After having been in the presence of the children in Ms. Leslie’s classroom for several weeks now and looking at the information on Eli Elementary on Infoworks, I can conclude that many of the children come from low income homes where one or more of the parents probably have to work very hard in order to support the family. One of the challenges that I may face as a teacher in a school such as Eli Elementary is the possibility that the parents may not be highly educated and may not have even a high school diploma. Another hurdle that would probably arise would be the linguistic barrier created when a child’s parents do not speak English because I speak very little Spanish. It would be difficult for these parents to help the children with homework when they need it. The students will need to practice speaking, reading, and writing outside of the classroom in order to master the skills required to excel in each subject.
Although I do not speak another fluent language other than English, I would do my absolute best to communicate with each and every student’s guardians. On the Infoworks website, statistics shows that at Eli Elementary school, o% of students receive ESL or bilingual education services, meaning that if necessary, a child would be a helpful translator when parents have questions about material being learned in the classroom. I would explain to every parent early on in the school year how immensely important it is for the children practice their studies at home, and not merely in the classroom, and encourage them to assist their children while doing homework and practice outside reading at home, before bedtime for example. I would certainly promote meetings with parents if they have the time to discuss their child’s status in the classroom, even for students at the top of the class. This way, the parent will be sure that I care about their child and acknowledge positive behavior and academic success, rather than only notifying them when there is a problem. A child’s ability to learn is not determined by their ethnicity or social class, but rather by their enthusiasm. This level of enthusiasm is vastly dependant on the quality of their teachers and involvement of their parents.
An example of one of the small ways in which parents could help their children improve reading and writing would be to make regular trips to the local public library. Access to their books and computers is normally totally free to the public and the change of scenery would be interesting to the students. For many of the parents of students at Eli Elementary however, finding time to make these trips may be hard to come by as many of these parents must work late into the night in order to produce the funds necessary for their families to survive. A second proposal may be to get the child enrolled in a free afterschool program to keep them occupied and safe. Many of these programs also offer tutors to help with homework assignments and reading practice.
Thursday, November 19, 2009
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
First Impresssions
Pulling up to Eli Elementary School*, I observed that this school was definitely different than the school I attended back when I was a child. The school is located off a main road not far from the city. All of the windows are closed and barred, while a chain link fence strategically borders the small cement playing area. To be honest, I was a little nervous upon entering the school by looking at the outward appearance. This feeling was probably attributed to the fact that this was unusual to me, having grown up in a school system with big open windows letting in the fresh air blowing from the large green, grassy playgrounds with swings, slides, basketball courts, and baseball fields.
On the inside, the school feels more typical and inviting. Bright paintings and posters of smiling, multicultural children align the walls, and most of my initial hesitance is lifted away. The classrooms are about the same size as all I had been exposed to, but it seems the school is short on rooms because I noticed some rooms are shared by multiple teachers at different points in the day.
I work with two teachers, one being the school’s reading coach, Ms. Mary*, and the fourth grade classroom teacher, Ms. Leslie*. Ms. Mary is very helpful and organized. Her room is where I go to gather all of the materials and activities I will be using with the children that afternoon. Ms. Leslie’s room is arranged like a typical elementary classroom. There are bright posters scattered across the walls, along with weekly vocabulary words on the board and a chart listing the outspoken and punishable student’s names. The students seemed very excited when I came into the room. One little girl, Anna*, came running right up to me, complimenting me on everything from my hair to my shoes. She then slowly sulked back to her seat when she learned that I was not there to tutor her.
There are two students that I help, each twice a week. Nikko speaks very good English with only a small but noticeable accent. He seems to be on a good track with reading, just a step behind the other students, but he is fun to work with. Maggie, the young girl I tutor seems very quiet and less social than all of the other upbeat girls in the classroom. She seems very uninterested in learning and like many of the other students are toward Ms. Leslie, Maggie has an attitude toward just about everything I ask her to work on.
It seems the school is very set on attempting to get the children to behave and listen. I observed my very first day that Ms. Leslie seemed to be spending more time reprimanding the children and trying to get them to focus and pay attention than she did actually teaching the lessons. She raised her voice several times, however it never had much of a valuable impact on settling the kids down.
On the inside, the school feels more typical and inviting. Bright paintings and posters of smiling, multicultural children align the walls, and most of my initial hesitance is lifted away. The classrooms are about the same size as all I had been exposed to, but it seems the school is short on rooms because I noticed some rooms are shared by multiple teachers at different points in the day.
I work with two teachers, one being the school’s reading coach, Ms. Mary*, and the fourth grade classroom teacher, Ms. Leslie*. Ms. Mary is very helpful and organized. Her room is where I go to gather all of the materials and activities I will be using with the children that afternoon. Ms. Leslie’s room is arranged like a typical elementary classroom. There are bright posters scattered across the walls, along with weekly vocabulary words on the board and a chart listing the outspoken and punishable student’s names. The students seemed very excited when I came into the room. One little girl, Anna*, came running right up to me, complimenting me on everything from my hair to my shoes. She then slowly sulked back to her seat when she learned that I was not there to tutor her.
There are two students that I help, each twice a week. Nikko speaks very good English with only a small but noticeable accent. He seems to be on a good track with reading, just a step behind the other students, but he is fun to work with. Maggie, the young girl I tutor seems very quiet and less social than all of the other upbeat girls in the classroom. She seems very uninterested in learning and like many of the other students are toward Ms. Leslie, Maggie has an attitude toward just about everything I ask her to work on.
It seems the school is very set on attempting to get the children to behave and listen. I observed my very first day that Ms. Leslie seemed to be spending more time reprimanding the children and trying to get them to focus and pay attention than she did actually teaching the lessons. She raised her voice several times, however it never had much of a valuable impact on settling the kids down.
Wednesday, September 9, 2009
A Brand New Year
My name is Chelsea and I am a sophomore at Rhode Island College studying Elementarty Education with a concentration in English. So far I love it here, the campus is great and I've made so many awesome friends. I don't do any sports for the school however I have been a dancer almost all my life and in highschool I cheered for a few years but never got to serious about it. Due to the fact that I do not do any sports for RIC, I have alot of free time on campus to hangout with friends and thats why I've gotten so close with so many of them. I am really excited to get deeper into the classes that really focus on my major and start working with the actual elementary students, teching and tutoring them weekly. I have always loved children and enjoyed spending time with them and helping them learn new things.
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