Most Importatnt Educational Expereience

My most important educational experience would be volunteering at my local elementary school. It was something I started doing to fulfill a requirement for graduation. A friend and I decided to volunteer at the elementary school we went to and to work with a teacher we had many years ago. At the start I never thought I would like it as much as I did. Instead I ended up loving it! That experience taught me so much about myself. It taught me how much power I hold. I'm not talking about the power of bossing the kids around, but the power of where they idolize you. When they see you walk in the classroom they get excited and can't wait to go read a book to you or work on telling time. They were so eager to learn and ready to absorb as much as they can. This is something I admire about elementary school, the kids love to learn and they love school. They haven't gotten to the point where they are ready to give up, because simply giving up isn't in their vocabulary. They are ready to tackle any problem and just happy to have someone there to help. This gave me a new insight on education. It changed my whole frame of mind. It gave me a reason to want to do as much as I can while I have the time. I not only helped the students, but the students helped me. One thing about elementary school is that learning is made fun. It keeps the attention of the students and they want to learn what is being taught. School isn't seen as a chore like it is in high school, it is seen as a place where learning is important, but is also very  fun.  My experience with volunteering didn't end once my ten hours were up. I volunteered every Thursday until the end of the school year. It was something that I knew I would enjoy, but I never thought I'd enjoy it as much as I did. It is funny how one decision can change your whole mindset, and this decision is a perfect example of that. Volunteering at Gordon allowed me to pursue a career I would have never thought myself taking. It changed my plans, but it also helped me grow. Before volunteering I knew I wanted to help people. That led me to want to be a social worker and then led me to wanting to be a nurse. But, after going to Gordon and seeing the kids something clicked with me. Something inside me told me this is what I was meant to do. I guess you could say I had "a moment", where I knew instantly that this was the job for me. Now many people wouldn't think of volunteering as an educational experience. At least that is not the first thing that pops into my head when I hear that. But, for me this explains so much of me. It stands out in my head and it has taught me things that I may have not realized about myself before. It helped me appreciate all the wonderful teachers I was honored to have. They instilled the importance of education. They taught me that learning doesn't just happen in the classroom, but it happens everywhere. That if you pay close enough attention you will notice that education is surrounding us no matter where we are. I think that this shows us that education isn't just one narrow, dry topic. That there is so much in the world and that we have to want to learn or we will never know. This is the most important experience to me, because it has allowed me to see another side of myself. It has provided me with a drive that nothing can get in my way. I want to be the best person I can be. I want to make a difference and this is one of the ways that is possible. Most of us never really know what we want to do, until we do it. That is exactly true for me. Before you can disregard something you must first at least attempt or put in some sort of effort. I went into volunteering not thinking anything of it, but what I got out of it was worth so much more. I never thought that I would want to be a teacher. It was something that I thought about from time to time, but nothing that I had ever put some serious thought into. I have to say one thing though, I am happy I did something that I never expected to love so much. Even though I graduated last year, I still volunteer once a week with the same teacher. That teacher has become a role model to me. Volunteering has allowed me to see what teaching is all about. How interactive it is and all the time and effort that goes beyond the classroom.