Recently, I went to see the musical Evita at the Bob Carr Auditorium with my mother and sister. It was honestly such an amazing experience. The play was absolutely amazing and the cast and crew worked so hard to give such an amazing show. But after watching it, I started to ponder something. It is so important that our students have opportunities such as this one. In all honesty, some students might not get the opportunity to participate and see plays and other cultural events. Their parents might not be able to afford it or might not have the time to take them to see it because of work or prior commitments. Within my classroom, I want to integrate all sorts of cultural experiences so that students are able to use those experiences for their personal or academic needs.
Perhaps Evita has too sensitive topics for Elementary, but there are plenty of plays and musicals for students of all ages. When students watch these assignments, it is also important for them to given pre-, during, and post assignments so that they are able to see the relevance of the performance? How can this be used in their lives and what have they gained for watching this? One can start off by giving students information about the play and what to look for prior to the performance. This kind of information might help them understand what they are viewing a lot more clearly then if you had not. It is also important for students to have a good closure activity in order to be able to connect what they have see to their lives and retain the information learned. Making learning meaningful!
Who knows? A mere 2 hour play might inspire a student to become the next Broadway star.
Sunday, March 30, 2014
Friday, March 21, 2014
A Simple Speech
In one of the classes I volunteer in, I observed 5th graders preparing for a speech contest. It was quite a memorable experience seeing as many of the students have never had give a speech before. They were all listening quite intently as the teacher proceeded to explain what was required of them for the assignment. Students were given the topic of "healthy living" and were told that they would need to write a speech on that subject. They could either write something general about the topic of healthy living or they could choose a specific idea regarding healthy living. Many of the students looked extremely nervous and I as a mere observer in the classroom, happen to notice this.
What really struck me would have to the research the students are all putting into their speeches. During their computer lab time, I had a chance to work with them one on one in finding information to use for their speeches, and they did not hesitate to ask for my assistance. As I worked with the students, I got on opportunity to see their creativity flow. They were looking up topics that interested them, ranging from food to pets to athletics. Some of the students had even started to write introductions to their speeches.
The reason I decided to write about this particular observation, would have to be the fact that I was very happy to see these students being given a voice. While the topic is given to them, the act of introducing them to speech at this age, is something that I haven't seen before. In middle school, you are expected to give speeches, yet I don't remember being taught the art of speech-giving and making till college. Students need to feel comfortable with standing in front of their peers and expressing their thoughts. We need to create more opportunities so that students feel that it is acceptable for them to express themselves. In many ways, students in urban schools aren't give that opportunity. It was refreshing to see things changing at to see this educator working hard with her class to prepare them for the reality of their future academic experiences.
What really struck me would have to the research the students are all putting into their speeches. During their computer lab time, I had a chance to work with them one on one in finding information to use for their speeches, and they did not hesitate to ask for my assistance. As I worked with the students, I got on opportunity to see their creativity flow. They were looking up topics that interested them, ranging from food to pets to athletics. Some of the students had even started to write introductions to their speeches.
The reason I decided to write about this particular observation, would have to be the fact that I was very happy to see these students being given a voice. While the topic is given to them, the act of introducing them to speech at this age, is something that I haven't seen before. In middle school, you are expected to give speeches, yet I don't remember being taught the art of speech-giving and making till college. Students need to feel comfortable with standing in front of their peers and expressing their thoughts. We need to create more opportunities so that students feel that it is acceptable for them to express themselves. In many ways, students in urban schools aren't give that opportunity. It was refreshing to see things changing at to see this educator working hard with her class to prepare them for the reality of their future academic experiences.
Sunday, March 16, 2014
Reflecting
Currently, I am working with 6-8th grade students. Ideally, this is not the age level I desire teaching at. I am working on my degree in elementary education and would like to work in those crucial primary years. But this year has taught me a lot of things. Things I wouldn't have learned had I not taken this position and persisted, despite how frustrating it can be. The thing is, this position does not even really require me to teach. I'm more of a proctor-facilitator than anything. Lately, I've been referring to myself as a "half-teacher". My position requires me to do everything a teacher would do, without having any sort of control of the content, or grades. I assist students in whatever manner they need me. It helps that I understand what they are working on since it is a language course that is in my native language.
