My Regards to Broadway

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.

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.  

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.

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.