Millo at Large

I woke up to a typical monsoon morning with the rain dropping on the roof making a peaceful sound. I had a feeling that, for some reason, school was going to be canceled, even though I’ve never heard of rain canceling school.

On the way to school, I got a text that the teacher I work with is sick and has a fever and won’t be in today. Already almost at school, I decided to just go with the day and see what happens because I had an English lesson planned for the morning. I got to school, and the teacher I always sit with in the mornings said I could come to her classes and help, which got me very excited to meet other kids.

I went up to teach English to the 6th graders, knowing it was my time to shine. I had everything planned out; I made it interactive yet still mentally challenging. I asked students to find clues in the text that would help us better envision what the characters look like. We started off by making a list of traits.

After making the kids review the physical attributes of both characters, students took turns coming up to the board to draw each character based on the list! The class ended, and I felt accomplished. It was everything I had dreamed about and more.

Since my fellow teacher was out that day, I observed 7th and 8th grade classes. It was a big step from 6th graders. The class was way louder, and they looked a lot older. Feeling a little intimidated, I sat down in the back, and immediately everyone turned to stare at me. The teacher had 10 minutes at the end of class for everyone to come and ask me questions. They all rushed to me, asking if I had photos of the US. I felt like a celebrity. At the end of class, they all took out pens and notebooks and wanted my autograph, which I don’t really have, so I signed a big “M.”

The day concluded, and I was very exhausted. I went to the staff room and sat in silence for a good 2 minutes; my voice was gone. I planned for my English lesson the next day, feeling sad that I was nearing the end of my experience.