Prompt # 7

This was my very first service learning experience and I was actually quite nervous going into it. When I first learned I was going to be a reading buddy I thought to myself "how hard can it be?" Then when we had the VIPS orientation with some of the teachers from the Providence elementary schools and they showed us exactly what we would be doing I was a little intimidated. I soon learned that I would be doing much more than just reading with the students. Every one of my sessions consisted of having the students read flashcards, play activities that focused on the subskill that they were having trouble with, and then reading a decodable book. My two students were working on the consonant digraph subskill. For anyone who may not be sure of what exactly that is (because I wasn't at first) it is when two different letters are put together to make one sound. For example, when the letters S and H are put together they make the "Shhhh" sound. : ) We started each session with the flashcards which consisted of about 10 -15 words that the students where having trouble with. Both of my students each had different sets of cards. Then we moved on to the subskill activities. There were only two of them Digraph Bingo and Digraph Roll-A-Word so we rotated from week to week. Then we would finish with the decodable book. The supervisor told me that after six or seven weeks I would be giving them an assessment to see if they can move on to the next subskill or not. Well after only three weeks my students were already bored with the activities and decodable books. As an incentive I would tell them that if we were successful in each session and we had time at the end they could pick a book of choice from the class to read. They were quite fond of this. Before I knew it seven weeks had gone by and it was time to asses them. I was so nervous. I kept thinking to myself "what if my kids don't pass?" "what if they haven't learned anything from me?" "what if I haven't helped them in any way?" "Oh God, that means I'm going to be a bad teacher!" I think I was more nervous giving the test than they were actually taking the test. :) Well, to say the least, I was way too paranoid because both my students passed with flying colors! Right before I gave them the test I asked each of them if they were nervous and they both said no with such amazing confidence. They were so happy that they passed and that they could move on to the next subskill. "Thanks for helping us Miss Teri" they said. That was pretty much the turning point for me. If I ever had any doubts about being a teacher before that statement alone erased all of them. I spend 1.5 hours a week with them which isn't much at all but I feel that in the past nine weeks I have made an impact (maybe just a small one) on them as they have done the same for me.

Prompt # 6

After reading Ira Shor's Education Is Politics article I was able to communicate with my students in a way that demonstrated sensitivity and responsiveness to their sociocultural and linguistic differences by using the participatory pedagogy. Shor explains that participation is the most important place to begin because in most traditional classrooms student involvement is low and action is essential to improve knowledge and develop intelligence. During most of the tutoring sessions I had I noticed that when *Mrs. Albany was teaching the rest of the class a lesson she was the one doing most of the talking. There was very little student participation. It wasn't like when the teacher asks a question and none of the students volunteer to answer. The teacher rarely ever asked any questions at all. For the most part she just stood in the front of the classroom and lectured. I am a college student and I hate lectures so I can just imagine what it must be like for a third grade student to have to sit, stay focused, and listen to a teacher lecture for 6 hours a day. Even on the first day of my tutoring sessions my two kids barely spoke. At first I thought it was because they were shy and not used to me. Later I realized, however, that they were anything but shy and they just assumed that I was going to dictate to them just like the teacher did in class. They assumed that I would do all the talking. I was told that I had to read these "decodable" books with them, which they were not big fans of I might add and I don't blame them. But as an incentive I would tell them that if we got through the decodable book they could pick a book of their choice from the class to read. They loved that idea, but when they picked the book of their choice they handed it to me and said "here you go." "No, we are going to read together" I said in return. "But Mrs. Albany always reads to us" they said. I asked them if they ever took turns reading and they said no. So I thought to myself how are these kids supposed to improve their reading skills if the teacher only reads to them instead of with them. So with every following session I did the same thing. I had them participate by reading to me and asking any questions they might have. Also, like Shor proposed, I began each session by asking them what suggestions they might have for improving the lessons. There were times when they didn't have any suggestions. Other times they proposed new activity ideas and new books to read. As a result, this boosted their confidence and they developed a sense of accomplishment which is extremely important for any student.
*Pseudonyms

Prompt # 5

As a teacher in an urban inner-city school I may encounter some challenges while collaborating with the parents of my student. For example one of those challenges may be the language and culture barriers between the child's parents and myself. As I have mentioned in a previous blog one of my students is Spanish. Although English is his first language, that is not the case for his mother who only speaks broken English. I would tend to think that this would become a challenge during a parent-teacher conference. The parent/s may feel like I (as the white teacher) am pushing the white culture and language upon them. Lisa Delpit explains the "culture of power" in her article The Silenced Dialogue. She explains that issues of power are enacted in classrooms because schooling prepares people for jobs, and what kind of job a person has determines their personal economic status and power. Therefore, the schooling is greatly related to that power. She also goes on to explain that it is not the schools job to attempt to change the cultures of the nonwhite children and insist that they adopt the values of the dominant culture. Rather, she is simply encouraging that they embrace the dominant culture while still practicing their own, which will only benefit their child/children. She believes that the world would be diminished if cultural diversity was ever eliminated and I agree with her. Therefore as teachers we are not trying to take away their personal language style, but simply encourage them to learn an additional one.
Another challenge that I will probably face as a teacher will be when the parents simply don't care. As I explained above language barriers may be challenging, but it does not mean that the parents don't care. While speaking with the teacher she has informed me of several students in the class who are in desperate need of academic interventions with their parents, but when trying to contact them and get them involved she has no such luck. She said there have been numerous letters sent out and phone calls made but it is like trying to contact people that "don't even exist." So when I become a teacher and am faced with this challenge, which I'm sure I will be, what would be the next step? What do I do when my letters are not being responded to and my phone calls are not being answered? Do I go to the house of that child? Is that even allowed? This will prove to be the ultimate challenge.

