"Shouldn't you know everything already?"

Fieldwork started recently and all three sessions have been really exciting. I love the first day of fieldwork because I never know what to expect and I love to see what child (or children) I will get to work with. When our class first walked in the classroom, we were introduced to Mrs. Benfer and she could not have been any nicer. During the first meeting, we lined up along the walls and the students walked in. I had to laugh because their eyes widened and slowly sunk into their seats. I can't imagine how funny it looked with all these older people standing up around them.

As Mrs. Benfer got into her lesson, I absolutely loved her visual demonstration of mixtures and solutions. Her students were so excited to because she used M&Ms! It's amazing how something so small can bring so much joy to them! I don't know if it was because the kids were interested in the food, but I was so impressed at how well they were behaving! She didn't need to stop once to refocus them or ask somebody to pay attention. I think it shows how well she kept her students engaged. 

When she was finished, it was time to meet my students. I walked up to little girl who had not yet been given a "college buddy" and asked if she would like to work with me. As we were getting to know each other,  another little girl walked over who did not have a buddy either. The two students I work with are extremely bright and friendly. They love to talk, but I was impressed with them because if they felt they were talking a little too much they would start reading from the book. I wanted to get to know the girls a little better so I asked them what their favorite subjects were in school. One student said English, and the other one said math and science. Trying to make them feel more comfortable with me, I said, "Oh wow that's great. I'm not so good in math so maybe you could help me with that!" Of course I was trying to be funny, but I wanted to show the girls that it is okay and you don't have to be an expert in every subject. However, the answer I got actually made me laugh out loud. The student looked at me sort of confused and said, "Wait. You're in college, shouldn't you know everything already?" All I could say to that was, "I wish I knew everything!"