Monday, March 18, 2013
Volunteer/Observation 1
In preparation for my volunteer hours, I decided to visit a school in my neighborhood, that may not fit the criteria of an Urban school, however, it is a Title 1 school with about a 52% poverty rate. It is not the type of school that would be expected to be an A school, but this is a 5 Star rating school, and has consistently made “A” based on the FCAT results. I was curious to see, what the teachers are doing that could probably be duplicated in another school. The teacher I was assigned to is a Board Certified Teacher, who has been teaching for over 35 years, this is her 9th year at the school, they have had one principal for 8 years, however for the 2013-2014 school year the Principal retired, a new Principal was hired, she decided not to stay at the school, so they had to find a replacement quickly. It seems as if everything worked out.
Prior to my visit to the classroom, the teacher and I had a phone orientation, at which time she told me about her students, this is a 3rd grade class of 18 students, it is a inclusion classroom, so she has 3 students varying levels of ASD, and 2 ESE students. When I arrived in the classroom, the students were engaged, participating in activities on a Mimio Board. One of the 3rd Grade teachers wrote a grant for Mimio Boards, all 3rd -4th grade classes received a mimio board. This activity lasted about 10 minutes, then the lights came on and the students were given instruction for another activity, students were told that this activity was only going to be 5 minutes, I worked with a small group of students, but then the 5 minutes were up, and the teacher was again telling the students about their next activity, she started singing the students responded in song, and moved to their location, some on computers, some were working in pairs, and she called a group of 4 to her bean shaped table.
The students were always moving, talking listening, some had a few reminders, but I believe that is normal, she had her class, in control. She was in charge of her Class. I am looking forward to visiting again.
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I really enjoyed reading your piece. It was great to hear that a school with a 52% poverty rate was able to rise above societal standards and maintain an A+ rating. In addition, it was great hearing about the teacher you worked with and her effective methods. It makes a lot of sense that to keep students attention, you must always keep them moving. I look forward to reading about your next day in this classroom. Best of luck!
ReplyDeleteJennifer-
ReplyDeleteThank you-I realized that not all of our schools will have teachers like the one I had the opportunity to observe. But what i did learn, is that we can all make a difference in one way or another. We have the ability to inspire change in our students despite their ethnicity, culture, or socio economic status.