Final tutoring paper

Today was a great day. After two weeks of uncertainty (due to me being sick and the office not doing their job) I am happy that this experience is finally over. If I am going to be honest I really did not like tutoring, for a whole host of reasons. every week I was anxious from the time I got into the school until the time I left. This anxiety was solely based on my intense fear of the kids. The day before I tutored I would spend most of the night worrying about what I was going to wear or stressing over whether or not the kids would see my pimple, I felt like I was back in middle school the second my foot stepped inside the classroom. I know from this experience that in no way shape or form do I want to teach middle school. 

I did get a boost of confidence from my students this week that I think would have been helpful if I had received it earlier in the semester. This week we were covering the antebellum period directly leading up to the civil war. This is my absolute favorite area of study, so I came into the lesson with a great deal of confidence. Due to scheduling around 8th grade standardized tests the class times were mixed up and I stayed for two of the hours. After the first class Mr. Jones asked if I wanted to lead the next lecture over the top 10 reasons that lead to the civil war. I was nervous but took the opportunity to get up in front of the students and really teach something that I was passionate about. At the end of the hour the same little girl that called me ugly the first week told the class that she thought I was smarter than Mr. Jones. However inappropriate the comment was it really showed me the change that I had made. They kids went from picking me apart based on my appearance to viewing me as an intelligent helpful tutor in their class. 

I am glad to have had the experience working with urban schools. I don’t know if this is the environment that I will choose for my career but it was great to see teachers that are working really hard for what they believe in. I can’t wait to see what is in store for me next year