One point I found interesting that Time Wise talked about was how some one of a colored race may commit a crime, it absolutely does not mean people should judge. I feel that everyone is human and anyone can commit a crime and anyone who commits a crime should not be judges whether your black, white or whatever else, we are all humans and not perfect. I feel that people think African Americans are violent people which not every single African American is violent. I feel that people do target African Americans and it is not fair because I feel that they have done nothing wrong to have people judge against. I feel that these thoughts stay in people’s mind which caused racism against these people.
Another point Wise talked about was Barack Obama being the President of the United States saying that the U.S is in a post racial era. I feel that they are wrong because in readings that we read in class there were statics in Johnson stating about whites against blacks. One thing that was stated in the reading was about job interviews and committing crimes. In the reading and from what I learned I feel that whites do get more privileges than colored people because blacks do get discriminated because of the racism that gets displayed upon them. This is utterly wrong because I feel that blacks have never done anything wrong to have them be treated the way they are. I think that Wise really sees what is going on but some of the things he says I do not agree with him on.
Lastly the point he made about how minorities are not at fault and how white people view blacks through a lens of group pathology. This goes back to relating to a post racial society. I feel that what is in the past should remain in the past because things have changed over the years and I feel that things may get better but you never know.
Overall I thought this was a good video. What got me was when the podium had got privilege on it. I thought that said a lot because the whole time he was talking about white privilege and he really made a lot of good points throughout his speech. I do agree on some points that he made but this is a not a post racial society because of all the readings that were in class and the discussion we have. Everything that we have talked about connects to what we continue to talk about each and every class. I really enjoyed watching Wise’s speech because it opened up my eyes just like every talking point we do.
Tuesday, March 30, 2010
Tuesday, March 23, 2010
Misc. Post #1
Today’s presentation in class really sums up what we have been talking about so far in FNED. Everyone had different ideas about diversity and media which really opened up my eyes to see what other people saw. What I took out of these presentations was that although people portray different media ideas differently, when you really analysis things, it shows that the media has some unfair understandings. I feel after doing this project that kids should know about stereotypes, racism and gayness at such a young age because they really do understand these types of things and they base mostly everything that they do on what they see. Working on this project helped me in understanding what really goes on in today’s world. I also realized that being a child molds you into what media portrays as being a perfect person. In the project that I worked on in my group there was a dove video and the girl in the beginning was just a regular girl no makeup and has no be exposed to the media and by the end of the video she has makeup on, dressed like what celebrities wear. This is a good example of what media portrays people as. I am glad that I got to experience this project because this really opened up my eyes.
Monday, March 22, 2010
Sixth Visit
March 26 was my sixth visit to my elementary school. When I got to the school I noticed that the other volunteer that I worked with was not there. I went to the office at 915 and went to the classroom at 930. When I walked in the classroom Mrs. B welcomed me and the kids that I worked with were excited to see me. As always I had a half hour to prepare what I was going to do with the kids and around 945 the other volunteer comes in and she did not seem herself. She was having a bad morning and you could tell that by the expression on her face. After she told me what was wrong I noticed that in the box there was a poem game for the kids to play and it seemed like really fun. As the kids separated for intervention, the kids brought me to the corner table and it was time to begin.
As I waited for the other girl to come from next door I filled out the papers on what I would be doing with the kids today. I decided to do words in a sentence, play a game where the students say if the words are real words or nonsense words and end with some reading. As the other girl came over, I decided to play a new game that I have never played with them before. What I had to do was put the poem in front of them but individual words were scattered around and they had to put the poem together by me reading it to them. They really got the hang of things because it was poems that kids know at the age we did humpty dumpty, and one two buckle my shoe. As we did this game, the other kids in the room started to sing humpty dumpty and one two buckle my shoe. Mrs. B looked over at me and smiled which mad e me smile because the other kids were getting involved with something I was just doing with my 3 kids. Another game I played was having the kids roll a cube and then put the letters together then have the kids told me if the words are real or nonsense. Every time I play that game they always would roll the cube off of the table and this time I would make sure that would not happen. I told the kids before we would play the game that if they did not keep the cube on the table then the game would end. The kids listen to me and they really followed the rules because this was one of their favorite games. I was glad they listened to me because it showed that I had control over them and they listened to me. After we played that game, we decided to read for the last 10 minutes. This whole time that we read, two of the three girls really made an effort in following along with the words and it showed me that they really wanted to learn. One of the girls always does not want to follow along and I feel like I have to spoon feed her the words and she gets distracted easily. It was time to go and I realized that next time I would be at the school; I would try and have the one girl focus more because the other girls do a great job in following along.
