Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Labor Day seems like the perfect day to ponder what your first job taught you. For me, my first job was–wait for it–bun-dabber at an A&W Root Beer Stand. I don’t recall if that was my official title, but that’s a pretty fair job description.
Looking back, I realize I learned 3 things on the job:
1. To read upside down. I can’t think of another instance in my life during which this skill has been required of me. But it’s the first thing I learned at the eatery. After the carhops filled out the order tickets, they were lined up on a counter that separated me from the cook. When the first order on my first day arrived, the cook glanced at it and tossed burgers on the grill. Observing that he was busy with his tasks, I picked up the ticket to see what sort of bun dabbing I should engage in.
The cook startled me when he said, “No, no, you don’t pick up the ticket. You read it upside down so I can keep referring to it to make sure I’m filling it correctly.”
Turns out my job was pretty low-level, and it’s quite possible to read “K, M, Ma, P, L, T, R, O” upside down.
2. We don’t always get thanked for our work. While my boss was a nice guy, he wasn’t big on compliments. Nor did any customer ever say to a carhop, “Hey, tell that bun-dabber she did a great job with the mustard and relish on my hot dog.” Not one! I was one of those invisible people who served others but who didn’t exist for them–unless I left off a condiment, of course. Now, here was a valuable lesson. I had to be motivated by the desire to do my job diligently because that was what I was being paid to do and that was what I had agreed to do, as responsibly as I could.
3. If you work hard, you can do a lot more than you think you can. The A&W was one of the most popular spots in our town on a summer night. It wasn’t only a place to get decent food; it also was a spot to check out who else was sitting in their cars munching on fries. That meant, from the minute I donned my apron to the minute I clocked out, I was furiously busy. Sometimes the number of tickets lined up on the counter between the cook and me were so backed up, they were kind of a jumble toward the end of the counter.
But we knew that if we didn’t talk, worked fast, and were efficient, the rush hours would pass–and a lot of people would have gulped their root beers and chomped their burgers and would happily come back in a few nights.
So, for me, that’s two good lessons out of three. Not bad.
Oh, by the way, I eventually was promoted to cook, which meant I could read the orders right-side up. Ah, the privileges of rank.
Now, you tell us, what was your first job, and what did you learn?
Join the Labor Day conversation: What did you learn on your first job? Click to tweet.
Every job you’ve held taught you something. What about your first job? Click to tweet.
Janet, I loved this! (I bet you were the prettiest bun-dabber ever! And to graduate to cook–Congrats!)
My first job? At 16, I became a Candy Striper at a local hospital. It was volunteer work, but I treated it professionally and I loved it.
I could tell the patients were thrilled to see me. Their faces would light up as I entered their rooms to deliver warm blankets, fresh pitchers of ice water, and magazines.
There was one gentleman patient who always sat up in bed a little straighter when I came to see him. He had a pleasant smile and a sweet disposition. I could tell I was his favorite Candy Striper.
I saved my name badge for years after that first job. I always wanted to think it was my magnetic personality that made everyone smile, but I wonder…
It might have been that extra “p” (in what was SUPPOSED TO BE “Striper”) that made the difference. 😉
The extra P? Noooo, you didn’t! Did you?
LOL Jennifer!:)
Cynthia, I sure it WAS your personality and, let’s face it, guys in hospitals love it when pretty young girls come to visit. I’m glad you brought this up because I was a Red Cross Junior Volunteer (which is the same thing as a candy striper, but in the hospital I volunteered in there was a bit of a rivalry between the candy stripers–who worked for the hospital auxilary–and the RC Junior Volunteers–who worked for…you guessed it… the Red Cross). I volunteered for two years and absolutely loved it. I hadn’t thought of it as my first job, but you’re right, it was. Well, sort of. See below.
That is so sweet, Cynthia! My oldest volunteers at the hospital … in the nursery area. She loves it.
Oh–and what did I learn?
Work isn’t all fun and games, but a great attitude certainly makes a world of difference.
What a greet story, Cynthia. Your cheerful disposition would have been an adequate explanation to me as to why the patients perked up at seeing you.
Janet, no wonder your tastes and talents in the kitchen evolved to four star sophistication. 🙂
My first job was as a recreation leader for our Parks & Recreation program. My co-worker and I would set out table games, crafts, and sports equipment at the park we were stationed at. We also got to perch atop a low chair and life guard the three foot pool.
