Now, don't get me wrong. I knew I was good at stuff throughout my life. I have wonderful parents who encouraged my humor, intelligence and musical talents. I have great friends who nurtured my gifts and validated my talents. I had earned scholarships and grades that confirmed that I was capable of using my intelligence in a real way.
But at summer camp, I realized something new. I was really good at teaching kids.
Not just teaching them academic subjects, but taking ideas and concepts that are quite difficult even for adults to comprehend and helping kids grasp them in real ways.
I realized this while being a counselor at Kids Kamp. (Yes, camp is misspelled on purpose - it's supposed to be cute. Or is that Kute?) At Kids Kamp, I was an assistant counselor to a group of elementary aged girls. We were responsible for the one on one time with them - breaking down the events and lessons of the day and helping them understand what happened. We spent time every night talking through it, asking questions and hearing their thoughts. I realized that I really enjoyed it and seemed to be good at it.
That was echoed by the leadership too. They came to me and complimented my abilities. It wasn't something I can easily explain, just a way of talking and teaching that seemed to come naturally to me. I figured this made sense, because I had played around with the idea of becoming a teacher.
Little did I know just where this would lead me.
No comments:
Post a Comment