January 15, 2015 Afternoon Fieldwork Experience Blog 2

In what ways is the school in which you are serving similar to or different from schools in the earlier periods of history in the United States?

     There are so many differences in our classrooms and schools today than those in earlier periods in our countries history.  I believe that as a whole the government has made a push for these differences to be positive changes to the school system and our society.  One of the main differences I see is the diverse mix of ethnicities in our schools today.  That is what Brown vs. the Board of Education ruling was all about.  It was a monumental decision to incorporate other races into the public school system.  The prejudices that were faced in the 1950's and 1960's and generations before that may have taken many years to try and erase but what I have seen in our public school system now is a tolerance for differences in others.  I have been working in a first grade class and granted at that age something like personal hygiene habits matter more than skin color to these children but with so many prejudiced ideas fading toward race I have hope for the future of our children.
     There is one student who I have worked with who is from a spanish speaking only home.  Her only exposure to the english language has been at school.  Thats why the Lau vs. Nichols ruling was so interesting to me.  It is important for these students to have the opportunity to a "meaningful education" regardless of their language background.  It is pretty amazing that our schools supply classrooms where students who only speaks spanish can learn english so that they can succeed and be successful.
     We are now living in an age of information.  The advancements in technology in the last 20 years are incredible let alone the advancements in the last 100 years!  Sputnik ushered in a whole new age of learning.  The use of science, math, and technology opened doors to the way we see the world, universe and others.  It opened the door to possibilities.  It changed the way that we perceive everything.  These advancements in technology are used everyday in the classroom.  The students use ipads, computers, audio listening devices, smart boards, projectors, and televisions.  There has been an evolution in the classroom.  Along with the common core curriculum, (math, english, science, etc.) the students are exposed to special classes such as art, music, and computer courses.  The students go on field trips and have experiences they may not normally have the opportunity to.
     I am so grateful for the developments and progression of education in the United States.  Things are very different now then they once were and education has come a long way since the ruling of Brown vs. the Board of Education.  Thankfully, people can change for the better and when they do, other circumstances also change for the better.  We become better people capable of greater things.  I hope I can teach my future students this.

January 15, 2015 Morning Fieldwork Experience Blog 1

What does a teacher do all day?  

     I am so excited to have the opportunity to observe and participate in Miss Johnson's First Grade Class!  It has been a long time since I was in first grade and things have changed so much in the last 25 years.  This is a very energetic talkative group of first graders and the teacher has her hands full with these 30 students.  She did a very good job of keeping the  kids attention on each activity by moving from different subjects every few minutes and also by keeping the kids active throughout the day.  That was something I found very interesting.  She has a routine in the class which is great because the kids know what type of activity they will be participating in but they are constantly moving around the room which with all the wiggles and energy is a must in this class!  This way of teaching also encourages the students to work one-on-one, in groups of two, in larger groups, and in a small group setting with the teacher.
     While the students were doing center time I had the opportunity to help many of them brainstorm ideas for the stories they were writing.  If they were stuck on a sentence I helped them think of describing words that they could incorporate and words that would help them complete an idea.  It was interesting to observe and help during circle time because I saw that the students are as diverse in their learning styles as in their ideas for their stories.  Some of the students who were more visual learners than others drew pictures to describe the characters or the plot of their stories.  I observed another little boy who was practically writing a novel.  He wrote four short stories in the space that some wrote one sentence.  I really liked that the teacher encouraged the students to work together and to read their stories to one another.  Some liked this more than others... One little girl said, "I don't like to read out loud!  I am going to read to myself!"  I liked listening to the kids and learning what were their strengths and weaknesses.  This type of teaching helps the teacher cater her lessons more to specific areas if she sees students are struggling with somethings more than others.
    I think that this is one of the most challenging things that Miss Johnson faces each day as she  prepares her lessons to cater to such a large group.  For the most part her class is all on the same learning level, but at the beginning of the day I saw that after all of the students had finished their math worksheet that one little boy sat staring at his paper.  After a few minutes of waiting for the little boy to finish (which he still hadn't) Miss Johnson took the class over to the circle for reading time and left the boy to work on his math.  I watched him and noticed that his attention kept wandering to other things so I asked Miss Johnson if she would like me to help him.  She said that the most important thing was to try and help him stay focused and on task which I guess is a challenge for him.  Once I sat down and talked through the problems with him I could see that he is very smart and just has a short attention span!  So on the one hand she has two or three students who struggle with certain areas of the curriculum and on the other she has one student who, while I was in the class, finished all of her work and was asking the teacher if she had more for her to do.
  I was almost certain that FIRST grade was going to be the grade I wanted to teach most but after observing for just one day I am not sure.  Miss Johnson is kept busy by things other than teaching.  She is constantly redirecting, trying to get kids to focus and listen while she works hard to instill a love of learning in these young minds.  Amazingly she is doing all of this while dealing with wiggly, non listening, emotional (you're not my friend anymore) students.  She even had one student run out of the class and hide in the school.  She said it can be very stressful because some days they just don't want to listen to her but that other days she sees the students succeed and sees the reward in all of it.  I have a new appreciation for first grade teachers!