What ideas and images come to mind when thinking about a teacher? Almost everyone would share common images of someone working in school classroom which is decorated with the alphabet, maps and artwork. Then there are a few children who use their vivid imaginations to describe who and what they see a teacher as. My cousin Patrick, being one of those few, went to school one day and told his educator that he had a better teacher, but this teacher was in his family. His educator just assumed that one of his family members was a teacher and did not put much thought into it. Little did she know that he was referring to me, his 12 year old cousin at the time. Patrick's reference to me as a teacher seemed odd at the time, but stuck with me through all these years and had a huge impact on my decision to become a teacher.
I was the first born on both sides of the families and hated it. I could not wait for someone to have a baby so I would not be alone anymore. Soon after my brother was born and before I knew it I had a new cousin every couple months. As the years went by, I became very popular amongst my aunts and uncles for babysitting. One summer in particular was spent at my aunt's house tending to my cousin Patrick while she worked. My aunt worked long hours and never got to spend time with Patrick so having my company thrilled him. Our days together started off watching television, lying around and being extremely lazy. My suggestions to go outside and do something were always quickly shot down. Riding a bike, roller skating, playing hopscotch and swimming are never interesting to a child when they do not know how to do them. I then decided that I would take it upon myself to teach Patrick as much as I could because he was not going to learn any other way.
My teaching and learning process started off slow with Patrick. Being taught a new and difficult task can be very frustrating to the student and the teacher.
