A Remarkable Teacher, That Is Who I Want to Be

I am so fortunate to have this tutoring experience in ABC Elementary School. I explored many teaching styles and techniques, but most importantly, I have discovered the definition of a remarkable teacher. A remarkable teacher is someone who is dedicated, supportive, and compassionate.

Teaching is not just a job for 7 hours a day, 5 days a week. It is a job 24/7. When teachers are not in class teaching, they are spending time on lesson plans. When they are not spending time on lesson plans they are working with students' parents. When they are not with parents, they are constantly thinking about what they can do to be a better teacher; to make their students successful. If a remarkable teacher was not dedicated, he/she would simply teach the material in class and be done with it; but that is not how a remarkable teacher operates. They want the students to learn and apply what they learn. He/she is on foot all the time and willing to face challenges that present themselves.

Support is the number 1 way to give students pride in their education. Support must come from many different directions. First, support from parents is key. When parents encourage their students to do well, students feel that they have power and control of their education. When a teacher can piggyback on this support, students have ambitions. A remarkable teacher will do as Ira Shor suggests, encouraging students to question curriculum and ask "why are we learning this?" Teachers will also treat all students equally and acknowledge that differences prove dynamic. Supportive teachers will teach many different approaches to a problem. Teachers will always give constant encouragement so their students know that someone believes in them.

Compassion is must be the initial goal of a remarkable teacher. Why are teachers teachers? It is because they care. They care about students and they want to make a change in their students' lives. Teachers are there because they want to be positive role models for their students. They want their students to believe that everyone has equal opportunities in the world and that it is the students who have full responsibility of their futures.

Dedication, support, and compassion are three qualities that a remarkable teacher must have. I know that I want to be a remarkable teacher. I want to be an inspiration to my students. This tutoring experience has opened my eyes to the many opportunities that teachers have in the world. I have realized that education gives anyone power. It gives people the power to control how they live their lives. It has shaped my identity as a teacher. This world is full of education. I think that one of the most important ways to learn about the world we live in is to expose ourselves to diversity anywhere and everywhere we can.

When we look back at history, we see the millions of people who were rejected an education. The many court cases of Thurgood Marshall that chipped away at the Plessy vs. Ferguson case gave us the most rewarding end result. Brown vs. Board of Education. This was the most important decision ever made about education. It disposed the idea of "separate but equal." It gave minorities an equal education. Today, I see these inner city schools being looked down upon because they are not funded the way upper class schools are. Also, because they are mostly composed of lower class families. Whether a school has lower, middle, or upper class students does not make the quality of an education any better than the other. Education is not only about learning the facts and developing skills, but it is also about social experience. I believe that these inner city schools have more of an upper hand than any other schools because they are the most diverse. The students and teachers are so different. I believe that we learn the most from our differences in each other. Our country is more diverse than ever before. We are the country that offers opportunity. People fought for many years for segregation in schools to stop; so why can we still see segregation today? Once people in this country can accept that whites will soon bethe minority, we will learn to cooperate with other races and build alliances that we never thought were possible.

Easy As 1,2,3: Parents + Contributions = Child Success

Ever since I made the decision to become a teacher, everyone reminds me that it will not just be the kids I am working with, but also their parents. I have been babysitting for almost 9 years and I have been nannying for 3 years. I have been exposed to the concerned parents for years. I know that throughout my teaching career I will come across parents who care more than others and who are easier to talk to than others. If I can acknowledge how students parents will be a big part of my career before I start teaching, I will be more comfortable with parents when I do become a teacher.

From my grade school years and also this tutoring experience, I recognized many teachers who struggle with parents. I have witnessed students in Mrs. Autumn's class who bring their folders back the next day with everything that was put in it the day before. The parents are responsible for keeping up with their child's school work and looking at their folders and sometimes some parents miss that. I have also witnessed teachers trying to call the parents of students and were not able to contact with them. Sadly, I have also seen students waiting for minutes and hours after school is over for their parents to pick them up and their parents are nowhere in sight. Aside from the lack of parents duties, I have also seen great contributions. Parents who email their child's teacher every week to keep track of their progress in school. Parents who come after school to talk to their child's teacher. Parents who question the students assignments. The other day, Mrs. Autumn was talking to me about a girl in her class who is very temperamental. She said that her mother is the sweetest most caring woman and she came to school the other day to talk to Mrs. Autumn about her behavior in class. The mother said that she has no desire to do any school work when she gets home and she is very snappy toward everyone. Mrs. Autumn assured the mother that that was not just her behavior at home. She acts like that during class as well. The mother asked for suggestions of what she should do in order to make her child focus and be more calm and collective. As I said in my previous post, it is important not to generalize. Especially parents. If we generalize about parents based on their child before we meet them, then we will not have an accurate impression of who they really are. As a teacher, there are many ways to deal with a variety of parents.

