The drive to the school seems to take me longer than it really should, but at the same time I am just trying to get a feel for the area I will be spending a great deal of my time in! As I come closer to the school the neighborhoods seem to become a little more run down. It was not the best experience when I had to take detours because they were doing construction on the roads. I do believe I witnessed some illegal activity while waiting in line at a stop sign. From that point I have felt not as safe driving though this part of the city, but oh well the experience I have had a chance to go through is definitely worth it.
As far as the actual school, when I pulled I could not believe how big it was compared to the elementary school I attended! There is also little parking and when looking for a spot before going in you want to find a spot where you won't be blocked in by the parents or the afternoon buses coming to pick up students. My tutoring session is from 1-2:30 on Mondays.
Fumbling to put me keys away and walking up to the door to buzz in you could say I was so nervous about what to expect on my first day with the kids. The office staff was very friendly and also walked me to the classroom I would be in for the next nine weeks! The time has come to meet the teacher and students! I was greeted with a warm welcome from the entire class. The size of the classroom is pretty big, but considering the amount of students it almost seems like the tables are close and kind of cluttered!
The four students I tutor are amazing young children and of course like any child they have their moments, but I am so happy to be with them! Out of the four students I originally began with I still tutor two of them and have two new kids!
Within this school there are certain things the children are expected to do. Such as during fire drills they must be quite and be in a straight line either single file or two by two. When leaving the class to use the bathroom they also must be quite as to not disturb the classes in progress. In Mrs. Adams class they have a basket they have to take and it has a hall pass (I believe), and hand sanitizer! If you follow the rules the students receive a buck in for the class or themselves. I forget which one it is! If the students don't follow the rules I'm not exactly sure what the teacher or principal will do as far as discipline. I haven't really grasped what the teacher does for discipline with students, but for rewarding I do believe the students are rewarded by the bucks as well.
Maeghan,
ReplyDeleteI would have to agree that this whole experience has been extremely rewarding. Yes, it is an experience that we are not used to but we were able to gain so much from the whole thing. Parking wasn’t an issue to think about for me, once I went for the first time, even though it was the only thing I was really worried about when we received our placements because I have heard so many other stories about the parking from individuals who have taken this class in past semesters. Luckily enough I was scheduled at my placement first thing in the morning, from 9-10:30, but even if I was scheduled for a later time it still wouldn’t have been a problem. The street for bus pick up was on one side of the school and the teacher’s parking lot entrance and parent parking was on the other side. But most of the student’s road buses so their parents didn’t have to go to the school and for the students that did need to get picked up their parents would just walk the few streets to get them. Yes, the parking lot is also very small but it worked for Joseph L. Smith Elementary School and there was always a spot for me in it.
Walking into the class for the first time wasn’t as nerve-racking for me. The students were just getting into their assigned lines outside getting ready to come into the building to start their days. So I was first introduced to Mrs. Blue and Mrs. Bean her teachers assistant, they prepared me for what I should expect since I was a new face in the classroom. So I had time to let my new surroundings for the next nine weeks sink in before the students came in. When the students did come in they were so excited and weren’t really following any of their morning routines, so Mrs. Blue had to get them back on track. It was a good feeling to know they appreciated having an extra individual in the classroom to help. Many were very open from the start and wanted to get to know me right away, others were shy and didn’t know how to take it but weren’t disrespectable at all. From that day they would always ask when I would be back, in the hope that it would be one of the weeks I could get there an extra day. Whenever that day came, if it was another day or my assigned Fridays they would always have a new story to tell me, of what has happened since the last time I saw them.
I’m not sure what the exact grade level of the classroom which you spent your time but from the stories I hear from my teacher Mrs. Blue by the end of the day in a kindergarten room the students have just had it. It’s nothing like I remember classmates and myself acting. Maybe it’s just something only the kindergarten teachers have to go through now that within the city of Providence kindergarten has become a full day program. I know for sure as a five or six year old, I wasn’t able to stay focused and behaved in one place for six hours, five days a week, so it’s understandable. It’s just extremely difficult for the teacher of 25 of these kinds of students, and I will say that my teacher Mrs. Blue handles it very well.
Maeghan,
ReplyDeleteIt seems to me like your first couple of days were interesting! The neighborhood I was in made me nervous too! I guess I am just really sheltered sometimes. I am glad your children are good for you and listen to you well. The two new kids must have been fun. Don't you wish they would change the kids up after a couple of sessions? I got so excited when I got a new child, or my teacher would put a new child in the place of another student that was absent sometimes.
It's too bad for you that you couldn't observe the classroom more. I believe you could get a feel a lot more for the school environment. I am sure that your experience was great with the children and teaching them how to read was a fufilling experience.