I learned:
1. That a plethora of crafts does not a crafty lady make.
2. A proclamation of poo in the pool can evacuate said pool in no time. Leaving the rec leader to wield the skimmer and take care of someone else’s business, if you know what I mean.
3. You can learn a lot about a child and their family life when your hands are occupied with a game of Connect Four or Candy Land.
4. Kids think you’re cool when you take time to listen and laugh with them. It’s not much more complicated than that.
Can’t wait to hear about the birth of everyones resume.
Love the line about how to clear a pool. But also the sweetness of learning about a child’s life while playing a game.
Jenni, I love your fourth point. ❀ This is so true for parenting too–especially with teenagers.
Wendy, since my daughter is reaching the pre-teen stage, I need to be mindful of this, and not overcomplicate things.
My first job wasn’t really a job. It was a duty. My Mom was the religious sort. Loved church, loved her God, loved her pastor, loved having things in an order and an arrangement. I learned early on that pleasing the Mom would be advantageous and beneficial for me and all things around me. So, my first job was to watch my Mom and pay close attention to her. See the things that pleased the Mom. Do the little things that caused the Mom to recognize me amongst the other four children. Honouring Mom was an honour. Mom would call me here “JesusBoy”. Very pleasing to the inner soul to be called a boy of Jesus. So pleasing, that some 55 years later I penned a book about a jesusboy. I was proud and greatful that Mom labored to bring me into the world. I was proud to have labored to please my Mom. Prouder still, I’ve haven’t had to labor to keep all the values stored in my soul and mind all the labor days since those humble beginnings. -sidney
I haven’t
duh
this is the first-
how-I-became-a-writer-story.”
Oh, Janet, the memories! My first real job was also at an A&W stand, and I was a cook. I envied the carhops–I too felt invisible, until one day the order came in with the instructions “tell the cook to do it right!” I was so worried that I’d done something wrong, until I had a moment to peek out and discovered the order was for my aunt and grandmother!
What did I learn? 1) how to cut cabbage for coleslaw, 2) to put a lull in the workload to good use.
The summer season, and my job, ended just when A&W came out with their new logo. The owner gave us all baby beer mugs with the old arrow logo, telling us they would be worth money some day. Mine proudly holds our toothpicks, and my boys bicker over who inherits the A&W mug.
Yeah, the carhops were the glamor girls. Love the story about your priceless mug.
What a fun connection you and Janet have, Shirlee.
My first job was at a Steak n Shake. Two things stand out from what I learned there.
1-Working is a privilege, not something owed to us. As a student, I was counting on my paycheck. (I guess that never changes!) However, it was tough to put on the less-than-flattering black and white uniform and required black shoes (which my sister pointed out were exactly like our grandmother’s) and show up for work only to find out that business was slow that evening. Soon, several of us would be heading back home with very few minutes on the clock.
2-It is important to take pride in your work. A young man worked to make the milk shakes. The rumor was that he had an advanced degree in chemistry, but was obviously not working in his field. How did he handle that situation? Each milk shake was a beautiful creation. He chilled the glass, made sure the proportions were not skimpy, and carefully added the whipped cream topping. Each milk shake was something of a work of art, not something thrown together. He could have chosen to be bitter. Instead, he chose to put his best effort into the task he had.
Important lessons. You might add as a lesson the humility of donning those “old lady” shoes.
Wow! I was a 14-year-old dishwasher at Camas Meadows Bible Camp. My dad was the director and he foolishly hired my best friend and I to wash dishes. We were terrible. Because we somehow got an inch of water on the floor when we were spraying down the dishes, we had to wear our swimsuits and a pair of shorts to work. We were soaked to the skin when we were done…which took a long long time. I noticed that other dishwashers had a break between meals. We did not. Not because people used more dishes, but because we were so slow and ridiculous. We would not touch the old food to brush it off the plates. We had to spray it off, every last crumb. We were washing all day because by the time the breakfast dishes were done, it was time for lunch. What did I learn? That if I was less squeamish about gross stuff, then I would get my job done faster and have time to hang out. This has served me well in life!
🙂
My first after-school job was in the office of a manufacturing company. This was in the dark ages, and I transferred information from handwritten time cards to a big handwritten ledger to keep track of how many hours employees worked on which products. And it all had to balance to payroll. Chit-chatting led to errors that were even more tedious to track down than to enter in the first place. I learned this line of work was not for me! But I also learned the concept and principles of balancing sets of numbers, which turned out to be a real-life skill.
