This service learning experience was very rewarding and educational. I learned a lot about the politics of the classroom. The teacher that I volunteered under was one of the best elementary teachers that I have ever met. All of my elementary school teachers (that I can remember) were really mean and ran their classrooms like a war zone. This teacher works well with the students while being both strict and nice. She can raise her voice at the kids and tell them to be silent without yelling at them. The students really love her and they are always working to please her- whether it be to get the best grade in the class or to sit down in their chair, hands folded.
The most important trait that this teacher posesses is her patience. This experience has helped shape my teaching identity because I lucked out with having such a great teacher to work with. I need to work on my patience with children and I think that she does a great job in walking the line between educator and friend.
Tuesday, December 7, 2010
prompt 4
My sociocultural/history characteristics sort of intersect with my students. I am from another country and when I first came to the United States, I lived in Texas. Since I volunteer with an ESL class, most of the students are also from another country. It can be incredibly difficult to adjust to your new surroundings, esp. when you do not fully understand the native language of your new country. I think that this gave me a -very- slight advantage going into this experience.
In one of the reading logs that we had to keep for our assigned group students, another volunteer had written that one of the girls was really rude and disinterested in learning. I have worked with that same mentioned girl for the entire semester and she has been nothing but pleasant and excited to learn. She is from an African country and speaks both her native language and French. She just came to the United States in September, so it is very difficult for her to speak English. WHen she gets a question wrong, she shuts down and becomes silent- basically refusing to speak. She initially did this a few times with me, and I just kept giving her questions or activities that she could answer correctly- this seemed to really build up her confidence. Since she wasn't at the level of the other two students, I had to alternate the reading level games to include everyone.
I'm not saying anything bad about the volunteer who thought that that one girl was rude. I can see how someone might think that she was being difficult. I do think that being in that same situation has taught me patience with non-native speakers of English, so I didn't mind working with her at all. I actually loved her- she would draw pictures of me with her and she always wanted to teach me how to dance.
In one of the reading logs that we had to keep for our assigned group students, another volunteer had written that one of the girls was really rude and disinterested in learning. I have worked with that same mentioned girl for the entire semester and she has been nothing but pleasant and excited to learn. She is from an African country and speaks both her native language and French. She just came to the United States in September, so it is very difficult for her to speak English. WHen she gets a question wrong, she shuts down and becomes silent- basically refusing to speak. She initially did this a few times with me, and I just kept giving her questions or activities that she could answer correctly- this seemed to really build up her confidence. Since she wasn't at the level of the other two students, I had to alternate the reading level games to include everyone.
I'm not saying anything bad about the volunteer who thought that that one girl was rude. I can see how someone might think that she was being difficult. I do think that being in that same situation has taught me patience with non-native speakers of English, so I didn't mind working with her at all. I actually loved her- she would draw pictures of me with her and she always wanted to teach me how to dance.
Blog 5
Working with Elementary students was a lot more difficult than I originally thought that it would be. I am the youngest of my two siblings and all of my cousins and extended family are older than I am, so I really do not have any experience working with children. My educational concentration was in Secondary Ed. The students, although they were, at times, adorable.... were very hard to control. I'm a very passive person, so, it was hard for me to discipline the three kids in my volunteer group. They eventually would get really into the activities and become really excited when it would be time for me to take them for group, but, overall...I still feel confident in the fact that I will never teach Elementary Ed students.
I am actually going to delay getting my teaching cert. as I just learned that I am eligible to graduate next year. I'm going to go to grad school asap next May and then, after getting my Master's, I'll get my certification.
When I do eventually become a teacher, I would like to be one of those teachers that is very stern, yet fair to their students. I want to have a very clear-cut, structured learning environment, but, at the same time- I would like my students to be really comfortable to ask and say anything. The classroom should be the perfect balance between fun and formal. I'm really looking forward into future possibilities. I would love to teach at a community college or at any other outlet of adult education. Either way, I can't wait until I can get a real teaching job and pay my bills doing something that I love instead of working black Friday's in retail.
I am actually going to delay getting my teaching cert. as I just learned that I am eligible to graduate next year. I'm going to go to grad school asap next May and then, after getting my Master's, I'll get my certification.
When I do eventually become a teacher, I would like to be one of those teachers that is very stern, yet fair to their students. I want to have a very clear-cut, structured learning environment, but, at the same time- I would like my students to be really comfortable to ask and say anything. The classroom should be the perfect balance between fun and formal. I'm really looking forward into future possibilities. I would love to teach at a community college or at any other outlet of adult education. Either way, I can't wait until I can get a real teaching job and pay my bills doing something that I love instead of working black Friday's in retail.
