For Summer Scholars we had to take part of a service learning project. This allowed the summer scholars to educate fifth to eighth graders in the area of their personal dream career. I enjoyed my time teaching my student, Pedro, about being a computer technician. Not only did he learn, receive, and benefit out of this program, but I did as well. Through teaching him I saw that I am a role model, and it made me realize that people do look up to me. Also, I need to learn to take action for my future, and I learned that it is never too early to start planning.
The first project that we had to complete was the Dream Careers Collage. Our student Pedro aspired to be a computer technician. As high school students, I felt that it was our job to teach these kids about their dream career and encourage them to pursue in their career choice. The collage was not too big of a challenge. All we had to do was look through magazines and cut out anything in the area of computer technology. I enjoyed this because I am very artistic, and I believe that Pedro had fun too. I held myself back and let him do the cutting, gluing, and writing on the poster for the collage. The finished product turned out amazing, and I was happy that I told him what to do then let him do the work; I could tell he felt proud and accomplished with the final project.
Next, in order to explore his dream career, we had to equip Pedro with the knowledge that will be beneficial to his future. First, however, my partners and I needed to obtain the correct knowledge in order to teach him about how to become and computer technician and what they do. It was difficult for me to try and teach Pedro in an area that I have little experience in. In order to be a good teacher I had to do lots of research, so I could educate him with further information that would help him learn and grow in this area. My partner Shane put together a power point, so we could teach Pedro all about being a computer technician. Shane printed the slide show out and brought it to Bryan Middle School. There we presented the slides to Pedro. He seemed very interested and eager to learn more.
After we shared our knowledge about computer technicians, it was time for Pedro to write an essay. When he wrote his essay he related back to the power point. The power point was very helpful with spelling, facts, specific names, and opportunities. We had Pedro hand write his essay. We wanted him to put his thought and insight on what we had just taught him. He did very well, but I had a hard time keeping my mouth shut. I wanted to put words into his paper, but I stopped myself because it was his essay and he should write it. When he finished writing his essay all we had to do was take it home and type it.
The last activity that we had to complete with our student was his action plan. Pedro has many goals and dreams for his life, some reasonable and some not so much. However, it is not my job to crush his dreams, so what I had to do was help him plan out his life so he could complete these goals. This is where the action plan worksheets came in handy. After he had filled them out, we then helped him analyze. Consequently, we crossed out the unneeded or unimportant points not pertaining to his ultimate goal. Then we ordered them from what he thought was most important to the least, in others words personal interests. He had fun with this activity and seemed like he was committed to follow through with his action plan.
I am glad that I got to take part in this service learning activity. Through the service learning program, it made me realize that it is never too early to start thinking and planning for my future career goals. I also had a fun experience helping Pedro and teaching him how to become a computer technician.
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