What do you want to be when you grow up? We all have dreams, hopes, and aspirations. Some want to become doctors, engineers, soccer players, or artists. Mikal Bridges, a famous basketball player for the Brooklyn Nets, has had the opportunity to fulfill his second dream job: a teacher. He got the option to test out his teaching skills at a local elementary school. Mikal Bridges is a successful basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA). He won two national championships while playing college basketball for the Villanova Wildcats at Villanova University.
As a child, Mikal Bridges was inspired by his second-grade teacher, Ms. Porter. Because of her, he wanted to become a second-grade teacher. Bridges has always stated that he wanted to become a teacher when he retired from basketball. He contacted an elementary school in Brooklyn to test teaching out. Following Ms. Porter’s footsteps, Mikal Bridges spent the day at PS 134 Elementary School in Brooklyn.
To kick off the beginning of the school day, he organized a game of basketball knockout for students to enjoy and ask questions about him. The students asked Mikal Bridges: “How do you incorporate your personal life with your professional life?” Bridges loved that question and said he found a good balance between his friends/family and work. Another question was, “If your family comes to your games, do they get free tickets?” Mikal Bridges answered this student with a yes. A student inquired why he did not become a teacher if he wanted to. Bridges stated that his love for basketball drove him into this career. However, he wants to become a teacher after he retires from basketball.
Next, Mikal Bridges went to a first-grade music class, where the teacher and students taught him how to play the xylophone. During recess, he had heartwarming interactions with children, talking passionately about basketball, receiving hugs, and answering first graders’ riddles.
Mikal Bridges then taught his favorite subject, math. Bridges always had a strong connection with math as a student. He explained how he was always one of the most intelligent kids in mathematics.
At the end of his teaching day, Mikal Bridges completed his dream of meeting and teaching the outstanding students at PS 134. He shared how he felt teachers need more appreciation because they shape us into who we are. Mikal Bridges hopes to become a teacher or principal and share his life lessons with future generations.
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