I recently started working as a Teaching Assistant for the fourth grade at an after-school center, and I think if child care has taught me anything, it's how to be a classroom leader while maintaining a certain level of patience and maturity. One of the most important things the Teacher I work with told me was to 'treat the students like you would treat your own kids.' And that means discipline. It means as much as you want to play along with them every day, it's very important that they learn responsibility and right from wrong.

Whenever I imagined myself working with kids, I thought I'd be able to be someone they know is always soft-spoken and easy to talk to. But I have to make myself stern, just so they obey me. So I think if I had to tell them something, it's this:

Dear Students,

When I walked into your classroom one afternoon in the middle of the school year, I knew it would be tough to get your attention and have you look up to me as an authoritative figure. But the more I spent time with you all, and sometimes worked with each one of you individually, the more I learned how to be a better teacher.

So I'm sorry when I have to yell or raise my voice at you, but it's only because I need you to listen, to work with me. And I know I give you extra classwork when you finish your homework, but it's only because I truly want you to be the very best you can be. I push you to get the right answers because I don't just want you to succeed; I want you to excel. I get in between your arguments not because I want to take sides, but because I want you to grow up to be individuals who are respectful and tolerant of others in a world that sometimes creates divisions.

One day when you look back at this time, I hope you realize everything I did was for your own good. And that you may not know this, but grading your essays, checking your math worksheets, and reading your free-writing journal entries, where I encouraged you to use your imagination to write about any kind of topic, was the favorite part of my job. I don't know what you will go on to accomplish in your lives, but if I can leave you being well-mannered, obedient, and a little more knowledgeable, I'll know I did my job right.

Sincerely,

An After-School TA