This week, my coordinator took the other Interns and myself on a driving tour of the community that our students are from. I have to say, the tour opened my eyes. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to peer into the lives of these youngsters, as I now understand a little bit more about them from seeing their world outside of the classroom (which, I firmly believe, has a tremendous effect on behavior within the classroom). For instance, throughout the past two weeks, I have noticed that a great deal of the fifth graders with whom I work have difficulty with organization skills. After seeing first-hand how some of these students potentially live (several of the homes I saw appeared to be very cluttered from the outside looking in), it is no wonder to me that the problem exists. After all, when a home, which is supposed to be a place of comfort, has no sense of organization to it, of course the children growing up within it are not going to enter the classroom with such skills; therefore, it is helpful that they are taught at school, regardless of how elementary the concept might seem. Sometimes youngsters only need to be shown a concept once before beginning to acquire it, especially if the concept is personally beneficial. On this tour, we also drove through a low-income apartment complex. My coordinator explained that several of the students at our school reside here. While the environment appeared stable enough at a first-glance, we observed several of the apartments being cleaned out, almost as though someone had been evicted. When we questioned my coordinator about this, she explained that, although the complex is a low-income facility, many still cannot afford monthly payments and are forced to leave. She expressed that in the past, several students have moved in the middle of the school year because of this issue. Again, I'm sure that not having a stable homelife greatly impacts the attitudes and abilities that students bring to school with them. I feel that this experience will help me to become a better teacher, as I will now look at each of my students more closely; particularly the ones who seem to be struggling in some sense, whether academically or behaviorally. Such challenges will trigger me to look a little closer into the lives of these students to determine if the cause is stemming from home. If so, I hope to work with my students to develop a plan to succeed in weaker areas. Such plans may include purchasing a planner if one is not provided by the school, purchasing an alarm clock for those having touble getting to school in the morning either because their parents/gaurdians have already left for work or choose to stay in bed, or seeing to it that my class has a daily snack break in the afternoons before going home in case lunch at school is the only meal they receive.
Towards the end of the week, I began to implement behavior management plans for approximately two students each class period. I was so amazed at how hard one student in particular worked to complete his assignments on Friday after learning that he could potentially earn a reward for positive behavior. Typically, this student neglects to do his work in class and makes inappropriate remarks during classroom discussion; however, once he learned of the plan, I noticed a slight change in his work ethic. While he still raised his hand complaining of difficulty, he did ask for assistance and seemed genuinely interested in overcoming his challenges. I am very anxious to see his progress throughout the semester!
I will begin teaching the reading portion of the language arts class in which I am placed next week. While I am excited, I hope that I am prepared for what lies ahead! :)
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This week, my coordinator took the other Interns and myself on a driving tour of the community that our students are from. I have to say, the tour opened my eyes. I am thankful that I had the opportunity to peer into the lives of these youngsters, as I now understand a little bit more about them from seeing their world outside of the classroom (which, I firmly believe, has a tremendous effect on behavior within the classroom). For instance, throughout the past two weeks, I have noticed that a great deal of the fifth graders with whom I work have difficulty with organization skills. After seeing first-hand how some of these students potentially live (several of the homes I saw appeared to be very cluttered from the outside looking in), it is no wonder to me that the problem exists. After all, when a home, which is supposed to be a place of comfort, has no sense of organization to it, of course the children growing up within it are not going to enter the classroom with such skills; therefore, it is helpful that they are taught at school, regardless of how elementary the concept might seem. Sometimes youngsters only need to be shown a concept once before beginning to acquire it, especially if the concept is personally beneficial. On this tour, we also drove through a low-income apartment complex. My coordinator explained that several of the students at our school reside here. While the environment appeared stable enough at a first-glance, we observed several of the apartments being cleaned out, almost as though someone had been evicted. When we questioned my coordinator about this, she explained that, although the complex is a low-income facility, many still cannot afford monthly payments and are forced to leave. She expressed that in the past, several students have moved in the middle of the school year because of this issue. Again, I'm sure that not having a stable homelife greatly impacts the attitudes and abilities that students bring to school with them. I feel that this experience will help me to become a better teacher, as I will now look at each of my students more closely; particularly the ones who seem to be struggling in some sense, whether academically or behaviorally. Such challenges will trigger me to look a little closer into the lives of these students to determine if the cause is stemming from home. If so, I hope to work with my students to develop a plan to succeed in weaker areas. Such plans may include purchasing a planner if one is not provided by the school, purchasing an alarm clock for those having touble getting to school in the morning either because their parents/gaurdians have already left for work or choose to stay in bed, or seeing to it that my class has a daily snack break in the afternoons before going home in case lunch at school is the only meal they receive.
Towards the end of the week, I began to implement behavior management plans for approximately two students each class period. I was so amazed at how hard one student in particular worked to complete his assignments on Friday after learning that he could potentially earn a reward for positive behavior. Typically, this student neglects to do his work in class and makes inappropriate remarks during classroom discussion; however, once he learned of the plan, I noticed a slight change in his work ethic. While he still raised his hand complaining of difficulty, he did ask for assistance and seemed genuinely interested in overcoming his challenges. I am very anxious to see his progress throughout the semester!
I will begin teaching the reading portion of the language arts class in which I am placed next week. While I am excited, I hope that I am prepared for what lies ahead! :)
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