When I was in second grade I followed my teacher Ms. Sawers around our playground at recess. I never really enjoyed having fifteen minute breaks wherein I was forced to venture outside in freezing Winnipeg weather. I hated the fact that I was pulled away from learning to go and kick a soccer ball around so that I could “clear my head” even though I was obviously already engaged. The way I saw it, recess was the most stressful part of my day. It placed me in uncomfortable situations, so I found other ways to utilize my breaks.
Whether I was in second grade following Ms. Sawers around, throwing questions at her about the lessons from that morning, or in fifth grade shelving books for our school librarian to avoid peer pressure and monkey bars, I always valued the opportunities to grow mentally rather than plummet socially. I understand that my views at the time were not common, but they were still what I believed in.
As a child I didn’t recognize it as much, but I am now able to understand how much my teachers tried to nurture my passions even at a young age. I don’t think that I would have ever started writing if it weren’t for my fifth grade spent in the library. Because it was that opportunity that had me stumbling onto authors like Shel Silverstein. Those accidental interests are what led to the majority of my literary consumption.
I believe that a large part of the reason why I want to become a teacher is due to the experiences that I have had with mine. I wouldn’t be the person that I am today if it weren’t for my teachers over the last thirteen years. For that reason, I would like to incorporate an opportunity to work in an elementary classroom at some point this semester. This will both benefit me in the communal aspect of my project, and in my overall experience entering university.
I have recently been considering creating a writing workshop for a younger class, so that I could incorporate my passions in writing and teaching into one activity. Although the logistics for this aspect of my project are still wavering. My hope is that the end of this workshop would result in publishing some of the student’s pieces alongside my own anthology – which I will discuss more on Friday – I intend for this to become a chance for me to pass on my experience as a student embracing passion, and hopefully inspire at least one person to embrace writing.