Jamestown Melrose Elementary School

Hello all!

I spent the past two weeks at the Melrose School in my home town of Jamestown. It is an elementary school of pre-k through 4th grade which I also attended. My time was primarily spent as a teacher's assistant in one of the fourth grade classrooms. I helped out where ever I was needed; some of my tasks included running errands, making copies, correcting assignments, and even teaching math lessons. Overall, I found the experience to be extremely rewarding. It reminded me of my childhood, something that I am pleased to have remembered in this transitional period of my life (from everything that I have known in my childhood to adulthood in college). There is one thing, however, that had the most profound affect on me and is what I would like to share with you all.

On my first day, the students walked in giving me skeptical looks. They didn't know who I was or why I was in their classroom. Gavin, one of the boys, asked Ms. Tuttle, (their teacher who I also had in the fourth grade) "Who's that?" Her response was, "This is Ms. Rounds." Ms. Rounds. That statement set me aback a bit. To me, someone with a Ms, Mrs, or Mr and a last name attached was an adult that I was to show respect. I had never thought of myself in this light before. Even though I am eighteen, which in our country marks adulthood, I had never thought of myself as an adult. I considered myself to be a child, relating more to the fourth graders called by their first names than the teachers called by their last name. However, with the simple statement of "Ms. Rounds," I became an adult in the eyes of those students and, to them, was more alike to the mature teachers than themselves. Because of this, I had an image to uphold and had to (in an essence) embrace my status as an adult.

Throughout the whole two weeks, this was the one thing that stood out in my mind. It is funny how such a simple thing could cause me to analyze myself and who I am. It is as if I went into the Melrose School as a child and came out an adult (ironic how a place that started my childhood education was able to complete it as well). Going into the project, I hoped that I would be able to learn more about myself, but I never imagined that it would impact me enough to change the roots of who I think I am. If only because of this, my time spent at the school was truly rewarding because it helped me not only reconnect to myself, but also aid me in a life altering transition.

- Liz