It was time for me to go to first grade and the other volunteer and I walked down together. She was telling me that she just got a new student to tutor and he is hard to control. Next time she is going to try and be stricter about things because this student really did not want to do anything that she gave them to do. When I walked into the classroom I noticed that one of the girls was missing and I only got to work with the boy and the girl. When I went to put down my folder, I noticed that the little boy got my box for me and it was so cute because it just barely reached the box. When he got the box it was time for us to begin. I decided that we would play 2 games because that’s all that Ms. W put in the box for me to do on Fridays. The first games that we played was to have each kid read a word to the other one and then have the person receiving the word to put a counter on a card which contained the sounds that were in the word. Last time we played this game the kids were having trouble with the word sounds but maybe this time it would be different. Both of the kids that were there were sounding out the word, it was more like segmenting the word. This time they were more into really sounding out the word instead of just guessing the possibilities the word could be. The only thing they had trouble with was putting the counter on the right word sound. I feel like the more practice they get, the better they will get at it. After we finished that game I decided to have them play a game where they have to make up words with certain letters in it. Since we played this game last time they really were catching on to it but the letters that we did not get to last time, they struggled with it because they were fairly new to it. I have noticed with both the first graders and the kindergartners that with the more practice they get, the better they are.
It was time for me to go and it was time for the kids to go to lunch. Something that I never thought would happen between such young kids happen. After I got my log sheet signed by the teacher the girl that I had in group came up to me and told me that the boy would not give her a fruit snack because she was black and only white people could have them. I felt like this was the cultural of power because only the white people are superior and the colored are minority. I connected it to Delpit because she talks about the cultural of power and the colored being a minority. When I saw the boy I told the boy to say he was sorry to her and when he did, they both gave each other a hug and I left with good terms. As always I am excited to go back and even though there is no class next week, I can’t wait to see them again.
As I waited for the other girl to come from next door I filled out the papers on what I would be doing with the kids today. I decided to do words in a sentence, play a game where the students say if the words are real words or nonsense words and end with some reading. As the other girl came over, I decided to play a new game that I have never played with them before. What I had to do was put the poem in front of them but individual words were scattered around and they had to put the poem together by me reading it to them. They really got the hang of things because it was poems that kids know at the age we did humpty dumpty, and one two buckle my shoe. As we did this game, the other kids in the room started to sing humpty dumpty and one two buckle my shoe. Mrs. B looked over at me and smiled which mad e me smile because the other kids were getting involved with something I was just doing with my 3 kids. Another game I played was having the kids roll a cube and then put the letters together then have the kids told me if the words are real or nonsense. Every time I play that game they always would roll the cube off of the table and this time I would make sure that would not happen. I told the kids before we would play the game that if they did not keep the cube on the table then the game would end. The kids listen to me and they really followed the rules because this was one of their favorite games. I was glad they listened to me because it showed that I had control over them and they listened to me. After we played that game, we decided to read for the last 10 minutes. This whole time that we read, two of the three girls really made an effort in following along with the words and it showed me that they really wanted to learn. One of the girls always does not want to follow along and I feel like I have to spoon feed her the words and she gets distracted easily. It was time to go and I realized that next time I would be at the school; I would try and have the one girl focus more because the other girls do a great job in following along.
