How might your personal history/sociocultural characteristics intersect with those of your students? What challenges or advantages must you have as a teacher in this classroom? What misconceptions about various cultural groups have you confronted during this experience? Give examples.
One thing that I feel as though has really helped me to be successful in this classroom is my diverse background. I have been through, experienced, or worked closely with people who have gone through a lot of the same things these children do on a daily basis either at home or at school. Whether it be a cultural conflict, a substance abuse issue at home, poverty, violence, or simply a lack of interest in school, I am understanding of the issues that come with these children. I come from a diverse family background and have done a lot of volunteer work in underprivileged areas. Unlike the students, I've been privileged enough to grow up in a privileged home most of my life. I've always been provided with the things I've needed and wanted, but understand roots of my family, and the hard work they put in to be where we are today. Thing's were not always great, but with hard work, my family has succeeded. I'm sure that some of the things that they must cope and deal with, I will be able to help them through. In terms of learning styles, I also struggled with the public school system's learning styles. I was never particularly interested in bookwork, and the number of things that school puts such a huge emphasis on. I want to make learning fun, because I understand how disinterested students can become with the monotony of school assignments!
Some of the challenges that I must face as a teacher are the things I don't understand and the things I cannot relate to. We spoke in class about when we are silent in the classroom setting. For me, I tend to get silent when I don't know something, or can't relate. As a teacher, there are going to be students who come to my classroom and cannot focus because of issues I have never dealt with; hunger or abuse for example, or students who struggle with English as a second language. I must use my advantages as a teacher, as part of this 'culture of power' in order to help the students appropriately. Whether this be asking for the help of a professional, or learning another language to accommodate struggling students, the advantages of being a teacher should be to help the students.
A misconception about cultural groups that I've actually encountered thus far would be the way the students originally perceived and reacted to my presence in the classroom. Aside from the teacher, and myself, there are only two white students in my 25 child classroom. I was received less than enthusiastically in my first week, actually mocked by a student for my professional appearance. I've slowly gained 'class cred' as the students get to know me tho, and have enjoyed the clear night and day treatment and respect I've received since my first meeting :)
I intend to write more on this question as I gain more experience in my classroom. I haven't had a lot of time to observe my teacher's attitude towards different cultural groups, so I cannot make any comments on any observed cultural misconceptions thus far. The only thing I have noticed that stunned and shaped my conception of a school is the ratio of nationalities in this school. I was mislead in thinking that the majority of students at this school would be white, when in fact, the white students are actually the minority here. I find myself wondering if they become profiled, or targets of cultural/racial misconceptions in this area of providence.
Sunday, March 13, 2011
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.
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.
Friday, February 18, 2011
First Impressions, Response 1
The neighborhood that my school is tucked into is definitely what many developers and renovators refer to as ' up and coming'. There's an odd mix of poverty and wealth that can be seen simply in the conditions of the homes on the street leading up to the school. The area just outside of the school is less fortunate as well, and the number of out of business stores and damaged older vehicles speak to this. The building is definitely older, entirely brick from the outside, and the original tile and piping running throughout the building. They did a nice job making it school-friendly by painting the walls a bright purple and decorating the walls inside the rooms and out. The high ceilings are actually kind of open and inviting. The rooms seem to be a great size, larger open classrooms allow for more space, but also more children per classroom which I found today to be quite challenging. I really liked the feel of the school, it was open, and inviting, and the bright colors, cleanliness and friendly staff made it seem like a great place to learn. I started taking notes as soon as I walked into the school. My classroom was involved in an out of class activity, so I immediately started to take notes of hallway activity and student- teacher interactions in the areas around me while I waited for them to return. I was at first very surprised at the freedom that the children had to come and go from the classrooms. The room across the hall from where I was waiting for instance had a number of sets of two students in almost a fluid rotation leaving to go to the bathroom or bubbler. They were roaming the hallways, and I actually witnessed a verbal altercation between students of different classes who were not where they were supposed to be. I don't remember elementary school very clearly, so I can't base any judgements off of my own experience, but perhaps the roaming is an inevitable part of a school full of elementary aged students. I couldn't help but notice what a distraction it may have been to consistently have those children filtering in and out of the classroom. As I learned today, it's hard enough to keep their attention without all of the distractions. While I was watching the interactions between students and teachers, there was a clear frustration in the tone of voice and handling of the children that I did not agree with. I've worked with children all my life, and I understand how frustrating the process of disciplining and educating such an age can be, but children only respond to so much yelling and anger. It's like anything; if you say or do something excessively, it loses it's value. The students were well behaved for the most part, of course there is always one student in the bunch that can have the behavior to throw off the whole group, but as individuals, they were all polite and charming.
Once I was isolated with a small group of students, it became clear to me just how challenging educating such a group can be, especially if they have no interest in the topic at hand. We were working on math, basic fractions and the terminology that went with it. I'm a firm believer that for kids to learn or take anything away from a lesson, they need to be interested and the lesson needs to be made understandable and fun. We worked on fractions in terms of pieces of pizza or boxes of cookies, and turned the activities into almost a game, taking turns giving pieces of the answer. I felt a sense of accomplishment when one of the boys at the table who the teacher identified to me as someone who 'never paid attention anyway' started to participate after my unceasing probing for answers.
