St. Matthew's Peninsula Bridge program enjoyed some wackiness this week, as we opened up our first day of spirit week with wacky hat/hair Wednesday. The uplifting spirit of the week shed some light on the role of encouragement between students at St. Matthew's site. While some students were willing to go all out, there were others who were less adventurous. As a TA, I noticed the encouragement and support the students offered each other. I heard one student say, "It's OK-you can do it. Just wear your regular pajamas to show your spirit." The encouragement and the support the students had for one another was truly inspirational, and the TA's can see the growth that is developing each and every day they are here.
As a teacher's assistant for sixth grade mathematics, I have witnessed amazing aid between friends. In one case, a student did not understand multiplying negative and positive integers, and her friend noticed she was struggling and sat right next to her and broke it down step by step. Because of the support between our Peninsula Bridge students, that one student will remember the difference between negative and positive integers during the academic year.
Like the children I myself am growing and understanding more and more of what it truly takes to become an educator and what the right steps are to encourage children to become the best they can be. Mr. Gummerson, our site director, assigned a goal sheet to the children that had one side dedicated to long-term goals and the other to short-term goals. After the kids completed the goal sheets, we were able to discuss them in small groups during our new lunch advisories. As the advisor of four girls, I got to see how much they all wanted college to be their long-term goal, but I noticed that their short term goals revolved around improving in a subject in school. I try to support their efforts in wanting to be better at a subject. There are also a lot of personal problems that these girls encounter at home, the biggest one being the language barrier. What amazes me was how they all confide in me and shared so much information. Watching them take notes on how they can do better by doing homework, focusing, and asking questions to get them on the path to college is such an inspiration.
Each day I come in to work, I learn something new and I watch my students grow each day. This morning my students came up to me and asked me about certain math problems they were not assigned, but they did them to practice a subject they know they struggle with. As I witness all of this it inspires me to do more, because just like my students I too have short and long-term goals I want to achieve and my students have taught me to NEVER EVER give up, even though the road is bumpy it eventually smoothes out!