It was time for me to go to first grade and the other volunteer and I walked down together. She was telling me that she just got a new student to tutor and he is hard to control. Next time she is going to try and be stricter about things because this student really did not want to do anything that she gave them to do. When I walked into the classroom I noticed that one of the girls was missing and I only got to work with the boy and the girl. When I went to put down my folder, I noticed that the little boy got my box for me and it was so cute because it just barely reached the box. When he got the box it was time for us to begin. I decided that we would play 2 games because that’s all that Ms. W put in the box for me to do on Fridays. The first games that we played was to have each kid read a word to the other one and then have the person receiving the word to put a counter on a card which contained the sounds that were in the word. Last time we played this game the kids were having trouble with the word sounds but maybe this time it would be different. Both of the kids that were there were sounding out the word, it was more like segmenting the word. This time they were more into really sounding out the word instead of just guessing the possibilities the word could be. The only thing they had trouble with was putting the counter on the right word sound. I feel like the more practice they get, the better they will get at it. After we finished that game I decided to have them play a game where they have to make up words with certain letters in it. Since we played this game last time they really were catching on to it but the letters that we did not get to last time, they struggled with it because they were fairly new to it. I have noticed with both the first graders and the kindergartners that with the more practice they get, the better they are.
It was time for me to go and it was time for the kids to go to lunch. Something that I never thought would happen between such young kids happen. After I got my log sheet signed by the teacher the girl that I had in group came up to me and told me that the boy would not give her a fruit snack because she was black and only white people could have them. I felt like this was the cultural of power because only the white people are superior and the colored are minority. I connected it to Delpit because she talks about the cultural of power and the colored being a minority. When I saw the boy I told the boy to say he was sorry to her and when he did, they both gave each other a hug and I left with good terms. As always I am excited to go back and even though there is no class next week, I can’t wait to see them again.
Sunday, March 21, 2010
Talking Points #5: Kahne and Westheimer: In the Service of What?
Kahne and Westheimer: In the Service of What?
Christina DiPalma
Quotes:
1. “Just as the difference between change and charity may provide an important conceptual distinction for those analyzing service learning curricula, it is helpful to distinguish the moral, political, and intellectual goals that motivate those who support service learning.”(page 5)
This quote stood out to me because although the words change and charity may seem similar, they really are not. I realized that change morally is caring about a certain service learning goal where as charity is giving, which is really not caring and putting time into the goal. Politically, charity is a civic duty whereas change is a social reconstruction where they are trying to fix things because they care about it. After reading that quote I look at this differently because if I believe in a certain goal then I would want to change it instead of charity because caring is more important and it means more than giving and not getting involved physically.Intellectually change is an experience that people who give to charity will not be able has a warm heartfelt experience that changes someone’s life.
2. “Educators who emphasize change would clearly also value the educational benefits of this approach. To tap into the full power of service activities, however, these practitioners would want to combine critical inquiry with action.”
Teachers who really talk about change should value the educational benefits. I feel that they should bring change into their lessons because I feel that if they are passionate about teaching, then they will do it. They will do it because they care and they will take action into what they do and I feel that caring is more important than giving; it’s the experience and or activities that make it worthwhile. When I am a teacher, activities that I prepare will be about change/caring and it will be all about wanting to do something and not giving.
3.“The experiential and interpersonal components of service learning activities can achieve the first crucial step toward diminishing the sense of “otherness”, that often separates students-particularly privileged students-from those in need. In doing so, the potential to develop caring relationships created.”
With this quote you start to see that a relationship about caring has been created with you and the “other”. It does not matter what or where each of you came from because everyone is different and what really matters is for everyone to get along. We are all human beings, we are not perfect and it should not matter what we are but who we are. Being separated into privileged and not privilege is unfair because we are all equal as being humans. Sometimes I wonder how all of this got started because it is not a good feeling putting someone down.
Questions/Comments/Points to Share
Overall I found this to be very interesting but not one of my favorites. Although it states good points between change and charity, I feel that plays a big roll into things that people do. I never really looked at change and charity as change being about caring and charity being about giving. It opened my eyes to see that when people give it really does not mean they are in the experience of changing a certain goal which now I know that the people who are about change, are the people who care. Other stuff this article talks about is that the relationships created from caring from the “otherness”. I have noticed that every reading that we have had connects to each other in one way or another and it is always nice to see what different people say about certain situations. One question I would like to know is where all of the “otherness” came from and judging people based on what they are instead of the person they are.