Blog 3
My routine at the school goes like this: I come in at 9am when the school opens and I observe the classroom for about an hour. The teacher hand selects an activity for my assigned group to do and puts it in a large, plastic bag. Around 10, I go off with three students that she has selected for me and we leave the classroom and set up shop in the hallway. The teacher selected activities are usually word games, such as "word bingo" or books to read to the children.
My three children are really adorable. I have one boy and two girls. One of the girls is a new student- a recent import from Africa. She is having an incredibly hard time with the English language. The one male student is a sweetheart who is very funny and talkative. I've been working with him for about four weeks now and he is comfortable enough with me to actually listen when I give him directions. He becomes really frusterated when he does not get an aswer right. The other girl's English language skills are comming along incredibly well. She has a strong accent, but I strongly feel as though it will decrease as she gets older, until, eventually, she has no accent at all.
The ESL teacher told me today that there is a severe lack of parental interest in school. She believes this is why some students are having a hard time learning English- the simple fact that the parents themselves do not want to attend parent-teacher meetings or put any effort forth into their child's education. Apparently, the teacher has a huge problem with the parents of her students. She told me that some students attendance grades are practically non existent- parents won't even take the time out of the morning to drive their children to school or to wake them up early and put them on the bus. She also told me that when she does finally get into contact with the parents, they usually swear at her or use other vulgar language, hanging up mid converstaion.
The InfoWorks website states that 37% of parents returned the salt survey. The National Rhode Island average of parents who return the surveys is 53%. The rate of suspension is 4.2 as compared to the national average of 3.9. There seems to be a huge disconnect between the parents and their childrens education. Also evidenced by the InfoWorks website, students reported that 12% of parents help with homework, with the national average being 67%.
I very much see this schools problem with the parents in the ESL classroom that I volunteer for. Each week, kids are given 4 days to get $1.oo from their parents for an icecream or a popsicle. Out of 25-30 students, only 3-5 actually are ever given money by their parents. The teacher stated that this is not due to poverty... she believes that the parents simply do not care about their children.
The boy in my group was telling me how he has five brothers and sisters and how he sometimes does not see his dad for days. Due to his young age, I'm sure that he doesn't know what he is actually talking about- but, from an adult perspective, it sounds like his dad comes and goes when he pleases, leaving his wife and children to fend for himself.
It's a difficult situation because there is really little that the school can do to make the parents of the students participate in their education. I could see if there was a problem with the students, however, how does one fix this problem? What are some ideas to get the parents involved in the education? The only one that I can think of involved manditory parental meetings once every quarter to discuss their childs progress in school. Keep calling and harrassing them until they show up. Or, maybe, send home repeated notices that they have to sign alerting them to their childs progress.
This is a question that I will try to find answers to. It breaks my heart that a parent could be so non-involved in their childs life.
My three children are really adorable. I have one boy and two girls. One of the girls is a new student- a recent import from Africa. She is having an incredibly hard time with the English language. The one male student is a sweetheart who is very funny and talkative. I've been working with him for about four weeks now and he is comfortable enough with me to actually listen when I give him directions. He becomes really frusterated when he does not get an aswer right. The other girl's English language skills are comming along incredibly well. She has a strong accent, but I strongly feel as though it will decrease as she gets older, until, eventually, she has no accent at all.
The ESL teacher told me today that there is a severe lack of parental interest in school. She believes this is why some students are having a hard time learning English- the simple fact that the parents themselves do not want to attend parent-teacher meetings or put any effort forth into their child's education. Apparently, the teacher has a huge problem with the parents of her students. She told me that some students attendance grades are practically non existent- parents won't even take the time out of the morning to drive their children to school or to wake them up early and put them on the bus. She also told me that when she does finally get into contact with the parents, they usually swear at her or use other vulgar language, hanging up mid converstaion.
The InfoWorks website states that 37% of parents returned the salt survey. The National Rhode Island average of parents who return the surveys is 53%. The rate of suspension is 4.2 as compared to the national average of 3.9. There seems to be a huge disconnect between the parents and their childrens education. Also evidenced by the InfoWorks website, students reported that 12% of parents help with homework, with the national average being 67%.
I very much see this schools problem with the parents in the ESL classroom that I volunteer for. Each week, kids are given 4 days to get $1.oo from their parents for an icecream or a popsicle. Out of 25-30 students, only 3-5 actually are ever given money by their parents. The teacher stated that this is not due to poverty... she believes that the parents simply do not care about their children.
The boy in my group was telling me how he has five brothers and sisters and how he sometimes does not see his dad for days. Due to his young age, I'm sure that he doesn't know what he is actually talking about- but, from an adult perspective, it sounds like his dad comes and goes when he pleases, leaving his wife and children to fend for himself.
