Patience Is a Great Gift
When working with children having patience is one of the best gifts you could be blessed with. I learned quickly four summers ago about the need for patience. I was tested very much by this job opportunity, but in the end it was totally worth it and I learned more than just patience.
In the summer I work at the Wells Municipal Swimming Pool. It is a great job where you have a big responsibility, yet you get to work with so many people it's a lot of fun. I was tested in the department of patience when I started teaching swimming lessons. It was hard to know whether the children would like the water or be scared to death of the water. It was my job as a teacher to help them get over their fears and learn to swim.
I never in a million years imagined that this job would be as hard as it was.
English: A five-year-old girl listens as her teach...
Josh Pyke and Patience Hodgson
English: Henry Lytton and Walter Passmore as Grosv...First I had to get ALL of the children into the water, just to test things out and see that it wasn't so bad. This isn't as easy as it sounds. There are always the children who love the water, but 9 times out of 10 there is at least one child who will not like the water at all and give you a run for your money.
It's hard for me to be able to focus my attention on getting one child in the water while the other 6 or 7 are fearless in the water. Right here is where my patience starts to fly away. Level I swimming lessons are held on the steps that get you into the pool. On the first day the main goal is to get...