A Love For Learning and Children — A Teaching Assistant’s Diary
This week, the students of the Harmony Plus Creative Writing course finished their third lesson and started to write their fairy tales. As I read their imaginative stories, feeling both happy and pleased with their pieces, I could not help but remember their very first class…
As the new teaching assistant in the class, I was nervous and excited. I had even set a reminder on my phone to go off every half an hour. Each time it went off, the sound made me look forward to that first class. As time ticked on and I had 15 minutes left, I couldn’t wait to turn on Zoom to watch the children arrive. I logged on at 3:30 pm and watched as lovely student faces joined the Zoom class with expectant eyes. And so, the class began.
The children started the class with self-introductions. As they introduced themselves, I silently said the name of each child to myself so I would remember them. I then moved on to observe the children and their writing in class, while Teacher Kaela taught. As four children were writing the “world view” that everyone had created together, I saw one child with a distressed expression and noticed they had not started typing. Concerned, I asked them if they had any questions. The child told me that they were a little nervous and felt unable to join the group, and then mentioned being shy. Instantly, I understood them — children can be more introverted and not very good at expressing themselves actively, especially in a new setting. So to put them at ease I said, “Don’t worry! I will tell you where we are at in the discussion now. And you can ask me any questions if there’s something you don’t understand. Don’t be afraid, I will always be here with you!”
When the student heard my encouragement, they seemed to take it to heart. Slowly, they began to keep up with the class and their writing skills began to progress. Over the next two classes, I paid close attention to them, to better watch their improvement. While at first, they would always ask for help with their writing, the more they worked to follow and understand Teacher Kaela, the more they grew able to give a constructive answer. Their in-class writing developed from one or two sentences to a short paragraph. After three classes, I saw major improvements in their writing and was particularly touched by their accomplishments. Although it might seem like a small step, I saw the child grow up and into their true potential through this journey.
In the third class, Teacher Kaela emphasized the importance of details. It was during this class when the students began to show their differences and growing writing styles. There’s one student I specifically remember — at the beginning, her writing style lacked coherence and details. But by the time I read her writing in the third class, it made me so happy to see how much she had improved. For one particular exercise, she had used the only bright color (red) in the picture to describe the protagonist’s appearance; “Her perfectly round lips were as red as roses…” While it’s a short sentence, it makes people think about it: Who is this woman? Why does this woman wear such beautiful lipstick? And with questions like that in your head, it keeps the reader engaged and makes you want to know how the child will continue this short story.
Working in education and being a teacher, I don’t want to see any children fall behind. I want to see our children having fun in class, interacting well with teachers, and learning new writing skills. So every time I see a student who is distracted and hesitates to answer a question, I make sure to remind them that they are capable. I want to do whatever I can to help solve their problem on the spot. Part of this includes checking the student’s writing before and after class to see how they have improved. This information is communicated with the parents and I collect their feedback to share with Teacher Kaelaso that she can better arrange the course to help the students succeed. With this effective system, the child is set up to achieve in class, while getting the help they need.
All this work is part of the satisfaction of being a teacher — seeing the writing of the children improve during the learning process, as their imaginations and thoughts gradually connect the details. And as a reader, being able to follow the children’s original ideas and immerse yourself in their storyline. For these reasons, I am willing to “wait for the flowers to bloom.” After nine classes, I always look forward to the amazing and beautifully written essays that the students will write. But no matter what or who, Teacher Kaela and I will be there to hold their hand, be a guide, and take them to the ocean of imagination.
