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!
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Hi Lindsay,
ReplyDeleteI wonder if Mrs. Angry will show a different side of herself during your tenure at the school. Resist the temptation to reduce her contribution just yet. I understand your concern--Shor's discussion of the affective/cognitive link comes to mind.
I like how you characterize 95% of the children in positive terms. Look for ways in which they are taught to interpret their world.
Dr. August
I found it interesting to read about your experiences your first day and compare them to mine, considering we are going to the same school. Based on everything you wrote about, I have to say that my experience was a little different than yours. I really did not like that our reading coach was not there the first two times. I just felt so disorganized and it made me nervous and even more anxious not knowing what exactly we should be doing or where we should be going. I was so relieved that she was back in school last Friday. It helped so much having her explain the whole process all over again. I need structure and I like to know exactly what I should be doing and when.
ReplyDeleteI think it is really interesting how we had such different first impressions and feelings when we entered the school for the first time. I know you wrote about how the walls were bare and that you did not get the feeling that this school was a bright, fun, and welcoming place. I have to say that when I first visited, I thought the opposite about the school. I admit that the walls and hallways could be more colorful and fun, but I immediately noticed the flyers and signs on the wall. I thought it was interesting that a lot of the signs were in English, as well as Spanish, which illustrated to me how diverse the school was and how it encourages students to accept their own language and culture, and promotes to others the importance of being open-minded and knowing more than just your heritage language. Looking back now, it actually calls to mind the latest article we read by Delpit, “The Silenced Dialogue.” I do not know a lot about our school as of right now, but just from seeing how much Spanish is incorporated in all the signs all over the school, I feel like they realize that it is dominant amongst the students and try to maintain that heritage language and culture. I was actually really pleased to see how much Spanish was promoted. When I was walking through the hallways today I heard a few teachers speaking Spanish with the students, as well. Coming from a very Portuguese family, I appreciate the value of my culture. I am the first generation to be born in America and so my family imparted our Portuguese language and customs on me as I grew, and still today. I think it is so important to maintain all those beliefs and traditions, instead of just conforming to the Standard English system that Delpit speaks about in her article.
I must agree with you on the point about the school’s values of instruction and discipline. In the few classes that I have observed, the teacher had clear instructions which she reiterated to the children repeatedly. I noticed how she disciplined the students too, and how if they did not do something right the first time she would make them go back to their seats, quiet down, and try it again. Also, I noticed today how Mrs. Autumn (I believe that’s the same teacher of ours that we’re talking about) became angry and had to yell and discipline the children for not listening to directions and accidentally hurting someone (which I think was what happened). She made all the children go back to their seats quietly and try it over, clearly expressed that she was not happy about the situation, and punished them by taking away three minutes from recess. I was a bit shocked to see this side of her, but I think the situation called for it. I noticed, however, how shortly after she was just as cheery while teaching her lesson. I was afraid, based on past experiences, that she would be grumpy or annoyed with the students for the rest of the class, but I think the good thing about Mrs. Autumn is that she knows how to be the friendly and fun teacher, but also discipline the children when she has to. I have seen a lot of teachers who have not quite found that balance and instead are very harsh and strict all the time, or are too easy and let the students take advantage of them. I am interested to see how else this unfolds and if some of my assumptions are correct or not.
Lindsay, I enjoyed reading this blog very much! I can relate to this blog in many ways. I felt the same way when I first was driving to my elementary school too. I’ve worked with children at all of my jobs and never felt nervous to start, but for some reason I felt the nerves and anxiety when coming to Mystery Elementary school. I can relate a lot to what you said about the walls being bare and not looking like a happy environment because I thought the same thing. When I picture an elementary school I picture the walls being bright vibrant colors so it can get the children in a happy mood. Also I like the part when you were talking about Mrs. Autumn and how friendly and nice and welcoming she was because my kindergarten teacher was the same way and it makes you feel very welcoming and good about yourself. You feel like they need you there and thats a very comforting feeling. When you were talking about the assistant teacher and how she was yelling at the children when the teacher left is not right. I completely agree that she should punish them in a different way. They are little children and to be mean to them you might make them afraid of you. You should never make the children afraid of you. Once in a while every teacher is going to yell but you should never make them scared. I can remember in 2nd grade I had a teacher who would make me cry because if you didn’t get a 100 on a test you couldn’t get a prize at the prize chest. I used to go home and tell my mother and tell her how mean she was and I was afraid of her. I will never forget that teacher because she scared me for life. It’s a great learning experience by watching how the teachers treat the children because now we know what to do right and wrong. In one part of your blog you said that the children could follow direction and color in the lines. The same thing happened to me and I was amazed, my kindergartners understand directions, know how to follow them and also color very well. My first graders are a little different because they are writing more sentences and are having a more difficult time. On the other hand my 1st grade teacher Mrs. Snowman was very strict towards the children. When they would ask her a question she would say did I call on you? And very rude remarks. It makes me a little upset because they are only in 1st grade and need to get treated better because all they want is one on one attention because some of them might not get it at home. I am glad to have read your blog because it is very similar to my elementary school and I loved hearing about your experience. I can’t wait to read more about your experiences in the future!
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