Community Service Reflection

In the spring of 2019, I had the privilege of working with a local 1​st​grade classroom. I was

typically there in the afternoon. During this time, we read books, worked on their daily calendar, and

worked on various math activities. About halfway through the semester, a set of twins from Turkey were

placed in the classroom I was working with. Through this field experience, I learned the importance of

flexibility, patience, and communication.

One afternoon when I got to the classroom, the teacher came up to me and said “we have two new

students. Neither one of them speaks very good English, and I’m not really sure what they understand or

know. Could you please work with them and let me know the progress you make?” The first few days

working with these students were a challenge. They did not understand or respond to much of what I was

asking. I could tell that they were scared to be in this new environment; they were rather withdrawn from

their peers, stayed very close to each other, and were quiet. After the first few days, they began to warm

up to me. Upon gaining a better understanding of how these children learned, I began to find

manipulatives and extra ways to help them understand the concepts they were working on in their math

assignments. As the semester went on, these two began to open up to their peers and participate in

classroom discussion. It was so rewarding to see these two students thriving in their environment. I began

to see how much they truly knew and how much they had to share with their classmates.

One of the last afternoons that I was there, the two children had their mother come into the classroom.

The children and their mother explained to us that it was National Children’s Day in Turkey. They began

to explain some of the traditions that happened on that day. They told us that they got the day off from

school, danced, and got presents. We then had a little dance party in our classroom to celebrate National

Children’s Day. Along with this, the children brought each classmate a piece of candy that they could take
home as their “present”. As someone who worked with these two the majority of the semester, it was

rewarding to see them share about their own culture with the rest of the class. Knowing that they were

comfortable in their classroom environment was such a wonderful feeling.

This experience helped me grow so much as an educator. I learned the importance of flexibility,

patience, and communication. When I started working with these two children, they knew very little

English. I had to find ways to adapt the lessons to help better fit their needs. With some quick thinking, I

was able to find different manipulatives throughout the classroom that related to the lessons. The use of

the manipulatives helped the students to visualize what I was asking them. In the future, this flexibility

will be very helpful in my own classroom. Our classrooms our full of diverse learners, so it is important to

find ways to adapt lessons to each child.

Through this experience, I gained a tremendous amount of patience. While these two children

were incredibly bright, it took them a little longer to process the information that I was working on with

them since English was not their first language. I often had to find ways to restate what I was asking to

help them better understand. The patience that I gained through this experience will be beneficial as an

educator. Children learn at different paces and having the ability to work at their pace is important. No

child should ever feel like their education is less important than other classmates just because they learn at

a different speed.

The last major skill that I improved on through this experience was my communication. The

teacher expected that I would discuss the progress that we were making as well as where I thought the

students could use additional assistance. Along with this, it was incredibly important that I was

communicating clearly with the students. They often relied on my explanations to better understand the

concepts that were being discussed. As an educator, it is crucial to be an effective communicator.

Teachers work as part of a larger team. They work with other staff members, as well as parents and

students. It is important to be able to concisely share information to help enhance the educational

experience for the children in their classroom.

The experience I gained from this placement will help me as an educator. I learned the importance

of flexibility, patience, and communication. The skills that I enhanced during this time will help me to be

a better teacher to my students.