I watched Tony sing to himself as he teetered in his chair, his short legs swinging. His homework laid abandoned in front of him.

"Do you need to run down the hall to help you focus?" I asked Tony, smiling.

"Yes!" Tony replied.

"Okay, make it quick," I answered. Tony popped out of his seat and ran out the door. I could hear his small footsteps racing up and down the hallway.

Tony is eight. He's full of energy, needing to run down the hall and back every thirty minutes. He will sit and talk to you about the newest NASA finding and the intricacies of the most poisonous insects, but he will not sit and do his homework.

Jessie is ten. She'll avoid your eyes at all costs but she's not afraid to throw a fit when she needs help. Each assignment is turned in with food stains and wrinkles, but she remembers words and their definitions almost instantly.

My first few weeks of teaching English were challenging; I had never really been around kids or taught anyone. I felt overwhelmed and unsure of how to talk to them, let alone teach them. At sixteen years old, I was still a kid myself. Equipped with only my love for the subject and a passion for helping others, I did the best I could. But they often refused to do their work, called the readings boring, and threw tantrums, leaving me wondering what I was doing wrong. I often grew annoyed at their inability to sit still and quiet like some of the other kids I tutored. I could not understand why they were the exception, how they were so different from other kids.

But as each session passed, I learned how to get through to them. As I let them talk to me, I found ways into their interests. Tony preferred to read science articles on insects or animals and answer reading comprehension questions on them. Jessie preferred reading challenging passages with a dictionary next to her to learn new words. I watched as they began to love reading and learning. They did not need any scolding, what they needed was for someone to listen and understand them.

Although I was the one teaching them to improve their reading and writing, they taught me to be more patient and understanding with children. I realized that not everyone is able to learn the same way or act in accordance with what you think should be right. It is important to be flexible and understanding of the people around you. We were all once those little kids who wanted to have someone who could understand us.