‘I’M STILL LEARNING, AS ARE THEY’

Coming into this class I was extremely nervous. I had never done something like this before. I’ve never taught anyone how to do something before. Sure I’ve helped friends with homework, but that’s different than teaching. I remember the first day walking into Shortridge I was so nervous that my hands were shaking. Granted that might have also been caused by the amount of coffee I had that day. I was nervous mainly because I wasn’t sure how to teach these kid.

Before this class I had never even heard of Shortridge so I didn’t know what exactly I was walking into, which made me more scared. However things changed once the class started and we were paired with our students. I was paired with James, which apparently meant Lyz was also in the group since they are almost inseparable. We started to do the prompt, which they really seemed to enjoy. But then James started to tell me of places I should avoid in Indy, since I told him I’m new to the area. They started to list all these streets and areas that if I went there I would have a bad time, putting it nicely, which scared me even more,

Despite them scaring me half to death with all their stories, I had an incredible time. The more we talked and got to know each other, the more I realized that it wasn’t as scary as I thought it would be. I still need to work on my teaching skills, but that will come in time. I’m still learning, as are they. We are learning together, and that’s why I look forward to this class. I can’t wait to see how these kids transform by the end of the semester.

Joseph Workinger is a junior English Creative Writing major.