Blogs

SOMETHING TAKES CONTROL OF ME

colors spin around

pick me up

and take me

down a rabbit hole

Sikun Zhang

                During my first visit to the all-girls, private school, Cherrywood ,there was a tremendous pressure that was felt as I entered the school building. The inside of the main foyer was wide and spacious with an aged, yet elegant sofa in the center. Beside the sofa was a fireplace with an aged chimney, displaying a bright fire. A grand set of stairs was near the administrator’s office. Without even meeting my hosting teacher and her students yet, I was incredibly nervous. This environment was abnormal and discomforting for a person of my background. I was raised in a suburban, middle-income township with a wide variety of people; from those who made less than 40,000 dollars to those who made over half a million annually. Although our incomes were varied, our school was modestly built and funded. This prominent school was foreign and almost threatening for me with the way it held itself. There was an obvious sense of pride and elegance that the building and administration promoted. Aside from the environment, the children continued to emphasize the school’s ethos. In the dress code, students are required from a young age (as young as pre-kindergarten) to maintain their clothing in “neat, clean, and in good repair” (Cherrywood, Lower School Dress Code). This kind of responsibility evolves from the parent’s into the student’s responsibility when the students reach sixth grade, where they will be reprimanded for their own dress code issues. 

The previous week we had read an article by Marsha Pincus and this week we actually had Marsh come in and speak to our class, which was awesome! Marsha started off our class with a small activity that I first thought nothing much about it but as my peers and I got into it, I realized just how significant it could be. Marsha had placed a chair in the middle of the circle we had formed and wanted us to imagine of a teacher we once had that has made a significant impact in our lives whether positive or negative...

My eighth grade English teacher was Mrs. Barrish... she had asked to stay after class to talk to me. I remember wondering if I was in trouble but instead Mrs. Barrish had been wondering if I had ever considered applying to a private school for high school. I remember thinking she was nuts because I wasn’t smart and I didn’t think she was actually being serious... I decided to give it a try but only because I wanted to do it for her and make her proud. It wouldn’t be until later on that I realized that she didn’t want me to do this for her but for myself...

I didn’t end up going to a private school but I remember feeling like I disappointed a lot of people and then thinking that the only person stopping me from being the best I can be was myself and so I worked hard and with extra help everything paid off because I am now at one of the most respectable institutions in the world. Marsha’s activity reminded me of where my inspiration to get to where I am today started from. 

What I really liked from Marsha’s article that I see is an effective way to engage students in the material presented was by allowing them to participate in letting their voices be heard through their intellectual autobiographies as well as generate their own exam questions. I believe that by taking the approach in making it all about the students was effective in that it encouraged students to participate, boost their self-confidence in this particular area and challenged them as students in critical and analytical thinking.

           For instance, I remember my junior year in high school, my teacher made a similar approach in that she asked us something about ourselves, which I liked because it showed that she was putting in the effort in trying to get to know me. In addition, I felt like to her we weren’t just students but young adults. For instance, in class we would hold discussions on the text rather than just jotting down notes and being expected to know and understand the material. And when we did not understand something, she had no problem in breaking the passage down for us and going over it while asking for our opinions on what we thought. I enjoyed being in her class because I felt like I was a part of something and that it was my class, my teacher and I all learning the material together which, encouraged me to be more active in class and feel like I actually got something out of it.

BAM

silence breaks into pieces

and stabs my ears

MY BRAIN FLIES OUT OF MY HEAD

The classroom is a mess. Students are pacing about, sitting on desks, and speaking in a noisy buzz that fills even the air with a nebulous clutter. There are a few chairs curiously sitting atop the 3 lab tables at the back of the room. I sit towards the back of the room at one of these lab tables watching chaos.

In center city Philadelphia, a progressive public high school boasts of its high success in math and science. Welcome to Ms. T's last period physics class.

In particular, I'm watching Jerome. He's sitting on a desk currently, silently but very noticeably dancing with his head phones in, but every now and then he gets up, walks around, fidgets with lab equipment in the back, flicks his pencil of the side of a desk. He's very versatile when it comes to his physical autonomy, and simply watching him feels distracting.

            It is Dr. Seuss’ birthday and I walked into the first grade classroom right when they were about to finish reading Dr. Seuss’ classic: The Cat in the Hat. I walk in and sit where I usually do, at this small table on the side and wait for the teacher to finish reading. Ones the book is done, Mrs. B hands out a worksheet for classwork. The sheet had a picture of a red box and the students were to write sentences of what would be in their own red box (in light of the book they just read). That week, Mrs. B was teaching the students on description, and how to use descriptive words when describing objects. For this activity not only did the students have to say what would be in their box, they had to describe the items as well. Seeing that Mrs. B did not have any specific plans for me, I thought it would be productive for me to sit at a table and assist the students writing and making sure they remembered to describe things.

     I am a tutor at an after school program;  there I assist Latino children, mostly Mexican, with their homework. I have noticed that the majority of the students speak in Spanish, which has caused problems for them when it comes to reading and spelling in English. When I sit at the table full of first grade students, they have trouble recognizing certain words like "they" and "can." They do, however, know how to sound the words out. For example, when I tell them to sound out "can," they say "kuh kuh kuh- uh uh uh- nuh nuh nuh." The children just have a problem putting the sounds together in order to figure out the word. I end up telling them the word, then I try to make a learning experience out of it by putting different letters in fromt of "-an" so that the students can recognize the words. I put a "b" to make "ban," then a "m" to make "man," but the students still seem like they do not understand, as they shrug their shoulders and say "I don't know," when I ask them. Even when the word "can," pops up again later in the text, the students still fail to recognize it, even after the long lesson.

Allison Zacarias

Education 200

Alice Lesnick

March 25, 2013

I am at an after school program in a city on the outskirts of Philadelphia which is not a conventional praxis because I do not observe a classroom/teacher. Instead I work as a tutor with first and second graders. Our schedule and routine is very consistent every week. First there is circle time, then the students do their homework, they work on a vocabulary/reading on-line program (Lexia), read for about 20 minutes, and then they can do whatever activity they would like.

Recently I have been working with a new student. Her name is Silvia and she is a 6-year-old Mexican-American first grader. Immediately I felt gravitated towards her because I saw a little bit of myself in her. I saw a very young Latina student that has mastered (as much as a 6-year-old can) the Spanish language and is now mastering the English language. When I introduced myself to her the coordinator (Mirtle) of the after school program (GEER) told Silvia, “Silvia, did you know that Allison speaks Spanish.” Silvia turned to me with a big smile and said, “Say something in Spanish.” When I did she looked over to Mirtle with a surprised/excited look. I have been trying to build a relationship with Silvia in which she feels comfortable telling me and showing me what she knows, does not know, and what she may need help with.

Marta Guerrero

Critical Issues in Education

Professor Lesnick

March 25, 13

Post 3: Reflection and Character Building

My praxis placement is in a character building/friendship class at private school. I have to admit that at first I was extremely skeptical of the fact that this school has such an abundance of resources that they are able to provide students with a class dedicated to teaching them how to navigate their feelings and the feelings of others. However, the more I observe and learn more about the curriculum, I begin to wonder how much of an impact this class would have in urban schools.