05.13.10
You Get What You Get and Don’t Be Upset
Mr. Charlie, can you open my milk? Can you open my juice? Can you tie my shoe? Can you zip my jacket? Can you take me to the bathroom?
I never knew it was humanly possible to ask so many questions. Working in a Pre-K classroom can be very challenging. There are 30 children in my class between four and five years old. For some of them it is their first time in a school setting. Some like to shout, some like to hit, some like to run around. Unfortunately very few like to be quiet. A few days ago I was jotting down some last minute ideas for this blog during the kids lunch time until I was suddenly distracted. One of the kids seemed like something was bothering him so I asked him if he had to go to the bathroom. He told me he didn’t need to. I walked away, sat down and started writing at a nearby table. Then, two minutes later he started crying so I walked over to see what was wrong. As I walked up I noticed something had soaked the ground… and it wasn’t his tears. I thought it was very ironic that in the midst of writing my blog about challenges at my service site that a kid literally had an accident while I was brainstorming. This year I have said the phrase “I can’t even make this stuff up” a lot more often than I would have liked.
My biggest challenge this year was adjusting to being surrounded by five year olds for ten hours each day. For the past four years I was around college students and professors and had no problem communicating with people my age and older. This year I had to learn how to relate to kids who are almost twenty years younger than me. At first it was very difficult to have a meaningful conversation with one of my students. I learned to become a better listener and thought of creative ways to get my message across. When my roommates would come home from work and tell a story about how they gave advice to one of their junior high students or how they helped them with a difficult situation, I often felt like I was not really making much of a difference at my school besides helping my kids open their snacks. I felt like I was just babysitting them and not teaching them. I found myself asking did I waste a year of my life doing service in a Pre-K? Now with only a few weeks left of my AV experience I know that I definitely did not waste this year. I have made a difference by being a part of their lives at school and helping them mature and develop. I have learned to become a much more patient person and have learned a lot from the kids.
I came into this year thinking that I would teach the kids, but they have actually taught me a lot. We teach our young children very simple lessons about sharing, playing nicely with one another, and listening well. I really like the phrase my teacher uses “You get what you get and don’t be upset.” Sometimes in our busy lives we forget these simple lessons. We do not always share what we have with those around us. We don’t always say the nicest things to our friends and family. We don’t always listen to what others are saying. We get angry when we don’t have exactly what we want or get jealous of what someone else has. I want to take these lessons that I have learned this year and apply them to my everyday life in the future. I will be a more patient and understanding person and listen to the needs of others. This year I have overcome many obstacles at my service site and am now a stronger person because of it. Life is not always fair and throws us many challenges. Your attitude will determine if you can rise above them. Thanks to my year as an Augustinian Volunteer I will have a better attitude and strive to live by the saying “you get what you get and don’t be upset.”
Charlie Knibbs
Lawrence, MA
2009-2010