A writer working with numbers. Hm. It’s a case of learning what you didn’t want to work at for the rest of your life.
I loved reading about your first job, Janet. 🙂 I always thought it would be cool to work in a place where there were carhops. 🙂 We had an A&W in our city, but I don’t remember ever visiting there. 🙂
I acquired my first “job” when I was thirteen, by, um, lying about my age. You were supposed to be fourteen to work at the carwash. My friend and I both worked, but I quit after a couple weeks because of my guilty conscience. I learned that integrity only helps me do a job better.
My first official job was working after school in a pre-school at our church. I loved working with the kids, making them laugh and loving on them while they were in our care.
I learned:
1.How to organize my time so I could keep up with my homework, my job and social activities
2. How to listen to children—their words and their actions
3. How to see ways to help the teachers with their groups
Each of these lessons has proven valuable in other areas of life. And, it was the precursor that led me into teaching as a career after college. 🙂
Jeanne, wow, you showed real integrity to quit that car wash job. Good lessons all.
Thanks for sharing, Janet, and it’s been interesting reading above everyone’s first jobs.
At age 16 I started working as a cashier in our small town’s only grocery store.
I learned much about good customer service, which helped me through my next decade in the banking industry.
I learned how to be a listening ear.
I learned not to date your co-workers!
We’re all dying to hear more about the dating lesson…
Yes, dish about the co-worker, Jennifer. 🙂
🙂 Let’s just say it was one of those life experiences that makes me glad I’m a writer…I can take the dumb choices I made and turn them into good story material later. One of the perks of writing!
Growing up on a farm I always had a job–or several–but the first one I got paid for was helping to mow the church cemetery. Brutal. I started out picking up flowers and then replacing them as Dad mowed around the stones. Eventually I was “promoted” to pushing the mower while my younger brother picked up the flowers.
What did I learn? Not to be spooked by cemeteries!
Yikes! That’s quite a job for a kid. But I guess you do just think of it as cutting grass after awhile.
I was also a dishwasher at camp. It was the grunt job that opened the door for the more senior positions at that camp. I LOVED it. While at that camp, washing dishes for 120, I also learned to rock climb and rappel. It was the rock climbing that taught me more about myself than anything else.
My first, like VERY FIRST climb, was a 30 foot ascent with a huge crack in the rock face, and an underhang. Yes, an underhang. It was beyond crazy, but I did it.
Every once in a while, when I’m looking up at a huge challenge, I think about climbing up and under, then up and over, that massive lip of rock, and I keep going.
I worked the cash register at Carl’s Jr. FIRST thing they taught us – “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.” Important life lesson.
Second – the perfect ice:soda ratio – fill the cup 1/3 full of ice, then add the soda. It really is perfect.
Third – a college education is worth it. While Carl’s Jr. was a good job for a 17-year-old, I certainly didn’t want to do it for life! It really helped me knuckle down in college!
I like the saying, “If you have time to lean, you have time to clean.” If only one’s children responded appropriately to such advice.
This made me crave a root beer float!
My first job, besides babysitting, was in a salon shop. I got to sell salon products and do makeovers on women.
My boss was a terrible racist and in California, 1994, that was my first experience with it. It wasn’t directed towards me, but towards customers. I learned that it wasn’t just something in history books, unfortunately.
I also learned through that experience that I could speak up for my beliefs and challenge an authority figure. (Something previously unheard of!) I refused to follow certain people around the store like she instructed me to, and I managed to not get fired over it. It wasn’t long before I quit, but when the boss wasn’t there it was a really fun job.
I also learned that a good hair routine has 4 steps!
It sounds as though your boss made what could have been a fun job, a challenging one. But we learn lots when the boss isn’t so great–including how not to get fired!
But you left us with a teaser. So what are the four steps in a good hair routine?
Janet, I also worked at an A&W restaurant when I was in highschool.’If you work hard, you can do a lot more than you think you can.’ was definitely the biggest lesson I learned at that job.
I was shy when I first started and very scared. When my boss showed me the orientation film, I watched it carefully and did exactly what it said to do. I was a car-hop for two years.
Sometimes I would be working as the only car-hop on what was supposed to be a slow shift… only to find myself dealing with a lot full of cars. But I did it.
I learned how to act professional in some of the most awkward and challenging situations. When guys flirted I pretended I didn’t get it. If I spilled a tray full of milkshakes on my uniform, I laughed along with the customers.