At my high school, parents had an account on the school website in which they could view our attendance records and our grades at any point in time. Although I despised this idea when I was in school, now I can now appreciate the benefit of this tool. Back to school nights are a great way to meet parents and get a feel on what their parenting style is like. This gives the opportunity for teachers to meet parents before teachers can stereotype these parents based on their students. If teachers can initially meet parents and tell them what the year entails, parents will be aware of what their child will be doing in class. With technology these days, I think emailing is also a great way of getting in touch with parents. A note in a folder can only go so far, but many people have an email address and that seems like an easy way to keep in contact with parents. If emailing does not work, an occasional phone call is always the best bet. No matter what, parents participation is key in having a student who wants to succeed. Most importantly,
I would encourage parents to speak with me regarding their concerns and to know that their concerns are important to me. I would also encourage parents to get involved. Any contributions that parents make will always be greatly appreciated. If students know their parents are involved they will take more pride in their academic achievement.

School is a safe place. As Megan Boler said, classrooms provide space where marginalized and silenced voices can be heard. School should feel like a comfortable place where all voices are heard. If parents can understand what school really is, they can inform their children. Parents nor students should be frightened to speak up in school. When students are aware that their parents care about their progress and efforts in school, this builds the students' confidence. Then their confidence will allow them to exceed boundaries they never thought they could cross.

Differences Prove Dynamic In Classroom

From the day we were born we have been building the foundation that makes us who we are. Those important people in our lives are the ones who gave us the tools to build our foundation. Whether it is a mother, father, grandmother, grandfather, uncle, aunt, teacher, etc, those are the people who have helped us grow into who we are today. There is no one person who is the same and has the exact same foundations as another. Throughout life, we practice a specific culture and we have specific morals that help to figure out a comfortable way in which we would like to live our lives. These aspects are what form our foundation. Us teachers need to take the idea of building a foundation into consideration when entering a brand new classroom.

Although one would like go into something with an open mind, there is never a freedom of bias. A teacher cannot ignore their history in order to bond with their students, and the students cannot ignore their history in order to bond with the teacher. A teacher who is starting to teach at an inner city school for the first time may have hundreds of expectations based on his/her bias. The teacher my find them self stuck in a rut when he/she notices that there is a great difference in culture between them self and the students, and they cannot chose that one is better than another.

I grew up in a close Catholic family. We always spent time together and I knew that if I ever needed anything, I could always turn to them. My parents instilled many morals when I was a very young age. I always knew that I had to respect my elders, do what I am told, clean up after myself, and always have manners. I have strong morals and I believe that most things should be one way or no way. Since I have such strict morals, I know that it is likely for me to clash with my students. After tutoring for a few months have have recognized the many different cultures and morals that the students have. There are many students at ABC Elementary School who do not respect their teachers. There was a boy in Mrs. Autumn's classroom the other day, (he was from another class because his teacher was absent) and the Mrs. Autumn was getting frustrated because the students were not listening to her instructions. She she began to raise her voice and tell the students to stop talking and this boy said "I can't wait to go back to my class." Mrs. Autumn heard this and she was irate. She said she was going to call the principal he was going to get in trouble. I think that she may have overreacted a bit, but I agree with how she felt. I could not believe that boy said that out loud. That is very disrespectful and students should know that they do not speak to their teachers that way. I had a few misconceptions when first going into this tutoring experience. I was expecting the students to have very low skills because I thought, "if they need tutors then the students must reeeaaalllyyy be struggling." I generalized the students before I even met them. I was so surprised when I met with my tutoring group the first time. The students knew so much more than I expected, and I can see more and more improvement as the weeks go on. There are without a doubt, students who are really struggling and do need the one on one attention to bring them up to pace; but I regretted that I generalized all of the students when in reality, most of the are very intelligent and they teach me something new every week. Also, I assumed that since ABC Elementary School is not funded as well as upper class children, and that the students would lack many skills and facts they needed. In fact, I believe that the facts and skills are less important than what other things school can give someone. It's not always about a certain race consistently doing better on national tests. It is more about the experiences they have in the classroom. For me at least, a test does not reflect how smart I am. Tests leave other other information I do know and experiences I have while learning the facts and developing the skills. Ira Shor said that "education is more than facts and skills. It is a socializing experience that helps make the people who make society." I have found this statement to be extremely true throughout my experience at this school. Shor is right about empowerment not being individualistic. It is a mutual teacher-student authority.
Both the teacher and the student bring their history to class and we can learn about each other from their different cultures. When I tutored, yes I was the boss of the group and I had control over what activities we were going to do that day, but it was the students who helped me come to my decision about the activities and about how much time we would spend on certain topics. I not only taught them these topics, but I questioned why this should be this way and made sure that each student was taking risks with something they were not familiar with. In the end, it is their actions and their ability to take the chance of learning rather than actually knowing what an upper case and lower case letter looks like. If teachers can inform the students that just the facts and skills are not what education is all about, then our students will feel like they have more control over their education. They can control how they learn and why they learn specific things.

