Working at the Spazziano School

When I first signed up to volunteer at the Spazziano School for nine days I had no idea what a profound effect the experience would have on me.  On my first morning I was introduced by Ms. Celio, the calmest fifth grade teacher I have ever met, to the class I would be working with: Ms. Pazmino's second grade class.  I was very surprised to learn that I would be spending the week working with a billingual class.  At first, I was very overwhelmed.  The children never sat still and were very talkative.  Some of them spoke English fairly well but others could understand only the simplist phrases.
When Ms. Pazmino gave me a group of five students and asked me to teach them a phonics lesson I didn't really know how to begin.  The kids were so easily distracted.  I learned very quickly that if I was going to teach them, I had to be creative and match their energy level.  By the end of the week I had grown accustomed to the restlessness of the students, had learned how to stay calm and cheerful when they acted up.  I even learned some Spanish!
The aspect of the project that affected me the most was how welcoming the students were.  While their personalities varied greatly, every student was so appreciative and polite.  I remember the morning that each child received a newly sharpened pencil, they were so excited by something I took for granted.  On my second day when I walked into the classroom, one girl, Yenina, stood and pulled a chair over for me so that I could sit with them.  It was small moments like these that made the project so powerful.  There were also many funny moments, such as when Rubelly asked me if I was married and had children since I was so old.
Along with correcting quizzes and teaching small group math lessons, I spent a great amount of time on English writing projects with individual students.  After two weeks of intensive brainstorming, writing, and coloring, Yenina and Kevelyn read their finished projects aloud to their class while I watched like a proud parent.  I was amazed to see how, in just two weeks time, their proficiency in English had improved so much.
Every morning I received hugs and a cheerful "Good morning Miss Stefanie".  By my final day I could name every student in the class.  They surprised me with thank you cards, presents, and an unending amount of hugs.  I couldn't help but wonder what challenges the kids would face in the coming years, and who they would each grow to become. 
I never expected that I could gain so much from a two week long project.  I plan to continue volunteering in education during my college years.  Seeing the smiles on the students' faces when they achieved a good mark on a paper I had helped them with was definitely a highlight of my senior year.