It was a physically demanding job and it boosted my self confidence for interacting with the public. By the way, I didn’t feel glamorous in a baggy uniform with my skinny legs showing.
Blessings ~ Wendy ❀
Wendy, you were a vaunted carhop!? I know that, because you interacted directly with customers, your job had some added challenges that we unnoticed ones didn’t have to deal with.
Thank you for reminding us that you had to cart some really heavy trays–and not drop them!
My first job was assisting and supervising a work crew of troubled teens (many of them older than me) hired to move a library collection. For this shy girl from a sheltered home, it was serious challenge. I learned that the best way to inspire others is to work hard yourself. I also learned that at times, you have to put the work aside and be a listening ear. People are more important than the task at hand, plus they’re more likely to work hard when they know you care about them.
“People are more important than the task at hand”. A life lesson, for sure.
What a fun time I’ve had reading about everyone’s first jobs. It makes me wonder if twenty years from now today’s young people will have similar stories.
I started babysitting at age eleven. That’s where I learned my curious mind could be a good thing and not such a good thing. I still shudder when I remember how many people’s privacy I invaded by opening up their cabinets and closets without permission. 🙁
My first official job was at a five and dime. That one definitely taught me a lot, but what I remember most is: if your presentation is attractive, more people will stop and take a look (I often worked in the clothing department and set displays and windows); some men really do think women have no place in business; and appreciating your co-workers’ backgrounds and beliefs makes for a much more peaceful work environment.
Thanks for the trip down memory lane.
Hm, a curious 11-year-old babysitter. Yeah, that could be good news, bad news for all involved.
Thank you for this post, Janet. It’s a good reflection. As I said to Cynthia above, I hadn’t thought of my volunteer work as my first job, but I guess it was. My very first job, then, was volunteering in a nursing home at the age of 14. I went to the administration and as to volunteer. I really wanted to be a Red Cross volunteer (which I got to do the following year) but the minimum age requirement was fifteen. So I went to a nearby nursing home and volunteered. I didn’t last very long, a few weeks maybe. My parents made me quit because I was getting so sad. The administration didn’t know what to do with me so they let me just wander around and visit patients. The visiting part was fine although it did break my heart when patients would tell me that their children never came to visit them (I know now that some of them may not have remembered the visits, but I also know that some people are put in homes and forgotten about). So that was a first shocking lesson that I learned–that some people end up being unloved and uncared for. Then I watched powerlessly as the staff was callous and sometimes abusive to the patients. I tried reporting it but it did me no good. So I learned that not all health care workers are kind and that you can’t trust your loved ones will be well cared-for in an institutional setting. I’m not saying this as an indictment of all health care workers. I was a Red Cross Junior Volunteer in a hospital, a nurse’s aide, then an LPN. The majority of people I worked with were compassionate, caring (if overworked) professionals. Unfortunately, though, there are some people who go into health care either because they feel they’ll make good money or because it’s a way to get a job. The bottom line lesson I learned for the short time that I worked in the nursing home was that all people deserve to be respected, treated with dignity as children of God, and that no one should be neglected or abused. I also vowed that I would never allow my parents to be put in a nursing home. I realize that there are many cases where people have no choice, particularly when dealing with a parent who has Alzheimer’s, so again, please don’t interpret this as finger-pointing. It’s not. I just had a personal conviction that I would do everything in my power to keep my parents out of a nursing home. That was when I was fourteen. When I was in my late 30s, I asked God to let me take care of my parents when they got old. Thankfully, He did. Unfortunately, it came sooner than I expected. A couple of years later, my dad became terminally ill. He died three years later, then my mom was diagnosis with a rare, incurable cancer. She died a year and a half after the diagnosis. God made it possible for me to take care of both of them. It’s one of the greatest gifts God’s given me.
Christine, those are sobering life lessons to learn so young. But they’ve stood you (and your parents) in good stead in later years. Thanks for sharing these important parts of your life with us.
My first job outside the home was also babysitting at age 11. I took the Red Cross course and was put on the community babysitting list. I’m always shocked when I hear of parents getting in trouble for leaving their 12 or 13-year-olds home alone when I was being paid to care for other people’s kids at that age.
I learned a lot about people from that job, and how to deal with adults. I learned to charge extra when the parents came home later than they said they would (especially on a school night). I learned to call for a ride when the parents came home drunk. I learned to double the charge when two sets of parents combined their kids for me to babysit together. But the main thing I learned was most people treat good babysitters very nicely, and that doing my job well and being a “favorite” sitter got me steady employment and even tips.
