The Way to Learn is the Way to Teach by Kateryna

The Way to Learn is the Way to Teach by Kateryna - August 2013 Scholarship Essay

I had just finished my math assignment, as usual fifteen minutes before everyone else. Math had always been my strong suit and even as a fifth grader, math could never stop me. I was in the middle of helping someone as I usually did when I finished my assignment early. My teacher tapped me on the shoulder and told me someone wanted to speak to me. This lady seemed nice enough but I had never seen her before and I began to get nervous. She told me that if I agreed I could sit with her and make a math webquest and eventually teach a third grade class a lesson for a day. Putting my nerves aside, I decided that this would be a very good learning experience for me and I could use my great understanding of math for something more productive than doing assignments. After a few weeks, once a the webquest was finished, I was scheduled to teach the class. One of the two third-grade classes was chosen and although I knew the teacher and most of the children, I was beyond nervous. I was afraid the kids who were only two years younger would not want to listen to me or would think my lesson was stupid. I went along with my lesson on probability as planned and afterward followed up with an activity I hoped they would find entertaining and educational. The kids, their teacher, and my teacher all loved it. I learned to get past my nerves but most importantly I was able to see lesson planning from a completely different perspective which allowed me to respect teachers and students more. This experience has stayed with me over the years as a memorable moment I will not forget and has made me appreciate the learning environment.