It's a difficult situation because there is really little that the school can do to make the parents of the students participate in their education. I could see if there was a problem with the students, however, how does one fix this problem? What are some ideas to get the parents involved in the education? The only one that I can think of involved manditory parental meetings once every quarter to discuss their childs progress in school. Keep calling and harrassing them until they show up. Or, maybe, send home repeated notices that they have to sign alerting them to their childs progress.
This is a question that I will try to find answers to. It breaks my heart that a parent could be so non-involved in their childs life.
Blog Two Demographics of the School
I have been attending my volunteering progam for two months now. I volunteer at an Elementary School in South Providence.The neighborhood looks a lot like the neighborhoods in some of the third world countries that I have visited. Walking the streets there reminds me of Guatemala, Costa Rica, Mexico and Nicaragua. They remind me of these countries because there are churches and stores with Spanish only lettering and the "haciendas" sell fruit and soda on the outside curb (when its warm).
The school itself is very tiny. My volunteer hours start at 9am when the school opens and there is always children running around in and out of the building. There are no crossing gaurds, which struck me as very odd. Children are allowed to come and go as they please and they are often crossing the roads by themselves, with their parents watching them from the safety of their car. This struck me as odd as most schools that I have ever attended myself or volunteered for have been very strict about having crossing gaurds.
The school is pretty plain. There are very little drawings, if any, on the walls. The kindergarden classroom is actually very colorful, with pictures the kids have drawn and various book characters adorning the walls. It is an ESL classroom and all of the students are from a Spanish speaking country. The teacher is very nice and strict with the students, implimenting dicipline InfoWorks.Com told me that my school receives the least amount of funding out of all of the school's in Providence, but I didn't notice because there were 5 computers in the classroom and plenty of other educational materials.
The teacher always had control of the classroom. Since most of the students, having it be September and only being in school for a month, couldn't really speak English, it was interesting to see the structure of the classroom. The teacher made a point of the English language through repetition. The students seemed to be learning the English language through repetition of vowel sounds and the construction of words. They seemed to have a very neat, orderly routine. The students enter the classroom, take off their coats, sit, hands folded, knees crossed, down on the front mat of the classroom. They listen to music and (try to) sing along with the words.
The infoworks website states that the school population is dived into: 62% Hispanic, 17% Asian, 12% African-American and 8% White. 91% of the students are eligible for free lunch. 36% of students have English are their second lanuage. These statistics basically back up what I am saying as far as diversity goes- as my ESL classroom is entirely made up of Hispanics. My first grade classroom is mostly Hispanic, having a few children from Asian countries.
After viewing the infoworks website, I can see that the schools falls short in state requirements for testing, with some of the lowest test scores in all of Providence. The children in my classroom, due to their language disadvantage, are not exempt from these statistics. The teacher was telling me how most of the children in the classroom are not expected to graduate from highschool.
The kids themselves are really nice and playful, if not incredibly loud. I am looking forward to working with them more.
The school itself is very tiny. My volunteer hours start at 9am when the school opens and there is always children running around in and out of the building. There are no crossing gaurds, which struck me as very odd. Children are allowed to come and go as they please and they are often crossing the roads by themselves, with their parents watching them from the safety of their car. This struck me as odd as most schools that I have ever attended myself or volunteered for have been very strict about having crossing gaurds.
The school is pretty plain. There are very little drawings, if any, on the walls. The kindergarden classroom is actually very colorful, with pictures the kids have drawn and various book characters adorning the walls. It is an ESL classroom and all of the students are from a Spanish speaking country. The teacher is very nice and strict with the students, implimenting dicipline InfoWorks.Com told me that my school receives the least amount of funding out of all of the school's in Providence, but I didn't notice because there were 5 computers in the classroom and plenty of other educational materials.
The teacher always had control of the classroom. Since most of the students, having it be September and only being in school for a month, couldn't really speak English, it was interesting to see the structure of the classroom. The teacher made a point of the English language through repetition. The students seemed to be learning the English language through repetition of vowel sounds and the construction of words. They seemed to have a very neat, orderly routine. The students enter the classroom, take off their coats, sit, hands folded, knees crossed, down on the front mat of the classroom. They listen to music and (try to) sing along with the words.
The infoworks website states that the school population is dived into: 62% Hispanic, 17% Asian, 12% African-American and 8% White. 91% of the students are eligible for free lunch. 36% of students have English are their second lanuage. These statistics basically back up what I am saying as far as diversity goes- as my ESL classroom is entirely made up of Hispanics. My first grade classroom is mostly Hispanic, having a few children from Asian countries.
After viewing the infoworks website, I can see that the schools falls short in state requirements for testing, with some of the lowest test scores in all of Providence. The children in my classroom, due to their language disadvantage, are not exempt from these statistics. The teacher was telling me how most of the children in the classroom are not expected to graduate from highschool.
The kids themselves are really nice and playful, if not incredibly loud. I am looking forward to working with them more.
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