She is quiet, though not necessarily shy. She is focused and hard working. During my first week I spent some time observing to get a better idea of how I could work with her and was happy to see some of the other students were coming along side of her during in class activities and how they mingled in the halls between classes. There is another 5th. grader who is in a wheelchair and I have seen students taking turns helping him get situated at his desk and making sure halls and walkways are cleared of obstacles for him. I gotta say, I find this to be pretty darn cool. 

I am taking time now getting to know these kids and to learn about them. I see a lot of need and even more potential. Two weeks in and I am already asking myself who is going to learn more as a result of this new service. The kids or me?

I guess that's another posting...