Public School Field Trip

My daughters go to an urban school. They were selected as exceptional readers and were able to go to a Jacksonville Suns baseball game. There were 11 students who were chosen including my two daughters. Four chaperones including myself were allowed to go. I was to oversee my two children, a first grader and a third grader, as well as a second grade boy and a first grade girl. My group was well behaved. There was a fifth grade girl who was sitting behind us spitting and wasting her orange all over the floor. I had to keep turning around and telling her that she is a young lady and should not act that way. To this she just laughed. There was another little girl who kept saying smart things to my kids. I realized all the more that I must be sure to spend time with my children so that they can pick up my character instead of the character of those around them.

Volunteering Experience at in an ESL class

I volunteered at an adult ESL class at the Jacksonville Public Library. This is a free class open to the public. They meet twice a week. Students must call to set up an appointment to determine what class they will be in and when it starts. Students are asked not to miss any classes as all of the classes contain important information. All of the classes are taught in English. The instructor's home language is Dutch, English is her second language. She also studied Spanish in college and is proficient in French and speaks a little German. The class had five students. The instructor had the students introduce themselves to me, practice. One student was from Mexico, Yeomen, El Salvador, Columbia, and the Netherlands. The class itself was interesting as the students from Columbia and El Salvador sat next to each other and frequently spoke in Spanish. The student from Columbia spoke the most English. She stated that she would return to her country next month. She is here to learn English so that hopefully she can get a job here as our currency is worth more in her country. Another student asked the teacher after class if she could help with an immigration issue with her son. She stated that he is a junior in high school in New Jersey and they are threatening to send him back. She is afraid because she has her papers here in the states and his father died. There is no family left in their country for him to stay with. The instructor gave her the number to an organization who may be able to help. As I volunteered in this class I thought it was amazing to see how these students had so much to deal with as they learned another language, yet they were persevering. I thought of the urban students in public schools and how they also deal with many issues and how I as an instructor can help them persevere.

Public Library

Interesting things happen at the public library. They have such a vast array of services many people may overlook them as an excellent resource. I had to observe an adult ESL class today for my TSL class and I had so much fun! (My volunteering for this class does not start until mid April so I thought I would blog about this experience until then). I met people from all over the world coming to the library to learn English. It is a free opportunity in where they meet twice a week. They come from different backgrounds. The first class I was able to observe was an introductory class where they were just beginning to learn English. They introduced themselves giving their names, where they were from and how long they have been in the United States. What was interested was that depending on their education in their home country determined how fast they picked up on English. I read that in the text books but it never really hit home until I saw it in action. Students who were teachers in their home country picked up on English, the grammar, rules etc. much faster than those who did not have much of a formal education in their home country. I went to two classes already today each 1.5 hours. I must go back again tonight so I will blog more later.

Classroom Management

I worked at a daycare for some time. I can remember the first day I was asked to substitute a three year old classroom. I went in there without a lesson plan just thinking that I would read a couple of stories and maybe draw a couple of pictures, take them outside and everything would be good. Well after about 5 minutes of story time and 3 minutes of drawing they were running all over the room. Some were going to the bathroom, some wanted to play with dolls, some wanted to cut...oh it was a mess! The next day I came prepared just in case. I had activities cut out, songs to sing, dances to dance.. oh I made sure I was ready for them. The difference between the two days was like black and white. Of course they were three year olds so they didn't sit quietly the entire time but they were manageable.

Underpaid Teachers

I believe that the reason we have a lot of African American males on the streets and dropping out of high school has a lot to do with teacher's attitudes. There is a lot of stereotyping and labeling done right in the classrooms. I believe if teachers were being paid more, as much as a doctor or lawyer, we would have more teachers trying to help all kids succeed instead of just conveying information. Now I do believe that there are a lot of good teachers out there, I am the product of a couple of those great teachers. Yet, there are plenty of teachers teaching just to get a pay check. I believe if teaching were a more prestigious career and if they were paid as such we would have more teachers who actually cared about the success of their students regardless of race.

Hi. I don't have much to blog about today. I have three daughters ages 4, 6, and 8. I also have a 3 month old son. My two oldest daughters go to an urban school so I will tell you about their experiences. Currently I am a stay at home mom, hopefully until I finish my degree. Kalyn is in the 3rd grade. She makes good grades, is sort of a self starter, independent. While Kylah is also smart, more time must be taken with her. Since they attend an urban school that failed last year, there is a lot of buzz about attending a literacy fair and coming to math night etc. They even provide meals for some of the events. Although I am not a single parent, nor do I work - for a paycheck that is- I still find it hard to attend these events. I want to be supportive and I know that every bit helps yet life is very busy. Now for me, since I am an educated parent it is not a problem for me to take time out and help my kids with subjects they struggle with. I often wonder about those single parents who must work yet they may not know how to help their kids. If it is hard for me to attend just think about those parents. I would like to find another way to reach parents with busy schedules who would like to help their kids but can't find the time to go to the different workshops offered by the schools.