I remember teaching at Bing Nursery School. I was a sophomore in college, and knew virtually nothing about teaching in a classroom. In fact, I was very cocky about it. I thought there would be nothing to it. Kids? Piece of cake! All you have to do is play with them. But I didn't know how much energy that took. And how much preparation. It's not like summer camp where you exert a lot of energy, and then it's over after several days. You have to know how to maintain a good energy level for months at a time. I saw a lot of college students come in and play like mad with the kids, and then burn out the next day. Then the kids get confused because all of a sudden you don't want to play with them. Perhaps this is the phenomenon of first year teachers in general. In the beginning the teachers do not know how to manage their time and energy. Then after a year, they're ready to quit. Whereas if you learn how to save your energy, then you can last a long time.
Right now I'm teaching kindergarten at Escondido Summer School. The first day I sang hokey pokey about five million times with the kids during our song time. They never ran out of energy. I was sweating, huffing, and puffing. I should have used double deoderant. However, I learned by day two not to sing the song THAT LOUDLY, and do the motions THAT MUCH. Just let the kids take care of that. I'm just merely leading them into the song and dance.
So anyway, back to Bing Nursery. There was this one kid named Baxter (not his real name). He was eccentric. Super smart but had some trouble listening to the teacher and getting along well with the other kids. And here I am. A college student. Sleep-deprived. Dressed inappropriately for playing in the sand. Didn't want to participate that much. It was part of a class that I was taking, child development or something like that. I actually got a B- in the class eventually.
I wasn't particularly nice to the kids. At Bing the teachers all talk to the kids in this fake voice, and I hated it. I just wanted to talk normally. Plus, I'm very sarcastic, so I wanted to be sarcastic to the kids. I just didn't know what the kids needed. They just seemed whiney and needy. So one day I said something that wasn't very nice to Baxter. I don't even remember. But I do remember what he said to me. In his Chinese accent he said, "W-why you s-so meeaan?"
I was shocked. Was I really mean? That's when I realized that I really didn't know how to act as a teacher to these little ones. I felt horrible and rotten. I never forgot Baxter.
Three years later, I see Baxter again. In my kindergarten classroom! It's actually K-1, so he's going into first grade. He's still the same eccentric lad. He is very smart; he can tell jokes, write long sentences, and read books. Once he came into class late. I asked him where he was, and he replied, "I had a magnificent journey!" Another time he told me a joke:
B:Where do tadpoles go if they lose their electricity?
Me: I don't know, Baxter. Where?
B:To the electro-tadpole store. (Smiles gleefully)
But he's still a little bit awkward socially. But I like him. He brought an apple for the teacher. A big kiss up!
The other day he gave me a report card. He punched a star at the top of the paper, and said "Here's a star for being a good teacher!" I almost teared up. I was speechless. It was like when Jesus asked Peter three times if he loved Him, to redeem Peter's three denials of Christ. He was healed. And I felt healed as well. I asked him why I was a good teacher. He replied, "Because you're nice to me." A redeeming statement. He doesn't remember me from his days at Bing Nursery School when he asked why I was so mean. But I do. And little does he know how much that little comment about being nice to him meant to me.
I'm also realizing that I'm growing as a teacher. I definitely know a few things I didn't know three years ago. A lot of people think that teaching, especially kindergarten, is easy. In fact, I think you need stronger people (emotionally and mentally) to teach kindergarten. The woman next door to me didn't last one week. She quit after three days of teaching the little ones. So another person had to come in. I was surprised but I understood why she left. You have to maintain your sanity.
It's like being a doctor, mother, judge, friend, nanny, tutor, clown, singer, lawyer, and business person all at once to several kids at once. Sometimes I come home from school and I have to just lay still for a long time, unwind, before I can do anything else.
We should get paid more....