I am happy to say that this tutoring experience has given me such an advantage over those to be teachers who did not have this experience. I am now familiar with different cultures in the classroom and I am much more aware of how clashing can occur. Also, I have learned not to generalize people into a group before I know the truth. A classroom is all about learning about different cultures and what these children from different cultures bring to the class. Finally, that students help teachers teach. Their struggles or their advancements show the teacher what needs more attention and what needs less attention. I have learned that teaching is not simply being in control over a class, but it is acknowledging the demands of the classroom and letting the students take control as well.

A Teacher: A Reflection of Diversity

Growing up in a small suburb of Colorado, I was exposed to white people everywhere. My elementary school was an all white school, and whites made up most of the population of my town. As I got older and attended high school, I noticed people who were different than me, but there were still not many. The teachers did not have very diverse classrooms, so many of my teachers knew knew how the students behaved in the classroom. Until college, I never realized how diverse the place we live in really is. This tutoring experience has opened my eyes to the diversity in our classrooms, and the many different positions the teachers must fill. According to Johnson, the solution to eliminate fear of other races is to "champion diversity, promote tolerance, and celebrate difference." In order to be a culturally competent teacher, we must recognize diversity in our classrooms and adapt to it.

At ABC Elementary School, I noticed the classrooms in the school are composed mostly of African Americans and Hispanics. There are a few white children and a couple of Asians. There classrooms are very diverse, and this says much about the learning environment. Infoworks (www.infoworks.ride.uri.edu/) reports that this elementary school is composed of 59% Hispanics, 31% African Americans, 6% White Americans, 3% Asians, and 1% Native Americans. 25% of those students are bilingual. Surprisingly enough, 90% of the students are eligible for reduced price lunch, and they also receive free breakfast. These statistics say a few things about cultural capital brought into the classrooms.

The children in these classrooms may seem like your typical kindergartners, but there is a lot more to these students. Some of the students sing rap songs and dance around like rappers they have seen on television. Others talk about scary movies they have seen. Some tell stories about their families, many of them are heartbreaking. How can some students not even know how to hold a book the proper way? Or that reading is done from left to right? They come from a completely different atmosphere than many people know. One can infer that these students are they way they are because of their parents. I mean, how do these students listen to rap? How do some of these precious 5 year olds watch the movie Chucky? What kind of person will these students become when they grow up in a family whose father has been in prison for years? Did their parents never read to them? But who can really say that these issues are a reflection of the parents? With society the way it is today, kids are growing up much quicker than ever before and there is no one person to blame. These many different factors that are brought to the classroom are a learning experience not only for our students, but for us teachers. besides the negative factors, there are so many positive assets that these children bring to the classroom. They have taught me that even a little bit of attention makes their day. They have taught me that when something is frustrating, keep trying and there will be a reward. Bottom line, they really are just kindergartners and they adore attention and praise. Regardless of what communities these students come from, they have so much to learn, and we are the ones who can make an impact on them. There are many different learning styles, and the ultimate goal of a culturally competent teacher is to be able to teach anything and everything in more than one way.

Some students in the classroom need much more attention and discipline than others, and I noticed that the teacher in the classroom has a great way of acknowledging this, and giving the students what they need. There are times when Mrs. Autumn will be cheerful and sing any and everything in the classroom, but 90% of the time, she is down to business. When I think of an elementary school teacher, I think of a sweet teacher who talks in a soft voice and calls them sweetie and hun every 5 seconds. In reality, that is not how they are. At least not at ABC Elementary School. Teachers need to have control over their students. Mrs. Autumn is such a kind woman, but she always used a very loud, Stern voice and commands the students "sit down please" rather than "will you please sit down?" As Delpit said, African American teachers and white teachers interact differently. White teachers tend to make a command into a question whereas African American teachers just give a the command. Mrs. Autumn is indeed white, but I think it is safe to say that after her many years of teaching at this elementary school, she know what the children will react to, and a command it is. I believe that inner city schools should not be the only ones with diverse classrooms. After all, whites are going to be a minority in the country sooner or later, and now is the time to expose ourselves to different cultures. I think that these children in this school will be much more accepting of other races than those who are secluded in their private schools. It is extremely important that children are exposed to different cultures at a young age so that diversity is instilled and they can receive a real view of what makes our country they way it is. A culturally competent teacher will "champion diversity, promote tolerance, and celebrate difference." By doing this, they are making themselves aware of the sociocultural distinctiveness in their classrooms and learning how to be a rounded teacher who can fill the many positions that are demanded.

