the beginning of the journey

"a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
lao tzu

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Hello, and welcome back to my blog! 

Note: For most of my blog posts, I will start with a quote to set the tone of the post or to introduce the post's topic. Although today's quote is common, I believe it defines the journey of becoming a teacher.

In this post, I will discuss the beginning of my journey in becoming a teacher and my first hands-on experiences. 

The journey in becoming a teacher is a long, tedious, and arduous one. It does not start when you interview for a teaching position. It does not start when you graduate college, and for some, it does not start before you start college. I believe that the journey in becoming a teacher takes many years that are made up of building the character, leadership skills, patience, and gaining the hands-on experience needed. 

I define the start of my journey in becoming a teacher to be when I first realized I wanted to be a teacher: second grade. Granted, I was too young to have gained any experience, but I was old enough to know what I wanted to be when I grew up. At the time, I had no idea what teaching entailed or the training it required; I wanted to be a teacher only because I wanted to make a difference like my teachers and other administrative adults did. The teachers and staff at my elementary school taught me how to be kind and helped me grow both in mind and spirit. 

Although I dabbled in some small leadership opportunities in late elementary school and middle school, I officially started working with kids when I was thirteen. Although I had already developed a foundation of the character needed to be a teacher, I still needed plenty of hands-on experience. And boy, I was not ready for what lay ahead!

I applied to volunteer at the Minnesota Zoo as an assistant camp counselor -- or "ZooTeen" -- to gain some entry-level experience working with kids. I was extremely nervous because I had never worked with kids before, and I wasn't sure how I would react to different situations.

Thankfully, first year ZooTeens are placed in camps with an "experienced" ZooTeen; in other words, a ZooTeen who has already volunteered for at least a year. I am so grateful to have worked my first preschool camp with someone who knew their stuff. My first ZooTeen partner was the one who showed me the ropes on how to deal with difficult situations and the appropriate way to lead and behave around kids. After my first summer, I felt ready to take on the world (of working with kids).

After my first year, I became the "experienced" volunteer unofficially obligated to train new ZooTeens. I did my best to show the ropes to my new partners and to set a good example for both them and the preschoolers. I actually found that as I taught my new partners what I knew, I found myself learning more and strengthening my skills.

For the next three summers, I volunteered in a variety of different camps. Although I worked with a group of fifth- and third-graders, I mostly stuck with preschool-aged campers. I gravitated towards their energy and curiosity, although I was exhausted after a seven-hour shift. ​

In all, I loved volunteering at the Zoo! Every day, I was so excited to catch up with the campers and to learn about animals. Looking back, my experiences as a ZooTeen gave me the hands-on experience I would need when I would work in a real classroom. 


Do you have any questions about my early experiences? Did you learn anything? Let me know in the comments!

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