(Editorial Note: This post is the first in an occasional series of reflections on the ECU TF/MS program written by current Senior II interns. These posts will highlight specific events, programs, etc. that our Fellows and Scholars currently doing their full-time student teaching have now found to be helpful. Look for more of these posts with the tag "reflection on TF/MS.")
While looking back on the past few years of dedication to the East Carolina Teaching Fellows, it is easy to think of many different instances where the Teaching Fellows Program has helped me to develop into the teacher I will be in just a few short months. From attending the helpful seminars to working with my peers in the Communications Committee to adventuring out on a few educational trips, there have been so many opportunities to grow as an educator that I would have not had otherwise. Surprisingly enough, one of my favorite memories was the twenty hours of required tutoring my sophomore year. I am almost embarrassed to say, from the first day I sat foot in the door somehow I knew this mandatory tutoring would be a waste of time. I want to teach high school, so there was no way tutoring these elementary students would prepare me for my future. Fortunately, however, I was wrong.
During the sophomore year every Teaching Fellow and Maynard Scholar is required to tutor ten hours each semester at and assigned after school program for a total of twenty hours at the end of the year. I was assigned to Operation Sunshine, an after school facility for at-risk female elementary students. The first semester, Fellows and Scholars report to the site to help with homework, play with the kids, prepare snacks, and generally get comfortable with their placement. During the second semester Fellows and Scholars are required to get together in small groups and plan a service learning project. My coworkers and I looked around for a project that we felt would capture our student’s attention, as well as help them learn the importance of serving others, and of course fit into our busy schedules. We collaborated together and with the students and decided to make a construction paper quilt to hang in a near by rest home. The intentions of this project were three-fold; we wanted to introduce the students to something new, allow for creativity for the students, and serve the community. We began by teaching a brief lesson plan on the history of quilts and the way they are made. Next we allowed each student to decorate a piece of construction paper with paint. Then, we used yarn to “sew” the paper together to make the quilt. Finally, we dropped it off at a near by rest home for decoration.
The project was a huge success. I was able to collaborate with some great future educators, get some experience managing students, be creative, and help out the community - not to mention create an interdisciplinary lesson plan mixing history and art.
