Growing up in school, it occurred more often than not that I had a teacher believed all students learned one way or didn’t learn at all. So, they only taught the material one way. For me, this was very difficult. I learn a different way in comparison to most students. Occasionally, I will be able to understand the material if I am just taught it an extra time or two, just at a different pace. Other times, if I am not doing something hands on, taking notes, doing the assignment hands on, etc., then I cannot comprehend the material. Because of this, and the often occurrence of past teachers not taking into account the students that learn differently, this turned into a lot of personal learning time with my parents and sister. This was definitely difficult as my parents and sister learned the material differently when they were taught the material. So, I would have to try to explain to them how my teacher taught the material so that they could help me understand more thoroughly.
A picture of my parents and I at my graduation:)
My sister and I (she’s definitely one of my biggest supporters)
You might be wondering, Zoey, what does this have to do with teaching kindergarten or even Early Childhood Education as a whole? Well, because this is partially what I am going to keep in mind while teaching the little ones. To remember that taking a little extra time to teach material is not a bad thing as long as all of my students understand the material thoroughly. To remember that others might struggle differently than other students and need a little extra help, and that’s okay. To honestly keep a silent promise to my students that I understand what they are going through, that I was in their shoes at one point.