Something Interesting

Today I was walking around the classroom monitoring the students while they worked on a writing worksheet. One the worksheet were pictures that the students had to color in with crayons. From the distance, I heard a group shouting so I went over to them. A white boy and and African American boy were arguing about the color of a crayon. The white boy said "this is skin color!" The African American said "no its peach!" They went back and forth a few times and finally I asked to see the crayon and it was apriot color. I told the students that and we started talking about fruits and their colors. I found it interesting that the white boy was saying this. Does he acknowledge the different skin colors in his classroom? Where did he learn that the crayon was "skin color?" Something interesting to think about...

First Experience

As I was driving to the elementary school I will be tutoring at, I was very excited, anxious, and nervous. I even ran a stop sign on the way there because my mind was on anything and everything but driving. Oops! Relying on my navigational system, I took many shortcuts to get to the school. The drive was unpleasant and so were the neighborhoods I passed through on the way there. When I finally came to my destination, I found myself in the middle of a few hospitals. At first, I did not know which building was the school because the parking lots of the school and the hospitals are all grouped together.

When I finally found my way through the door, nerves took over my body more than anything. I signed in and was led to a room with other college students where an orientation took place. Since the reading coach I will be working with was absent the first day, we worked with her assistant. As she showed a few reading activities we will be doing with the children I became a bit more excited. She introduced us to the chart on the wall where the teachers keep record of the students progress. While the results saddened me, it made me extremely thrilled that I am going to be someone who can change their education. Once the orientation was over, the coach's assistant led me to a classroom I would be observing for the next few weeks since the Intervention will not begin until the 19th. While walking through the hallways, I noticed that there were not many windows and most of the walls in the hallways were bare. when there was a window, they were either cloudy or caged up. When I think of an elementary school, I typically think of a bright, fun, welcoming place; but this is not the feeling I got there.

Once I reached the classroom I would be working in, all of my nerves floated away and I was so excited. The classroom was the complete opposite than the rest of the school. The classroom was bright and filled with number lines and decorations. The classroom did seem crowded, with tiny tables that barely gave room to breathe let alone do work. The teacher, Mrs. Autumn was so spontaneous and energetic. I love her! Once she finished her lesson plan and the children calmed down at their seats, she greeted me and was so happy to have me there. She told me to observe for the morning and get a feel of what the classroom is like. Mrs. Autumn left the room briefly and her assistant Mrs. Angry kept an eye on the children. All she did was yell at the children for... well... basically being kids! She cannot expect them to sit still in silence and listen to every word she tells them. They are in kindergarten for goodness sakes! One of the kids in the class was antagonizing another child and Mrs. Angry grabbed the little boy and took him into the corner of the classroom and absolutely screamed at the top of her lungs at him. I agree that she should discipline when a child is breaking the rules but I was shocked at the way she handled the situation. I did not even know that was allowed in school. Mrs. Autumn finally came back and I was so relieved. As I observed the students in the classroom I noticed that a few of them were not groomed well and others had did not pay attention. Most students were following instructions but others were cutting up crayons and throwing things across the room. I stepped in and talked to the children who were disobeying and they seemed to follow my direction. At this point I only had a few more minutes in the classroom, so I watched the children do an activity on the letter F for the remainder of the time. I was amazed at how well 95% of the students could not only color in the lines, but also follow the teachers instructions. The clock struck 11 and it was time for me to go.

As I reflect now about the experience, I can tell that instruction and discipline are definitely two very important values in this classroom. I'm not sure exactly what is valued in this school yet, but only time will tell. I am very excited for many more weeks of tutoring to come!

About Me

My name is Lindsay DiCesare, I am in between a sophomore and a junior and I am majoring in elementary education with a concentration in science. I moved to Rhode Island from Colorado in January and so far I love it! This is my first semester at a school in Rhode Island and everything feels right. Outside of school I am a nanny. I love sports, playing golf, traveling, and of course, skiing!