Christina DiPalma
Quotes:
1. “Just as the difference between change and charity may provide an important conceptual distinction for those analyzing service learning curricula, it is helpful to distinguish the moral, political, and intellectual goals that motivate those who support service learning.”(page 5)
This quote stood out to me because although the words change and charity may seem similar, they really are not. I realized that change morally is caring about a certain service learning goal where as charity is giving, which is really not caring and putting time into the goal. Politically, charity is a civic duty whereas change is a social reconstruction where they are trying to fix things because they care about it. After reading that quote I look at this differently because if I believe in a certain goal then I would want to change it instead of charity because caring is more important and it means more than giving and not getting involved physically.Intellectually change is an experience that people who give to charity will not be able has a warm heartfelt experience that changes someone’s life.
2. “Educators who emphasize change would clearly also value the educational benefits of this approach. To tap into the full power of service activities, however, these practitioners would want to combine critical inquiry with action.”
Teachers who really talk about change should value the educational benefits. I feel that they should bring change into their lessons because I feel that if they are passionate about teaching, then they will do it. They will do it because they care and they will take action into what they do and I feel that caring is more important than giving; it’s the experience and or activities that make it worthwhile. When I am a teacher, activities that I prepare will be about change/caring and it will be all about wanting to do something and not giving.
3.“The experiential and interpersonal components of service learning activities can achieve the first crucial step toward diminishing the sense of “otherness”, that often separates students-particularly privileged students-from those in need. In doing so, the potential to develop caring relationships created.”
With this quote you start to see that a relationship about caring has been created with you and the “other”. It does not matter what or where each of you came from because everyone is different and what really matters is for everyone to get along. We are all human beings, we are not perfect and it should not matter what we are but who we are. Being separated into privileged and not privilege is unfair because we are all equal as being humans. Sometimes I wonder how all of this got started because it is not a good feeling putting someone down.
Questions/Comments/Points to Share
Overall I found this to be very interesting but not one of my favorites. Although it states good points between change and charity, I feel that plays a big roll into things that people do. I never really looked at change and charity as change being about caring and charity being about giving. It opened my eyes to see that when people give it really does not mean they are in the experience of changing a certain goal which now I know that the people who are about change, are the people who care. Other stuff this article talks about is that the relationships created from caring from the “otherness”. I have noticed that every reading that we have had connects to each other in one way or another and it is always nice to see what different people say about certain situations. One question I would like to know is where all of the “otherness” came from and judging people based on what they are instead of the person they are.
My Fifth Visit
March 19 was my fifth visit to my elementary school and I was excited to go. Since last week went good, I knew this week would be better. Like always I was at the school at 915 and I went up to the school and rang the buzzer. When I went into the office to sign myself in, I hear the principal yelling at a student for putting his class’s attendance in the wrong spot. I found that maybe the principal should have had a different approach with the student because of the little mistake the boy made. When I walked down to my kindergarten classroom I saw Ms. W but, she was talking to someone, so I decided that I would talk to her about last week when she would come see us in the class. When I went to the classroom the other volunteer looked like she just got there. As usual she and I sat down and she was telling me that she wanted to talk to Ms. W about having more challenging work for the first graders. 10 o’clock rolled around and it was time for me to go to my students.
As usual I always start with segmenting. I only segmented with them for 10 minutes because they were really getting through the words fast. Transitioning over from segmenting to the game, Ms. W came over and she asked if everything was alright with the students from kindergarten and first grade. I told her that I felt that the kids need to have more challenging stuff and come to find out she just put new things in there and she said that the segmenting of words could stop because she said they already know that stuff.I was happy to hear that and after talking to her. I went back to playing a game with the kindergartners and they were really getting the hang of pointing out which words were real or nonsense words which I felt that next week I needed to introduce a new game to them. After the game we read a book called the tin man and they were reading wonderfully. All of the kids were following along with their fingers and they were pausing at each punctuation. At the end of the session I told them that they did a good job and to keep up the good work.
