When different people are asked why they chose to undertake a particular course of action, some have a straight answer while others do not have a direct one. Different people choose different paths in life for different reasons. For instance, teachers can choose education as a career because they want to impact the lives of students or because they love working with students. Teaching is a challenging career that is also rewarding, teachers can attest to the satisfaction that they lay to the foundation of the children’s future. The article One Man’s Kids shows how Daniel R. Meier chose to pursue education and teaches first graders because he enjoys the joy and energy created by the children and he loves helping children, it can be applied on a personal level to show the reasons and benefits of engaging community work.
Daniel R. Meier chose to become an elementary teacher because he enjoys the joy and energy created by the children. The first few paragraphs of the article are a clear description of his interaction with the children showing that he enjoys the energy and joy they display. He quotes a time between 10:45 am and 10:50 am where he has to multitask as he caters for the needs of every student. Even though it appears overwhelming, he seems to enjoy every bit of it. Another reason that shows he enjoys the energy created by the children is through the description of his work. He writes that “ The day is really won through matters of the heart. As my students groan, laugh, shudder, cry, exult and wonder, I do too ” (Meier, 1987). This shows that he enjoys his time with the students as they laugh and cry together.
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Another reason why Daniel R. Meier chose to become an elementary school teacher was that he loves helping children. When asked by male teachers about his reasons for teaching elementary students, he notes that he wants to contribute to the intellectual growth of a maturing mind. However, what he really felt like saying was that he loved helping a child on various activities such as writing their name for the first time, helping them find a new friend, or simply sharing hilarious stories like reading Winnie the Pooh (Meier, 1987). The author also points out that he spends most of his energy encouraging, supporting, consoling and praising his children. The type of he does his work passionately because it gives him the fulfillment of helping children.
The author’s experience can be related to my personal experience when I decided to engage in voluntary community work. Just like the author, I had several reasons why I decided to engage in the community work. While the work appeared challenging at first, working with members of the community and offering my services gave me a sense of fulfillment. There were also other benefits associated with the involvement and participation in the community work.
I chose to engage in a voluntary community work was because it would be a way to give back to the community. I got involved in the community work through an organization that participates in providing for the needs of the homeless. I had looked at the desolate state of some of the homeless people in the neighborhood and wanted to offer my assistance. I chose to work with the community as it would enable me to gain skills, knowledge, and experience. Working with other individuals in the community was done to enable me to build people’s skills. This could have served to build enhance my CV. Choosing to get involved with the community would cater to the needs of the neighbors and would enable me to build my knowledge and skills.
The effects of choosing to engage with the community were that it enabled me to gain satisfaction and I was able to gain new skills. Throughout the work, I reached out to the community and helped different individuals that were homeless. This created a sense of satisfaction knowing that I made my neighborhood a better place to live. I was able to acquire new skills as I worked and interacted with other volunteers and the homeless. I met new people, made new friends, and learned to socialize. I also got to know some other volunteers who were members of the community. Volunteering also worked as a starter job which gave me an opportunity to gain valuable skills in how it is like to have a real job. It built my work experience and become a fantastic material which I could talk about during interviews. The community work was highly beneficial as it gave me a sense of satisfaction and provided me with an opportunity to gain new skills.
In conclusion, the article One Man’s Kids shows how Daniel R. Meier chose to pursue education and teaches first graders because he enjoys the joy and energy created by the children and he loves helping children. The article can be applied on a personal level to show the reasons for and benefits of engaging community work. Daniel R. Meier points out in the article the energy displayed by the children. He also writes that one of his reasons for working with the children was that he enjoyed helping children. On a personal level, I chose to engage with community work to give back to the community and building my skills. The effect was that I gained a level of satisfaction, built my social skills, and improved on my work experience.
References
Meier, D. (1987). About Men; One Man's Kids. Retrieved from https://www.nytimes.com/1987/11/01/magazine/about-men-one-man-s-kids.html
