What? Over the past semester, I have taken part in a service learning placement to better understand the diversity that occurs within the Hamilton community, where I will be doing various clinical placements in subsequent years in my nursing program. My particular placement was at an elementary school, Pauline Johnson Elementary School, where I spend three hours every week with a second-grade class. In my role as a service learner, I acted as a teacher 's assistant. During class time, I would go around and help various students with their work, encourage students to try their best, supervise during nutrition breaks and interact with students during music and gym classes. The most satisfying part of this service learning placement to date has …show more content…
It brings me joy to see my students every week and interact with them. It 's also satisfying to see how everyone has grown and developed over the year with their academic and interpersonal skills. So, What? Through this service learning experience, I have learned a lot about developing children and how to apply my learning from N1I02 and N1J02 in terms of developmental considerations to help develop trust with my students and build relationships. The skill that I feel was developed the most through this placement was communication. I have always been above average with my communication skills, however, that was with people my own age, or with people who were older than me. I have not had as much experience communicating with people who are significantly younger than I am. It requires a different approach, and the ability to develop trust with the person before you can communicate effectively with them. Otherwise, they 're unlikely to be receptive of what you have to say. One student in particular has helped me learn more effective ways to communicate. This student has some difficulties getting along with others, and also