It was time to go to my first grade class and I wanted to know what Ms. W put into the box for me to teach the kids. When I walked in the kids were happy and I noticed that they did not have snacks so maybe they will be calmer than if they were to have snacks. As I brought the box over to the table I noticed that the things she had prepared for me were games. The games that were there seemed more challenging. I happened to be right these games really challenged them and they were have trouble with oy, oi, and ow sounds because they basically sound the same. The first game was having each of the kids having what looked like a bingo card in front of them and each student told another student the word and they had to place a counter on the square containing the sounds that were in the word. This gave them some trouble because some of the sounds sounded like other sounds and that where some students messed up a little but I feel that if they get the hang of it, they will be able to become more equipped with it. The second game we played was having the students make up words that have a vowel and the letter r. What they had to do was thinking of words that could fit with the vowel and the letter r. It seemed that they were struggling so I decided give them a letter and they could finish the rest of the word. This game was also challenging because it seemed hard for them to put letters together to come up with words. I feel that their favorite part of the game was writing the final word into stars on the other piece of paper. Once time was up both of the girl were very happy and they both ran up and gave me a hug. They said they were excited for next week and then they left for lunch and I was ready to leave.
Overall it was a good day and I was happy with everything except for the student that the principal was yelling at. It really bugged me when I left because he should have had a different approach with the student. I am excited for next time and I enjoy every moment I have at that school.
As usual I always start with segmenting. I only segmented with them for 10 minutes because they were really getting through the words fast. Transitioning over from segmenting to the game, Ms. W came over and she asked if everything was alright with the students from kindergarten and first grade. I told her that I felt that the kids need to have more challenging stuff and come to find out she just put new things in there and she said that the segmenting of words could stop because she said they already know that stuff.I was happy to hear that and after talking to her. I went back to playing a game with the kindergartners and they were really getting the hang of pointing out which words were real or nonsense words which I felt that next week I needed to introduce a new game to them. After the game we read a book called the tin man and they were reading wonderfully. All of the kids were following along with their fingers and they were pausing at each punctuation. At the end of the session I told them that they did a good job and to keep up the good work.
It was time to go to my first grade class and I wanted to know what Ms. W put into the box for me to teach the kids. When I walked in the kids were happy and I noticed that they did not have snacks so maybe they will be calmer than if they were to have snacks. As I brought the box over to the table I noticed that the things she had prepared for me were games. The games that were there seemed more challenging. I happened to be right these games really challenged them and they were have trouble with oy, oi, and ow sounds because they basically sound the same. The first game was having each of the kids having what looked like a bingo card in front of them and each student told another student the word and they had to place a counter on the square containing the sounds that were in the word. This gave them some trouble because some of the sounds sounded like other sounds and that where some students messed up a little but I feel that if they get the hang of it, they will be able to become more equipped with it. The second game we played was having the students make up words that have a vowel and the letter r. What they had to do was thinking of words that could fit with the vowel and the letter r. It seemed that they were struggling so I decided give them a letter and they could finish the rest of the word. This game was also challenging because it seemed hard for them to put letters together to come up with words. I feel that their favorite part of the game was writing the final word into stars on the other piece of paper. Once time was up both of the girl were very happy and they both ran up and gave me a hug. They said they were excited for next week and then they left for lunch and I was ready to leave.
Overall it was a good day and I was happy with everything except for the student that the principal was yelling at. It really bugged me when I left because he should have had a different approach with the student. I am excited for next time and I enjoy every moment I have at that school.
