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!