Reaffirmed.

This week was the first week in a long time where I got to spend one-on-one time with students at the elementary school. The past couple semesters when I have volunteered, I have mainly worked with the teacher to create lesson plans and maintain classroom management. However, last Thursday changed everything for me.

I volunteer at Mary Branch Elementary and I work one-on-one with a fourth grader named Juan and a second grader named DeMarcus. 

Juan is a struggling reader and he has difficulty with word recognition. For instance, when reading names he doesn't immediately recognize, he gets frustrated and gives up. When the name "Snitch" popped up in a book we were reading together, he didn't know where to begin. Just by simply giving him encouragement and having him sound out the letter combinations, he began to be able to read names. It was a phenomenal change within one hour.

The next hour I worked with DeMarcus. We played "Getting to Know You Bingo" where there are certain facts written in each square "Born in July," "Plays Piano," etc. and the students are supposed to go around and get people's signatures in the squares that pertain to them. Well, DeMarcus is super social and went around and talked to everyone and chatted up all the kids, it was so awesome to watch. It is so refreshing to be around a kid who just wants to be a kid.

Leaving the school, I couldn't stop smiling. I am now back on track as to why I went into this major to begin with. In teaching, it's not just about the end result...every single step matters. I cannot wait to make a difference in kids' lives :)