Saturday, March 20, 2010
My Fourth Visit
March 12 was my fourth visit to my elementary school and this time I was not running late. I got at the school at 915 and I walked into the office to sign myself in. I remembered that Ms. W would not be there so I decided to head down to my kindergarten class at approximately 925. While I was walking down, the other volunteer that was in my class was outside the door to wait for me since we both usually walk inside the class together. We both had a half hour to prepare what we would be doing today. It took us around 15 minutes to decide what we would be doing so we ended up talking about what goes on with our students. Once 10 o’clock rolled around it was time for me to meet up with my students.
When I went over to the table two of the girls were ready to learn but there was this one girl who was tired and it really seemed like she did not want to do anything. Maybe things would change when I would start, but I was wrong. Since I always start with segmenting words it seemed like she really did want to do anything. When I realized that, I decided to tell her that if she would not participate then we would not play the game and read the remainder of the time. After I told her that she participated in everything that I did for her. I decided that since she participated and did a good job with segmenting, that I would play a game telling which words were real or nonsense. I feel that really enjoy this game and they get better with this as we go on. I was really happy with everything that they did with the game but when it came to the reading that when the problems hit. The one girl who was extremely tired really did want to focus with reading. I told her to try and follow along with her finger and to pause at each punctuation, etc. Once they started to get the hang of things, I realized that it was time to go teach my first grade students. I felt sadden in a way because they were starting to really slowly follow the words in the book and sound it out. I was very happy with them and I am excited for next week because of the great job they had done.
It was time for me to leave my kindergarten class and go to the first grade class. I really enjoyed going there because the kids are livelier than the other kids and every time I leave there I always have a smile on my face. When I walked in the kids were excited to see me and I was also excited to see them. When I sat down, I started off with segmenting and I found it very boring. I felt that they were not being challenged enough with it. After the segmenting I decided to read a short story and they were good at that too. I started to feel like that the stuff that Ms. W put in my box was not at all challenging for the kids. In my head, I realized that I had to talk to Ms. W because to me the kids knew everything that I was throwing at them.After the kids finished both the segmenting and the book, it was time to play a game and they were excited about it. We played the game, and before I left the kids told me that the things we did were easy and I responded by saying that these things are easy for them and I would talk to Ms. W for them.
It was time for me to go and I had a lot of good thought in my mind. The kindergartners were getting the hang of things and the first graders wanted to be challenged more. I realized that next time I will be talking to Ms. W about the kids and that next time I will get the kids to get where they were supposed to be.
When I went over to the table two of the girls were ready to learn but there was this one girl who was tired and it really seemed like she did not want to do anything. Maybe things would change when I would start, but I was wrong. Since I always start with segmenting words it seemed like she really did want to do anything. When I realized that, I decided to tell her that if she would not participate then we would not play the game and read the remainder of the time. After I told her that she participated in everything that I did for her. I decided that since she participated and did a good job with segmenting, that I would play a game telling which words were real or nonsense. I feel that really enjoy this game and they get better with this as we go on. I was really happy with everything that they did with the game but when it came to the reading that when the problems hit. The one girl who was extremely tired really did want to focus with reading. I told her to try and follow along with her finger and to pause at each punctuation, etc. Once they started to get the hang of things, I realized that it was time to go teach my first grade students. I felt sadden in a way because they were starting to really slowly follow the words in the book and sound it out. I was very happy with them and I am excited for next week because of the great job they had done.
It was time for me to leave my kindergarten class and go to the first grade class. I really enjoyed going there because the kids are livelier than the other kids and every time I leave there I always have a smile on my face. When I walked in the kids were excited to see me and I was also excited to see them. When I sat down, I started off with segmenting and I found it very boring. I felt that they were not being challenged enough with it. After the segmenting I decided to read a short story and they were good at that too. I started to feel like that the stuff that Ms. W put in my box was not at all challenging for the kids. In my head, I realized that I had to talk to Ms. W because to me the kids knew everything that I was throwing at them.After the kids finished both the segmenting and the book, it was time to play a game and they were excited about it. We played the game, and before I left the kids told me that the things we did were easy and I responded by saying that these things are easy for them and I would talk to Ms. W for them.
