If I were Teacher

* The objective of this blog is to point out the advantages and disadvantages of teaching from my perspective as a volunteer and a parent.

I have volunteered at a local elementary school over the years and it has been one of the most rewarding experiences of my life. I truly believe that I missed my calling by not going to college to be a school teacher. I'm not sure how good of a teacher I would have been, but I think I could have been a better person being a teacher. I know that teachers teach children but I suspect that in return children teach the teacher in ways they never even imagined. Yes there are disadvantages. When I am finished at the end of my volunteer period, the first thing that I want to do is disinfect myself. In fact just today, a young person was coughing, sneezing and wiping his nose into his hand. I reminded and encouraged him to keep his little germs to himself, and even offered him a Kleenex. He just looked at me and said "NO" and went on with his business..... then without forewarning, this little person sneezed in my face. Before walking out of the classroom, I lathered myself in hand sanitizer and ran for the front door. Then there's the puke, the boogies, the smells and of course the worst of worse.....LICE. There are kids that you just look at and it makes your head itch. I may sound callous saying that but we all know that it's true. It's not their fault but lice is lice and if it it's you or one of your kids that get it, it's a job to get rid of it. Another disadvantage to being a teacher is not being able to offer help to the children who need it. How do you walk a way at the end of the day from children that you suspect are being abused or who aren't being fed or kept clean. How do you go home at the end of your day and live your life? How do you "let it go" when you know a child is being bullied and aren't being supported at home? How do you let children leave the school building in bad weather, not dressed properly, knowing they have no one to come home to? It would be very difficult for me not to get personally involved.
There is so much joy in watching a child learn to read, helping them understand a math concept and then watching them do it on their own. The excitement in their eyes once they see that they accomplished something is unexplainable. Listening to children teaching one another is yet another great joy. Seeing and hearing the children "fill each others bucket" as a teacher put it, is a sight to see. At the end of the day each child is asked to say 3 things nice to another student. You hear anything from "Your shoes are pretty" to "the way you hold your pencil is cool". No matter what the compliment is my observation is that the children are eager to fill each other's buckets.
There are classrooms full of amazing minds. Most often young children are still open minded and understand that life is full of possibilities. When asked questions, their answers are intelligent, creative and entertaining. They have an answer for everything. There never seems to be that awkward silence like you may get with a teen that feels fear of giving the "wrong answer". Younger children often answer in ways I forgot how to think.
There are things that I would change. It is sad to me that there are so many expectations of the teachers today. Not only expectations from parents but expectations from the local school boards, our State and our President. Teachers are forced to move from subject to subject whether children grasp concepts or not just to meet certain goals. Some times they revisit that subject and some times they do not. One of the goals is to prepare the students for standardized testing. Subjects that are not on the tests are often put on the back burner for "if we have time". Teachers also seem to be limited in their approach to teaching. Their style might vary a little from one to the next but over all how they teach seems to be consistent from grade to grade. There are three basic types of learning styles. The three most common are visual, auditory, and kinesthetic. To learn, we depend on our senses to process the information around us. Most people tend to use one of their senses more than the others. How are today's teachers addressing each type of learner? If I were a teacher and had the ability to do things differently, I would incorporate sound, color and hands on experience to every subject. I personally think we are obligated to find out how these children learn and teach them accordingly. If we don't I feel we are doing them an injustice. Could this be why there are so many children falling below state standards in testing?
I would also provide exercise balls for the classroom. Recently, exercise balls have been replacing standard seating in classrooms in Europe and North America. What are the results?
Students enjoy sitting on them
Concentration improves
Excess energy is burned off
Students become more physically fit
Builds abs
Less noiseRead more: http://student-health-issues.suite101.com/article.cfm/no_more_classroom_chairs#ixzz0RwksfTUU

Over all, I think that the teachers at the school where I volunteer are doing a wonderful job. There hasn't been a teacher yet that hasn't touched my children's life in a positive way. I do believethough, that our educational system needs a general overhaul.
As far as my experience volunteering at the Elementary School, there are too many requests for bathroom breaks and drinks from the water fountain. The room gets noisy and they have to be reminded to pick up their things and put their chairs away but all in all, the classroom is a wonderful place to be. At almost 40 now, I think It's too late for me to go to college to be a teacher, but I will volunteer at the local elementary school as long as they will let me. It keeps me young, reminds me to wash my hands as long as I sing the whole Happy Birthday song, cough into my sleeve and always use hand sanitizer.