Reflection On Job Shadowing

Helping others and watching how they enjoy learning and how excited someone can get by learning something new is such a great feeling. That was the feeling that I would have when I volunteered to help Mrs. Cheryl and Mrs. Connie with the after-school migrant program for my job shadowing service and senior hours. I had never job shadowed before but it was such a great experience and it taught me more than I thought it would. I also volunteered for Mrs. Huffmaster, the art teacher here at MHS to paint windows around town for christmas.

Volunteering for Mrs. Cheryl and Mrs. Connie was such a great experience, even though I it was also somewhat difficult for me. The after school program is offered for migrant students which they are mainly hispanic students and in different grade levels. When I first went and talked to Mrs. Cheryl to see if I could volunteer for her, I thought that the kids there would have not been as smart as others, or some of them would have not spoken english correctly many things crossed my head. Yet the first day I went and got to know them better I knew I was wrong, each and every one of those students were smart in their own ways. At first I also thought that I was going to have no patience with the kids, and then again I proved myself wrong, I loved being around them and helping

them with their work and other activities they needed help with.
I did have challenges with my job shadowing, but I did overcome those challenges.

Some challenges that I had was that the program had many grade levels and I could not keep up with what each student needed help with or what they had to study to improve. To overcome these challenges I helped each grade level at a time, I helped with kindergarten, then with 1st grade, 3rd grade, and 4th and so on. Having the privilege to help and see how the students improved made my happy. What surprised me the most in this experience was seeing how much a child can learn if you just have patience with them and try to show them that you actually care about them and their

education.
My other hours were done with Mrs. Huffmaster, for her I volunteered to paint windows around town for christmas. Even though it sound easy and fun it wasn’t. At first I thought the same, I thought it would easy and fun, but I just did not know how hard it would be. My challenges here were that I am short and the windows were high, I couldn’t reach. To overcome this challenge I stayed on the ground and just passed the paint to the person that was taller or was on the ladder. Even passing the paint was hard because I would have to switch colors, wash the paint brushes and try my best to keep the paint of the concrete. This experience was yet very cool because during one window painting there were some toddlers that got so happy and excited about the picture that had been drawn on the window, that made me happy.
The two experiences that did were very interesting and helpful, with Mrs. Cheryl I learned how to communicate, listen, and have patience with students. With Mrs. huffmaster I learned how to work in groups and how to work together to get things done, communication was also taught here. It is surprising how volunteering can teach you so much and show you what you are capable of doing for your community and others that maybe just need a little push to better themselves.