It was time for me to go and I had a lot of good thought in my mind. The kindergartners were getting the hang of things and the first graders wanted to be challenged more. I realized that next time I will be talking to Ms. W about the kids and that next time I will get the kids to get where they were supposed to be.
Wednesday, March 17, 2010
My Third Visit
March 5 was my third visit to my elementary school and I was running late. I woke up late and I did not know if I would make it there on time and to top it all off I ended up sleeping at my house in Warwick the night before. I left my house around 900 and I had followed where my gps was taking me. As I looked at the time it would take me to get there I had a sigh of relief because it was only 10 minutes away from my house. I ended up getting into the school and situated around 925 and I knew next time that I had to be more responsible in waking up and getting ready and out on the road before 9. As I prepared for what I was going to do me and the other girl that was in the class room with me were talking about how things went last week and she said she is struggling with her kindergartners because they were shy kids but I told her to stay positive and that things will get better. 10 o’clock rolled around and it was time for me to go over to the table in the corner and begin tutoring the kids.
As the kids met me at the table they seemed happy to see me again and this week I decided to try and segment, read and play one of the games. The kids got better segmenting as we went on and we started to get through segmenting words faster than I thought. As I was segmenting with the kids, out of nowhere I hear the teacher’s aid stating to the kids in a stern voice that they really should know the sounds of letters by now. Hearing her really brought me out of my comfort zone but then I realized that the teacher is trying to get the kids where they are supposed to be and the kids need to really focus when they are at school. As went on tutoring the kids, I started to feel more comfortable and I started to play the game with them. The games consisted of rolling a dice with different letters on it, putting the letters together and then have the kids tell me if it’s a real word or a nonsense word. The kids really enjoyed it because they were all getting involved with the game. There was about ten minutes left with intervention and I decided to read a little bit of the book that I read with them last week. I decided to start from the beginning with the book to see if they remembered anything from last week and they really did not remember. Only one girl really focused on looking at the words and sounding them out. As time was ending, it was time for me to say goodbye and go on to the first grade class.
When I went out in the hallway, Ms. W was out there and as we walked down the hallway she asked us how the tutoring went. I had told her about the teacher yelling at the kids and she told me that it’s not so much yelling it’s more of letting the kids know that they need to understand this stuff now before it will get harder for them to learn. I was pretty excited to go to the first grade class because I really enjoyed going there last week because the kids really wanted to learn. When I walked in Ms. R welcomed me and I walked over to the three kids to begin tutoring them. As always I started to segment first and they started to fly by ever word I was throwing out at them, so I decided that it was time to actually read more of the book that we looked at last week. I was really skeptical on reading because I was not sure at what level they were at, but I decided to read. As each kid was reading they did a wonderful job. They got through half of the book and I decided to stop there because I remember Ms. W telling us that not to get too far into the book in the first week of reading. There was 10 minutes left so I decided to play a game where the kids had to look at two pictures and they had to find the letters of one word, then look at the other picture and see what letter they had to change. They continued playing the game till time was up and the kids helped me put the game away back into the envelope. I told them thank you and they all gave me hug.
The kids went back to the correct classroom and when the door opened it was the girl that I met the first week and she came running and gave me a hug. After that I said bye and met Ms. W out in the hallway. She told us she has a district meeting next week and therefore she will not be in the building. That means I am on my own.
As the kids met me at the table they seemed happy to see me again and this week I decided to try and segment, read and play one of the games. The kids got better segmenting as we went on and we started to get through segmenting words faster than I thought. As I was segmenting with the kids, out of nowhere I hear the teacher’s aid stating to the kids in a stern voice that they really should know the sounds of letters by now. Hearing her really brought me out of my comfort zone but then I realized that the teacher is trying to get the kids where they are supposed to be and the kids need to really focus when they are at school. As went on tutoring the kids, I started to feel more comfortable and I started to play the game with them. The games consisted of rolling a dice with different letters on it, putting the letters together and then have the kids tell me if it’s a real word or a nonsense word. The kids really enjoyed it because they were all getting involved with the game. There was about ten minutes left with intervention and I decided to read a little bit of the book that I read with them last week. I decided to start from the beginning with the book to see if they remembered anything from last week and they really did not remember. Only one girl really focused on looking at the words and sounding them out. As time was ending, it was time for me to say goodbye and go on to the first grade class.
