A review of my day as a teacher.

Yesterday I taught a class of 4th graders in P.S. 33 and the experience was just great. I took part in an event called Junior Achievement that the Scholars Institute offers. This event lets high school students teach elementary school children for one whole day. Since this event had already been postponed once because of the snow day, I was really looking forward to it and hoped that this time it would be 'for real'.

When we reached there, we were taken to the auditorium and the children gave us some information about Martin Luther King Jr.'s achievements. The children spoke very softly and weren't in sync, but overall they did good and even sang a nice song. When me and my partner, Ramanit, reached the class that we were supposed to teach, we found the children very welcoming. It was a really good class, except for some children that wouldn't stop talking (what else would you expect from elementary school children). But the teachers have good techniques to keep the children quiet such as the call bell, the countdown from 5 to 1(no one would dare talk after 3!), etc.

There were some kids in that class who knew almost everything that we were going to teach them, which became a little annoying after a while. But the children were all well behaved (They form two straight lines when going to lunch and gym) and have good manners. Also, once they know you, they will talk to you about anything and everything and are really fun to be with. Another amazing thing is that the children will get so attached to you and will love you so much that by the end of the day they won't want you to leave.

I think Junior Achievement is an absolutely amazing event. You go there to teach the children and you come back having learnt something yourself. It makes you realize that being a teacher is not easy at all and that they play such an important role in our lives. I always envied teachers because, I thought that while the students spent all their time doing homework and studying, the teachers simply sat in class, talking (they got to talk in class!!) about stuff that we never understood. But now I know what it takes to be a teacher (I was so exhausted by the end of the day that when I reached home I slept for at least 3 hours and was thinking of not going to school the next day).

I would love to do Junior Achievement again and I strongly urge you to do it if you have a choice. Its an amazing and a memorable experience.