I've never been one to complain about my job, so don't take this entry as such! I've just recently come to the conclusions that life throws you in situations that perhaps are not ideal to you, at the moment. Inevitably, it turns out that life had a plan for me all along. Months later, I can honestly say I've gotten a lot of tougher. I've gotten more comfortable with admitting my errors and faults, and finding ways to fix it in order to provide the students I work with, a better learning environment. I've also learned to work with students from very different backgrounds then mine and in a manner, I've found that this will improve my people skills in the longer run.
A person should never stop learning, no matter how old they get and this position has definitely been a learning experience for me. This week, I guess I just wanted to get that off my chest. I'm very grateful despite the stress level I have been under lately. I don't think I would have it any other way.
I've never been one to complain about my job, so don't take this entry as such! I've just recently come to the conclusions that life throws you in situations that perhaps are not ideal to you, at the moment. Inevitably, it turns out that life had a plan for me all along. Months later, I can honestly say I've gotten a lot of tougher. I've gotten more comfortable with admitting my errors and faults, and finding ways to fix it in order to provide the students I work with, a better learning environment. I've also learned to work with students from very different backgrounds then mine and in a manner, I've found that this will improve my people skills in the longer run.
A person should never stop learning, no matter how old they get and this position has definitely been a learning experience for me. This week, I guess I just wanted to get that off my chest. I'm very grateful despite the stress level I have been under lately. I don't think I would have it any other way.
Wednesday, March 5, 2014
Collaboration
We are about halfway through this week, and I, once again, have understood the importance of collaboration among professionals in your field. While I am still a pre-service teacher, I find that collaborating with your classmates is extremely helpful and is a skill we should be instilling in our students as well. I have just finished taking the professional education exam (and passing!). So it is now time to start studying for the final test, which is the K-6 subject area exam. I have managed to find that a co-worker is also studying for this same exam and we have decide to study together this weekend. I am really looking forward to it, since I study better when I have someone I can either teach the material to, or quiz each other back and forth. At times, I will admit, I have been known to prefer solitude when it comes to academia, but the more I get into the field, the more I understand that working with others is essential. We cannot help our students if we are not helping ourselves.
We tell our students to ask for help ALL the time and yet why are we so hesitant to do so ourselves? Shouldn't we be modeling those same strategies so that our students are able to see that it is an useful skill that will follow them all throughout their lives? Collaboration is important and can give us that support that we need to attain the levels of success we desire from our students.
We tell our students to ask for help ALL the time and yet why are we so hesitant to do so ourselves? Shouldn't we be modeling those same strategies so that our students are able to see that it is an useful skill that will follow them all throughout their lives? Collaboration is important and can give us that support that we need to attain the levels of success we desire from our students.
Tuesday, February 25, 2014
Kids have opinions too.
Today, I did my final field observations for this course and I can say that once again, I'm glad I choose this particular lesson to observe. Before getting to the point in this particular post, I'd like to give you some statistics. Humor me, if you will.
According to the US Census Bureau, 46.5 million people were in poverty in 2012 alone.
Within that number alone, about 21% were people under the age of 18.
One last point,
"For the second consecutive year, neither the official poverty rate nor the number of people in poverty at the national level were statistically different from the previous year’s estimates."
Now in the class today, I happen to observe the teacher holding a discussion with the students on the topic of homelessness. This discussion was interesting in that the teacher barely let her opinions be known, she let the conversation guided by what her students were saying. In between this discussion, students were reading a fictional passage about homelessness and poverty. All of the students in this class want to voice their opinions. There wasn't one hand in that class that didn't go up, or had not had a personal connection with the issue of poverty in our country. Their voices did not waver when they spoke, and they found ways to agree and disagree with each other.
I come from a cultural background where at times, children's opinions are disregarded. As a young child, you're told to keep your mouth shut and let the adults talk. In many instances, I grew up thinking that my opinions did not matter until I was finally considered an adult. But I think this is wrong and today's observations proved it so. We had a group of 10 year old students who understood the issue of poverty and were able to make connections to their lives, their text, and pre-reading questions that their teacher had asked them. I think it's important to note that not one of these children took differences of opinions personally. They were all able to go outside and play afterwards and not let any differences of opinions prevent them interacting politely with someone else. I know many adults that aren't capable of that.
According to the US Census Bureau, 46.5 million people were in poverty in 2012 alone.
Within that number alone, about 21% were people under the age of 18.
