The pandemic made it hard for me to feel excited to get into the teaching profession – I hadn’t yet been in a classroom, and I was getting nervous that I would never really learn to work with students in any capacity of the word. This was one of the reasons that I chose to do this internship, I wanted the experience even if the age group of the kids at ACH isn’t really close to the age I’m hoping to teach. At this point, I feel like any little bit helps, especially when I need transferable skills too.
The students are now done with their end of the year project, so Miss Jill has started other art projects for the girls that take the entire class time, rather than keep them busy while they wait for their turn to film. I’m normally able to start one of these projects before the art kids come in, so I’ve started to help teach them what I’m doing, and model examples of the projects so that they can do their own creating. I really love that they feel comfortable coming to me with questions or a needle that needs threading (for example), because both me and the students were a little shy when I first started interning.
It’s a small thing, but I’m really glad I’ve gotten to practice modeling projects for the students, which is a skill I can take with me as well. I didn’t realize how much differently I would have to approach a project so small as embroidering stitches in order to be able to explain and show a student how to do it. It’s really forced me to slow down and think about what steps I’m taking, and then think about how I can explain them and show someone. I’m really looking forward to being able to take on more projects and continue working with these students.
Building Bridges 