Essay about My Experience At A Summer Recreation Program

When I decided on elementary education as a major, I thought of a lot of problems that I would constantly have to deal with. I went through the whole low salary, the constantly sick children, and of course the never ended standardized testing. One thing that didn’t come to mind until I was actually in a school was dealing with families. While this can be a good thing, it can also be bad, especially if you do not correctly know how to deal with the family. I know that a lot of times I will not be telling a parent what they want to hear, and depending on what type of parent that is it could turn south very quickly. It is important to know what I am getting into and how to correctly deal with it. This summer I got a job at a summer recreation program. The school is not in the best part of town, and there are lots of behavior problems with not only the children but also the parents or caretakers. The first time I had to talk to a parent about an incident that happened with their child I was extremely nervous and felt very unprepared. I had a general idea about what I wanted to say, but I could not predict the future on how the parent would react to the bad news that I had to tell them. Although the interaction turned out fine, and I have been able to become more comfortable over time it would have been nice to know how to handle it the best way possible. I have learned a lot about children and families through my job at the recreational program, but I know there are still a…