Prompt # 4

In Johnson's article Our House Is On Fire he talks about white privilege. He states that privilege is a social advantage that is unearned and comes to people simply because they happen to belong to a particular social category. For example, white children are assumed to be competent in school until they show otherwise. Children of color, on the other hand, are assumed to be incompetent in school until they prove themselves otherwise. Unfortunately as a result, there are may teachers out there that put there time and effort into the white privileged students only because the rest of the students are assumed to fail anyway. Thankfully I did not witness this at *Blackstone Elementary. In fact, it was quite the opposite. Before entering an urban inner-city school one might develop certain assumptions like "there won't be any white kids" or "they're all minorities" or "none of them speak English." At Blackstone most of these things were true, however it did not effect the educational system in a negative way at all. Most of the students that attend are African American and Spanish, especially in the class I tutor. As a matter of fact one of my kids is African American and the other is Spanish. For both of them English is their first language. I'll be the first to admit that walking into a class of such diversity was a little intimidating. One of my biggest fears was that the students would stereotype me as just another white teacher (in training) that wouldn't understand their perspective. After working with them, however, it became the exact opposite. I did not feel at any time that there were color or race boundaries between us. Although I never attended school in the city, my high school was extremely diverse so I've had prior experience with different cultural backgrounds in the educational setting. One of the challenges I may have as a teacher in this classroom, however, is with the student's parents. For example, one of the students I tutor is Spanish. At one time he told me that his mother and grandmother whom he lives with don't speak English very well. "It's hard for them to help me read" he said. After that session I had asked his teacher if she had ever met with his parents. She explained to me how she didn't feel that the meeting was very successful due to the language barriers. It is so important for a child to have that support at home. There is nothing wrong with speaking your native language however, when it effects your child's ability to progress in school there is going to be a challenge. I have learned that language barriers in the child's home environment is part of the reason why they are so far behind. One of the biggest misconceptions I've confronted throughout this process is that most of the children that have trouble and are behind in school are minorities. Also that most minorities come from broken single-parent homes. This is not true in all cases. For example, one of my students is African American, but on the contrary, comes from a middle class family where his mom and dad are married and only speak English. The teacher has met with them and reports that they are respectable and involved parents whose child simply needs some extra help. This proves that not all children of diverse cultural backgrounds come from broken homes.

Prompt # 1

I am a reading buddy for two third grade boys, *Carmino and *Savatore, at *Blackstone Elementary. Blackstone is an average size elementary school and is right in the city. On my first day I was quite apprehensive about driving there because driving down town makes me extremely nervous. One-ways and parallel parking give me anxiety. LOL. However when I arrived there was a parking lot designated to the school so that made me feel better. : ) One of the first things I was wondering while walking into the building was "where do the kids have recess?" I'm used to seeing playgrounds and courtyards right outside elementary schools; well at least that is how it is in my neighborhood. Then again, I've never lived in the city so I wouldn't know. When I walked in the first thing I heard was "GO AROUND TO THE OTHER DOOR!!!" which was harshly yelled through a set of glass doors by the lovely secretary. : ) Not knowing where the "other" door was I walked around the corner and thought to myself "Oh boy, this ought to be interesting!" Then a very reassuring voice said to me "are you with VIPS?" I looked over and *Mrs. Niza, the teacher in charge of VIPS, introduced herself to me and proceeded to give me a tour of the school. She was extremely nice and apologized for the loud secretary. As we were walking the halls we passed the courtyard which is set outside in a quad-like area enclosed by the school itself. "This is where the kids have recess" said Mrs. Niza. She answered my question before I even asked it. She was great. The school was very clean and well maintained. The hallways were painted gray and pale green with art work spread out here and there. It was simple but nice. We passed several classes of students traveling in the halls and I was quite impressed with how well behaved they were, standing in single file lines and not whispering a peep. After Mrs. Niza gave me and another VIPS student an orientation she brought us to the class where we met our kids and their teacher, *Mrs. Albany. She asked me who I would be working with and when I said Carmino and Salvatore, she stated "Well you're certainly going to have your hands full." This was said loud enough for all the children in the class to hear including Salvatore and Carmino. I thought to myself "Well that was inappropriate!" After that awkward introduction however, I walked around the class and admired all of the children's work that was displayed on the walls. I also enjoyed skimming through the book display on the back shelf that included one of my favorites: Frog and Toad. The children's desks are set up in groups of three and four with the teacher's desk in the front. There is also a carpet in the front of the room for reading time which was one of my favorite things in elementary school. Mrs. Albany then showed me some take home bags she had put together herself that included a new book and stuffed animal that the students would rotate and take home for a night depending on their behavior or accomplishments. This was also similar to something my elementary school teachers did. Despite the comment she made earlier she seemed like an "ok" teacher but like anything else time would have to tell. After my first day I was eager to come back and interact with the children.
*Pseudonyms

A Little About Me

Hello my name is Teri Stifano and this is my first semester here at RIC. I transferred from CCRI and already like it so much better. I am an Elementary Education major concentrating on special education. Growing up with a younger brother who had several learning disabilities is what inspired me to be an elementary special education teacher. Although it is an extremely heavy work load, I am eager to take on the challenge!