Giving Back In The Classroom: Why I Choose To Volunteer My Time

photo source

When you walk into the room, you are instantly happy. There is color everywhere – and the memories of long ago come flowing back to the present. Look around you will see dancing fruit and other objects depicting letters and numbers. The chairs and tables and even the sink are twice as small as they should be. There are cubby holes holding lunch boxes and backpacks. Yes, you are in a kindergarten classroom.

A boy sits in a miniaturized chair, his hands clasped together in front of him and his feet swinging underneath the table. The teacher holds all of the kids’ attention and interest. They clap and laugh and you can feel the excitement. That is the excitement of learning something new.

The teacher asks a question and several hands dart into the air. The little boy raises his hand, waving it back and forth, his body almost bouncing out of the chair. “Me, me, me!” He knows the answer to the question.

The teacher calls on the boy, and he gives her the answer to the question. “Very good, Ethan!” she calls to him. He sits back down, his back a little straighter. And though he is supposed to be paying attention to the teacher, he quickly turns around with a huge smile on his face and waves at me. I give him two thumbs up and a smile in return.

The magic and excitement and wonder of learning is palpable in that classroom. The kids like to be there, and more importantly, they want to be there.

Teachers have classes too large for one person to handle, yet every morning they are there, giving it there all so that our children can learn. If giving an hour of my time each week (even if it’s not in the classroom – maybe it’s cutting out construction paper for a project that his teacher has sent home for me) helps both the teacher and the students, how can I say no? I want to be part of that learning! I want to be part of my children’s educaton.

And that my friends is why I will continue to give back to the school and our teachers by helping out in the classroom.

Do you help out in the classroom? Why or why not?