One last point,
"For the second consecutive year, neither the official poverty rate nor the number of people in poverty at the national level were statistically different from the previous year’s estimates."
Now in the class today, I happen to observe the teacher holding a discussion with the students on the topic of homelessness. This discussion was interesting in that the teacher barely let her opinions be known, she let the conversation guided by what her students were saying. In between this discussion, students were reading a fictional passage about homelessness and poverty. All of the students in this class want to voice their opinions. There wasn't one hand in that class that didn't go up, or had not had a personal connection with the issue of poverty in our country. Their voices did not waver when they spoke, and they found ways to agree and disagree with each other.
I come from a cultural background where at times, children's opinions are disregarded. As a young child, you're told to keep your mouth shut and let the adults talk. In many instances, I grew up thinking that my opinions did not matter until I was finally considered an adult. But I think this is wrong and today's observations proved it so. We had a group of 10 year old students who understood the issue of poverty and were able to make connections to their lives, their text, and pre-reading questions that their teacher had asked them. I think it's important to note that not one of these children took differences of opinions personally. They were all able to go outside and play afterwards and not let any differences of opinions prevent them interacting politely with someone else. I know many adults that aren't capable of that.
Tuesday, February 18, 2014
Racism and Discrimination Discussions in the 5th Grade
Today, I completed my second observation in the same 5th grade class from last week. I have to say, I'm glad out of all the days I chose to visit, it was this one for one very important reason. But before I get to that, I'd like to introduce you to a book that I surprisingly haven't read yet, but plan on doing very soon.
Today, the class that I was observing was reading this particular book. Now I have heard of it before, but personally never read it. Teachers either didn't assign it when I was younger or I didn't really feel the need to earlier in my life. Well, after today I plan on reading this book because of the particular sections that students read in the class. It was a particular section that had a white child who lives in a primarily African American community, discover what it meant to be white in the eyes of some of the people in his community. During the reading, students were quietly listening to the recording and while usually you can find one or two children drifting off and not paying attention, this book had them ALL pay attention.
The teacher even let them listen to another chapter and I swear I heard some of the students cheering. But what had me so interested in this book was the way it introduced students to issues of racism and discrimination. The teacher, who is an amazing educators that I look up to immensely, had a discussion after the reading of this book with students regarding issues of racism. Particularly, discussing the idea of people of difference races living in separate areas of towns. Students were willing to speak up and share their experiences, and it is important to note that this is a diverse class of students, with a larger percentage of them from Hispanic backgrounds. I think the particular section that I happened to observe was a great way of introducing students to racism and even lead into various current event topics for students. When I finally get my own classroom, I would like to have these kind of open discussions about various topics, while still having my students feel safe, cared for and not judged for their beliefs, culture, or race.
Wednesday, February 12, 2014
Observation #1:
Yesterday, I did my first field experience at a local elementary school in my area. I observed a 5th grade class during their 90 minute reading block. The class I observed is a very diverse group of students, from all different races and backgrounds, speaking all different languages. It was quite wonderful to see this kind of diversity in schools. Students were working as told and, since I observed in this classroom before they were already comfortable with me observing their class.
But what struck me in the most would have to be the text they were reading. It was a fictional sci-fi story from their textbook. The story was about a girl who was a writer, who travel back in time with the help of her genius friend. This particular story, at the start, really took time to discuss diversity in a very explicit manner. The characters in the story were of different races, and even various cultural aspects such as food or language were discussed through out it. For example, at one point in the story, the characters start to talk about spring rolls. While the students in the class are a very diverse group, you never know if they know what certain foods or objects are, so it was nice to see that their teacher took time to explain what those items were in a way that students might be able to understand. At one point, she even had me give some input regarding an author we were both familiar with. She also took the time to discuss the career of writing. She used J.K. Rowling, an author that the students were familiar with to explain to them how writers can make money off of putting their stories on paper for people to read.
She motivated them by telling them the story of a former student who wrote a children's book about horses while she attended the same school and was able to get it publish. This educator motivated her students, she made sure that they all felt accepted and cared for in her classroom. She was also able to connect with them and contribute to their discussion in the midst of their reading.
IF I WERE TEACHING THIS CLASS...
I would be doing the same thing as this educator. I would be introducing the students to different cultural aspects related to our content, but I would also find a way of integrating technology with the discussions. It would have been nice, if during the discussion the teacher showed students a quick picture of what a spring roll looks like. In the future, students who are confronted with this food item, might be tempted to try it!