Elissa, you truly were a “professional” babysitter since you went wherever you sent. And that certainly opened you to a lot of lessons, including good negotiating skills.
I worked in the food industry too, Janet, and learned much of what you mentioned except that for me it was McDonald’s. I started at age 15 working on the counter and 5 months later had progressed to Crew Chief. But that wasn’t my 1st paying job.
I worked from age 12 as a mother’s helper in Winnipeg’s Jewish community. The position involved an interview – my first – and hours that started right after school on Friday until 5 pm on Sunday afternoon without any time off. The work entailed being a maid and babysitter and only on rare occasions, the cook. At first, I was paid $5 for the weekend. By the time I was 14 I was receiving $15 for the weekend plus 2.5 dozen eggs for my mom.
From being a mother’s helper, I learned:
– other homes were very beautiful compared to our old one in Winnipeg’s inner city
– Jewish people didn’t go to church on Sunday
– you can’t mix ‘milk’ dishes with ‘meat’ dishes
– lox meant salmon and that I like Jewish food
– some parents were very lenient with their children compared to the way we were being brought up
I guess if I were to sum it up I’d say the cultural experience was invaluable. Being away all weekend at that age isn’t something we’ve encouraged our kids to do though.
Anita, what a fascinating exposure to so many things you wouldn’t have discovered at that age without your job. Sounds like the good makings for a novel to me!
🙂
Oh, goodness. Two jobs come to mind…
During high school I had a summer job working night shift at a leather factory in town, which manufactured coats and vests. Some of you (of a certain age) may remember the popular short ‘hippie’ vests that had very long fringe around the bottom edge, probably 12 inches long. I was assigned to the vest detail, which meant that I slid colored beads onto the fringes to make various zig-zag designs. Sonny and Cher couture!
I learned through that experience that I really didn’t mind working the night shift. In fact, late evening is my favorite time to write.
While my job was temporary and would end when school started, many of the women working at the factory were supporting their families. I was saving for college, but they were putting food on the table. It’s humbling to walk in someone else’s shoes, if only for awhile.
Another summer I worked for a fruit farm which supplied cherries to Swanson. For eight hours a day I sat at the conveyor belt as the river of cherries passed in front of me. Our job was to pick out the rotten cherries and bugs! Only a couple ever got past me! 😉
I had a lot of time to think about the migrant workers who would flood into town when it was time to pick the fruit. A few years later, in a college sociology class, I wrote of the plight of the migrant workers in our area. I visited the migrant camps and saw the deplorable conditions. It was heartbreaking, and I gained an appreciation for workers everywhere who sacrifice so much to care for their families.
Kathy, I’d say your jobs veered from the sublime to the ridiculous, but which was which…Truly, it’s clear you were an observer of people and learned lessons that influenced you deeply.
Hello all! My first real job, not counting babysitting, was working at a five and dime store called Mott’s 5 & 10 in Terrell, TX … the home of Jaime Foxx! Ha! (We were classmates and “class favorites” together, tee hee! Our class favorite picture is really on the wall at Brookshire’s grocery store to this day!) I helped people, set up displays, straightened up merchandise mostly, and above all … caught fish and birds for customers. What did I learn?
1. I learned how to catch a bird without it flying the coop! The only time I ever got in trouble was the first time I had to clean a bird cage outside … at least two finches flew out! I couldn’t get the cage closed … it got stuck. 🙂 But my manager forgave me … he knew my dad … he had better. And I was on the drill team, which gave them someone to holler for at the football games! 🙂
2. I learned how to catch fish … I was good at it, too! 🙂 Algae eaters, Beta …
3. I learned that I liked time alone. When it was break time, I went to a tiny break room all alone, door closed … and on pay day, I counted my money in the brown paper bag that it came in! 🙂
I didn’t work for my boss when I graduated … but he told me to come by the store … I did, and he gave me a suitcase for graduation! 🙂 I bet he used my example for years of how NOT to clean a bird cage!
I love that your pay came in a brown paper bag. I’m not so sure the bird and fish knowledge would be required of you often, as you grew up, but one never knows when one needs to keep a bird of any variety from flying the coop…
I, too, started babysitting at 11, though only in the afternoon. While in high school I got a regular job babysitting once a week. I wrote and illustrated a picture book to read to the little boy and he loved it, so that encouraged me to become a writer.
