Some more tutering experinces

My school is one of the schools under consideration for closure with all of the recent activity with providence education.  You can tell all of the teachers are really on edge.  The decision was supposed to be made two weeks ago, and week after week, my teacher receives a new email telling her the announcement will be made the following week.   My teacher in particular, is concerned for her job because she struggles at home with a disabled child.  She told me that should her school get shut down, 'she didn't know who would hire her... Ms. Misery (the principal) is so good to her'.  As nice as my teacher is, she is very clearly preoccupied most of the day with outside issues and has been late a couple of times.  It makes me really think about the bill's implications on teachers, but deep down, I know Providence made a good decision.
The kids are really starting to open up to me the more I go to the school.  Because of my work schedule, I've had to schedule multiple, shorter visits.  For this reason, I end up in my classroom around three times a week.  The students wrote book reports over the break, and to my surprise, a lot of the students took my advice to heart.  It made me feel good to know that i helped them to organize their thoughts and produce a final, well done product.  In my working with the "problem" children, it has become clear to me that they're not all as problematic as they have been made out to be.  They need a little more direction and encouragement, but the students that I regularly work with have shown me that they, while needing a little more help than the average student due to their bilingual backgrounds, are quite bright and eager individuals.  Because of the schedualing of lunch and secondary classes like art and gym, I have found myself waiting outside of the classroom on several occasions for my class to return.  One of the things I have grown to severely dislike about my school is the way that the teachers and aids speak with and handle the children.  There is one way to speak to your own child, and another way to speak with someone else's child. No school faculty member should put their hands on a child, and scream in their faces.  Some of the things I've seen, particularly in the hallways, unfolding between faculty and student blow my mind.  If a teacher EVER put their hands on a student in Barrington, where my little brother goes to school, that teacher would be fired before the end of the school day.  This reminded me of these 'codes of power' and the 'silenced dialog' that both Delpit and Johnson talk about in their own ways.  Privileged students know that their teachers cannot treat them in certain ways, because their parents are part of this 'privileged' class of citizens.  They teach their kids that they are valued and above the treatment that those below them are subjected to.  Underprivileged children are raised by parents who fall into the same category of oppression.  They have no choice but to listen to those in power, and grow up witnessing the power that this privileged class of people has over their own.  Where a Barrington 3rd grader runs home to tell their parents the outrageous event that they endured in school, expecting an angry phone call and punishment on the offending teacher, an underprivileged student informs his parent expecting nothing more than consolation because both parent and child feel as though they are powerless.
It was heartbreaking to have to witness a faculty member in particular today reprimand and discipline two students in particular at my last visit, and I'm pretty sure the shocked and disproving look on my face said it all... The teacher/ aid/ whatever she was didn't realize I was there, and ceased her behavior upon looking up and seeing me.  Worse than that, she smiled and started acting as if nothing ever happened...
My students behavior in the classroom is surprisingly good for an over crowded third grade class.  They listen attentively, and many actively participate in classroom activity.  They all seem to enjoy reading, and I've managed to learn a lot more about the 'problem' children, and the things that interest them.  I plan on bringing in some new books for the kids because many complain about having no new books to read because they've already read all the classroom books!  Overall, I've really been enjoying this classroom atmosphere, and the challenges that come with teaching in this kind of urban setting.  I look forward to working more with the kids.