But what struck me in the most would have to be the text they were reading. It was a fictional sci-fi story from their textbook. The story was about a girl who was a writer, who travel back in time with the help of her genius friend. This particular story, at the start, really took time to discuss diversity in a very explicit manner. The characters in the story were of different races, and even various cultural aspects such as food or language were discussed through out it. For example, at one point in the story, the characters start to talk about spring rolls. While the students in the class are a very diverse group, you never know if they know what certain foods or objects are, so it was nice to see that their teacher took time to explain what those items were in a way that students might be able to understand. At one point, she even had me give some input regarding an author we were both familiar with. She also took the time to discuss the career of writing. She used J.K. Rowling, an author that the students were familiar with to explain to them how writers can make money off of putting their stories on paper for people to read.
She motivated them by telling them the story of a former student who wrote a children's book about horses while she attended the same school and was able to get it publish. This educator motivated her students, she made sure that they all felt accepted and cared for in her classroom. She was also able to connect with them and contribute to their discussion in the midst of their reading.
IF I WERE TEACHING THIS CLASS...
I would be doing the same thing as this educator. I would be introducing the students to different cultural aspects related to our content, but I would also find a way of integrating technology with the discussions. It would have been nice, if during the discussion the teacher showed students a quick picture of what a spring roll looks like. In the future, students who are confronted with this food item, might be tempted to try it!
Saturday, February 8, 2014
Starting a Journey
I took this course out of curiosity. It is not a part of my requirements for my MA in Elementary Education. I took it knowing that life takes you different places sometimes, especially when you least expect it. So this course is an attempt at gaining more knowledge about myself and the diverse environments and currently and in the future, will find myself in. A couple week in, I was not expecting to be actively approaching some of these topics as much as I have within the context of my current job.
This week, I have found myself considering the premise of "connecting with students" beyond academia. One of the first texts that I read which made me really start thinking about this is Start Where You Are, But Don't Stay There by H. Richard Milner IV, a text we are reading for this course actually! I've posted a picture of the book below. The teachers in this book make such as an effort to connect with their students, despite huge cultural differences that may exist between them. When I first started working at the school I'm at now, I felt a huge cultural gap between the students and I. For a while, I couldn't seem to connect with them and it started to affect my facilitating their online language course. It was a really difficult situation I found myself in.
This week, I have found myself considering the premise of "connecting with students" beyond academia. One of the first texts that I read which made me really start thinking about this is Start Where You Are, But Don't Stay There by H. Richard Milner IV, a text we are reading for this course actually! I've posted a picture of the book below. The teachers in this book make such as an effort to connect with their students, despite huge cultural differences that may exist between them. When I first started working at the school I'm at now, I felt a huge cultural gap between the students and I. For a while, I couldn't seem to connect with them and it started to affect my facilitating their online language course. It was a really difficult situation I found myself in.
While searching around the internet, I actually found an article by the author of this book written through the Harvard Education Letter, titled Five Easy Ways to Connect with your Students. It's a quick but interesting read if you're interested. One of the main ones that stuck out was was number four: attend extracurricular activities featuring your students. Here are some of the main quotes I took from that particular section.
"It means something to students when teachers take time out of their schedules to visit an activity they are involved in."
"Teachers from elementary through high school should feel a sense of responsibility to be present at events that help complete students’ educational experiences such as those connected to extra-curricular activities."
I've never really considered how showing interest in student's activities can motivate and inspire them. I think it also builds trust. For someone to take personal time and dedicate it to their students, it shows genuineness. Hopefully students react positively to actions such as these, so I'll have to consider this as a future tip when connecting with my students.
I'd like to learn more about...
References
I'd like to learn more about...
- Next week, I'll be observing a 5th grade class for my field experiences in an urban environment. I want to start noticing how the teacher works with her diverse community and how she considers their needs within her classroom. I need to find out if there is anything specific to note within these environments, so I'll report back to you next week!
References
Milner, R. (2011, February). Five easy ways to connect with students. Retrieved from http://hepg.org/hel/article/492
Milner, R. (2012). Start where you are, but don't stay there. (2nd ed., pp. 109-146). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
Milner, R. (2012). Start where you are, but don't stay there. (2nd ed., pp. 109-146). Cambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
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