In the classroom, it's pretty evident the value placed on effort. The teacher very plainly favors the students who put their best foot forward in the direction of progress, and frustration and lack of hope for those who are more challenging to engage. Just her comment of 'im going to send (we'll call him ron) out with you, but he never pays attention anyway, right ron?' I don't like those types of comments because they cause the child to immediately think lower of themselves. Why try if your teacher already thinks you're a bum? I can see now where issues like that of Central Falls come from. I was amazed working with the students in reading and phonetics how behind students were, and how difficult it would be for students of that level to go onto higher level education without a full knowledge of the basics. The class was relatively large, and hard for my teacher to control. Interesting to me, was the overflow of a group of fifth grade students that were lumped into the third grade classroom with work to do because the school was unable to get a substitute. The school in general seems understaffed, and it made me wonder about how much more efficiently a large class like the one I work in would run with the addition of another teacher. With math in particular, it's hard enough to get the students to pay attention, and the test scores I saw when grading times table quizzes showed that. I was shocked to see the huge discrepancy in scores. The students did either exceptionally with no more than three answers of twenty wrong, or exceptionally awful with no more than three answers of twenty correct.
After considering these in class scores, I checked out the data from infoworks about my school. It was wild to me that the number of students who were proficient in all areas of the testing were outnumbered by those who were not or very below proficiency. Interesting to me as well was the inability of the school to measure any other racial group of children outside of hispanic, and asian because their numbers were to small in relation to the rest of the school community. I noticed today that besides myself the the majority of the teachers, there were only three other white students in my immediate area two of whom were in my class. Looking further at the information provided on the no child left behind report card from 2008 (the most recent entry) the school was rated as a school of "insufficient progress". The statistics are pretty scattered, and the progress from year to year goes up and down with no real convincing evidence of improvement.
Overall, my experience was a positive one. The students were very receptive, and I enjoyed the students that were eager to learn and determined to help the students who were clearly uninterested. I look forward to my next visit. I've planned on several visits during the week and want to take as much away from this experience and the solutions to the difficult learning conditions that the school has to offer to teach me!
Once I was isolated with a small group of students, it became clear to me just how challenging educating such a group can be, especially if they have no interest in the topic at hand. We were working on math, basic fractions and the terminology that went with it. I'm a firm believer that for kids to learn or take anything away from a lesson, they need to be interested and the lesson needs to be made understandable and fun. We worked on fractions in terms of pieces of pizza or boxes of cookies, and turned the activities into almost a game, taking turns giving pieces of the answer. I felt a sense of accomplishment when one of the boys at the table who the teacher identified to me as someone who 'never paid attention anyway' started to participate after my unceasing probing for answers.
In the classroom, it's pretty evident the value placed on effort. The teacher very plainly favors the students who put their best foot forward in the direction of progress, and frustration and lack of hope for those who are more challenging to engage. Just her comment of 'im going to send (we'll call him ron) out with you, but he never pays attention anyway, right ron?' I don't like those types of comments because they cause the child to immediately think lower of themselves. Why try if your teacher already thinks you're a bum? I can see now where issues like that of Central Falls come from. I was amazed working with the students in reading and phonetics how behind students were, and how difficult it would be for students of that level to go onto higher level education without a full knowledge of the basics. The class was relatively large, and hard for my teacher to control. Interesting to me, was the overflow of a group of fifth grade students that were lumped into the third grade classroom with work to do because the school was unable to get a substitute. The school in general seems understaffed, and it made me wonder about how much more efficiently a large class like the one I work in would run with the addition of another teacher. With math in particular, it's hard enough to get the students to pay attention, and the test scores I saw when grading times table quizzes showed that. I was shocked to see the huge discrepancy in scores. The students did either exceptionally with no more than three answers of twenty wrong, or exceptionally awful with no more than three answers of twenty correct.
After considering these in class scores, I checked out the data from infoworks about my school. It was wild to me that the number of students who were proficient in all areas of the testing were outnumbered by those who were not or very below proficiency. Interesting to me as well was the inability of the school to measure any other racial group of children outside of hispanic, and asian because their numbers were to small in relation to the rest of the school community. I noticed today that besides myself the the majority of the teachers, there were only three other white students in my immediate area two of whom were in my class. Looking further at the information provided on the no child left behind report card from 2008 (the most recent entry) the school was rated as a school of "insufficient progress". The statistics are pretty scattered, and the progress from year to year goes up and down with no real convincing evidence of improvement.
Overall, my experience was a positive one. The students were very receptive, and I enjoyed the students that were eager to learn and determined to help the students who were clearly uninterested. I look forward to my next visit. I've planned on several visits during the week and want to take as much away from this experience and the solutions to the difficult learning conditions that the school has to offer to teach me!
Thursday, February 10, 2011
Just a little bit about me, me, me.
Hey, I'm Bianca.
I am an art student, preparing to apply for the BFA art education program.
In my spare time, I'm an avid runner, run my own business, work at starbucks, and help my mom manage her business as well. Im not the most organized person, but I'm improving. I love fashion, and am from New York, where I plan on returning to hopefully teach at an inner city high school where I hope to make a difference and give back to my community. I love music, dancing, and relaxing with a good book. I read a lot. Im looking forward to FNED and teaching when I graduate :)
I am an art student, preparing to apply for the BFA art education program.
In my spare time, I'm an avid runner, run my own business, work at starbucks, and help my mom manage her business as well. Im not the most organized person, but I'm improving. I love fashion, and am from New York, where I plan on returning to hopefully teach at an inner city high school where I hope to make a difference and give back to my community. I love music, dancing, and relaxing with a good book. I read a lot. Im looking forward to FNED and teaching when I graduate :)
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