Blog 5

 Over the course of the past two weeks, I have learned how to work with younger peers and how to interact with them as an older student. I am not their superior in any way, but we are not quite equal in all learning aspects. I got to witness the way younger students engage with the material and throughout my time here, I have adapted the way I talk with them and create activities for them. For example, the 8th graders are much more advanced in French than I thought they would be, so Rithika and I quickly had to adjust our activity plans for them to something equivalent to our freshman or sophomore year experiences. The 6th and 7th graders also knew way less than we expected them to and had to adjust the difficulty level of their classes accordingly. I also took from this the realization that everyone learns at different paces, and it's important to be able to cater to each and every student's learning style in the classroom. I have grown a lot throughout the course of the project in terms of my ability to interact with younger children. I've always had some trouble as I never know what to say to them, but I think this project has dramatically helped me feel more confident interacting with younger peers and even with my younger sister as I get to see her during the school day and even visit her classroom. It turns out I really love being around young students in general. I had always imagined that if I were to ever be a teacher, I would most likely be a high school teacher or a college professor, but my experience in this project has shifted that mindset. I think if it came down to it, I would be happy teaching students of any age. Overall, I'm a little sad the end of the project is nearing as I will miss some of the students, but everyone is very excited for school to end. 

French 6 students enjoying the French Just Dance activity we planned.

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