I still remember my first day at Genie Academy like it was yesterday. Genie Academy, the
hidden gem I stumbled upon, a place that has taught me so much and has grown to
become my second home. After working in retail and other field’s I was ready to find a
job that was a lot more rewarding and where I would go home knowing that I made a
difference in someone’s life. Genie Academy provided me with that opportunity. On my first
day, I remember the hand full of little faces looking up at me. While some were bubbly
excited and quick to introduce them others were a little shyer and took some time to
warm up to me. I realized at this time that everyone is different. I feel as though
sometimes we as human beings lose sight of this and group people into categories and
begin to label them and I cannot begin to stress how much this job has made me realize
and get to know and understand people on an individual basis.
Time management is one of the first things I learned at Genie Academy. In such a face-paced
learning environment, it is extremely important to arrive on time and plan out your
lesson plan for the day. A class consists of yoga, meditation, warm-up exercises, an
abacus lesson plan as well as a common core lesson plan being followed by games and
other educational and fun activities. This must all be juggled with checking students' work
and homework as well as reviewing any fix-ups and teaching students new concepts.
Without the proper time management skills, one might say this is impossible to do so in
an hour, but with the right skills, you learn to better navigate the classroom and complete
all tasks necessary on time.
Working at Genie Academy also has taught me exceptional communicational skills.
At Genie Academy working with children allowed me to gain hands-on communication skills.
A teacher-student relationship is all about communication. A teacher has to be able to
relay information and knowledge in a way that her students understand. Communication
is an integral and essential part of each classroom. It is important to understand the wants
and needs of each child, and similarly, it is important to relay the expectations that you as
a teacher have for your students.
I have learned many things from working at Genie Academy but one of the most
important things I have learned is to always keep an open mind. Genie Academy has taught
me how to think out of the box and travel outside my comfort zone. Keeping an open
mind has helped me grow a lot as a person. I realize that keeping an open mind allows
you to be more creative and think of ideas that might have never crossed my mind before.
Keeping an open mind allows me to figure out ways to make math or reading fun and
interesting for a child that might find it boring or be discouraged. Keeping an open mind
also always reminds me that everyone learns in different ways, and everyone has the
ability to learn and there is always room for progress. Sometimes we all seem to lose
sight of that and we forget to keep an open mind but this job never let me forget the
importance of that. My time at Genie Academy has made me a more patient, compassionate,
open-minded, and overall better well-rounded person, and for that, I am forever
thankful.