Janet, you’re our first that’s-how-I-became-a-writer story! Who would think that babysitting would launch you into a lifelong dream?
Actually I had dreamed of being a writer since I first learned to read, but that was the first time I’d shared my writing with anyone (except for school assignments, of course.)
Oh dear.
And what was my story Janet if not a “that’s-how-I became-a-writer story.” A “cawed” cry from the corn field as the Nebraska crow flies? Attention shoppers-
“Eye glass cleaner on aisle #6.”
Writing Nation-
Jeeesh, Is there really anyone(agent, volunteer, ride operator, excuser ) out there that listens to anything other than their own freaking hype?
Many are found wondering, of such.
My first nonbabysitting job was for KFC. I mainly worked the drive thru and learned practical things- how to enunciate to be understood through that speaker, make change (at drive thru we had to do it in our heads)… bigger than that, I learned compassion for all levels of workers and my fast food experience is a good conversation starter.
This post made me think of my first job I LOVED which was as a summer day camp assistant. I made an appointment with the director because I wanted to teach drama classes to young kids. The director said “no”, but hired me to assist the summer camp.
I was 16. Such gumption! Needed that reminder that I still have some left. Thanks, Janet!
Charise, it’s helpful to recall some of the qualities we displayed on those jobs, isn’t it?
My first job was picking fruit for a local blueberry farm. I did this each summer from the time I was ten until age 16 when I got a ‘real’ job working for a small newspaper office. The first thing I learned while employed by the blueberry farm was that picking fruit is hot, tiring, and boring. Sometimes, I amused myself by trying to keep pace with the migrant workers who came from Mexico to pick the different fruits that grew in my region of the U.S. The second thing I learned was that no matter how fast I picked, I was going to fail miserably at keeping up with even the youngest of the skilled migrant workers. The third thing I learned was that if I worked hard all week and didn’t waste time eating the fruit and ending up with a tummy ache like some of my peers did, when Friday rolled around, the cash in my hand felt pretty good. I have never regretted my various fruit picking jobs. Most were messy and difficult but taught me that perseverance can help you accomplish your goals. I guess that means I should stop procrastinating and use a little (a lot) more perseverance when it comes to my writing.
Mary, lots of good lessons came out of those experiences, including respect for the real pros.
What a fun post, Janet! I enjoy the stories of first jobs and the lessons. I don’t think I learned anything very profound at my first job: Garlic sorter at a packing house. The garlic went by on a conveyor belt and I tossed off the old, shriveled or small heads.
Actually, I did learn a few things. I learned that I wanted an education so I didn’t have to sort garlic forever. I learned that blonde and cute (which was my sister, not me) meant you got to skip the first stage of the job and move right to the conveyor belt. And I learned that garlic odor seeps into your clothes, your car, your bedroom, and your pores.
I learned that if you work in a commercial laundry – washing and folding only towels all day long – you get the “softest hands” in the world.
It was just one of the many perks along with the min. wage of $1.25 per hour.
donnie, obviously a job to be cherished.
What an interesting post, Janet. I loved learning from all the sharing. And the local A&W was our hangout after the football games.
My first job: Student assistant for the San Juan Unified School District’s Summer Recreation Athletics Program, 1st through 8th grades.
My job included:
1)Being a spotter for trampoline, vault box, and balance beam.
2) Choreographing routines for balance beam and gymnastics. I also had to pick the music for each child I mentored.
3)Judged the inter-school meets.
4)Instruction of proper safety while I taught vault box,(my least favorite)balance beam, trampoline, and floor exercise gymnastic routines.(My absolute favorite because I got to blend music with movement)
5)Roll call and bookkeeping of attendance, participation, and ability.
What I learned:
Safety always comes first.
To listen to each individual child.
They all had different strengths and weaknesses. I built up their strengths and helped them to discern what activity to focus their talents.
Helped them to learn to work on areas they weren’t as gifted and do their best.
Competition is meant to be fun not stressful. Again give it your all and do your best.
There is no failure if you face your fears and take a risk.
Practice, practice, practice if you want to improve.
How to be an impartial judge, no favoritism.
The grace and beauty of a well-choreographed routine is pure joy.
I had this job all four summers in high school.I worked for my dad, a public school math and history teacher.
Kathy, what a great job, with lots of responsibility. Thanks for telling us about it.