When I went out in the hallway, Ms. W was out there and as we walked down the hallway she asked us how the tutoring went. I had told her about the teacher yelling at the kids and she told me that it’s not so much yelling it’s more of letting the kids know that they need to understand this stuff now before it will get harder for them to learn. I was pretty excited to go to the first grade class because I really enjoyed going there last week because the kids really wanted to learn. When I walked in Ms. R welcomed me and I walked over to the three kids to begin tutoring them. As always I started to segment first and they started to fly by ever word I was throwing out at them, so I decided that it was time to actually read more of the book that we looked at last week. I was really skeptical on reading because I was not sure at what level they were at, but I decided to read. As each kid was reading they did a wonderful job. They got through half of the book and I decided to stop there because I remember Ms. W telling us that not to get too far into the book in the first week of reading. There was 10 minutes left so I decided to play a game where the kids had to look at two pictures and they had to find the letters of one word, then look at the other picture and see what letter they had to change. They continued playing the game till time was up and the kids helped me put the game away back into the envelope. I told them thank you and they all gave me hug.
The kids went back to the correct classroom and when the door opened it was the girl that I met the first week and she came running and gave me a hug. After that I said bye and met Ms. W out in the hallway. She told us she has a district meeting next week and therefore she will not be in the building. That means I am on my own.
Monday, March 15, 2010
My Second Visit
On February 26, was my second visit to my elementary school. I was very excited to go back because when I got to observe the week before I had gotten excited to return again. I pulled into the school around 910 and I walked up to the building and pressed the buzzer to let myself in the building. Once again I had to go to the office to sign myself in into the white binder and then I was off to see Ms. W. As I walking up the stairs I was very anxious because today I got to actually meet the kids I would be working with for the remainder of my visits. As I walked into the room with the other people that were there too, we all waited for Ms. W to come in and tell us what we would be doing.
When Ms. W walked in she had a smile of her face because she was excited to have us work with the kids. She told us the names that we would be working with for both kindergarten and first grade and as she was giving me the names of the kindergarten class, she told me a story about one of the girls that I would be working with.She told me that she came to America with her and her family from a Bermuda refugee camp. Then she went on to tell me that everyday she wears a hat because while the family was in he camp, they would shave their heads due to severe lice they would get. Since coming to America, her family still shaves her head because they still think that she has lice. After hearing this it really did not matter what kind of person I was dealing with because I decided to go in with an open mind and decided that I would not judge before I went into the room. After she told me and the other volunteers the names of the students, she then went over on what kind of tutoring we would be doing with the kids. Our schedule each day was go to our kindergarten classroom promptly at 930 and prepare what we would be doing that day for a half hour, then go tutor he kindergartners till 1030 and walk on down to the first grade classroom and tutor them till 11. She trained us for about 15 minutes then she brought us to our classrooms.
When I went to the kindergarten classroom, the three kids that I would be tutoring were waiting for me. Mrs. B told me to to to a table in the corner with the kids that had name tags with the letter B. (I was teaching these kids different things compared to the other volunteer)The kids has huge smiles on their faces and they seemed delighted to see me. I would have 30 minutes with the students so I decided to segment words with them for at least 10 minutes, then play a game or read a story. Ms. W told us that she would like us to spend some time reading with the kids because they really need to start understanding what they are learning with the segmenting of words. On this day I decided to segment and they were really good at it because the teacher does this alot one girl had mentioned to me. After segmenting I decided to read for the remainder of the time because of what Ms. W wanted us to accomplish with the kids. Once the half hour was up, the kids said thank you to me and they were very happy at what we did that day.
As I walked down to my first grade class, I was nervous because last time I went there I really did not talk to any of the kids except for one girl, but I knew she was not in my group so I had to be prepared to meet new kids. When I walked in the classroom, Ms. R said welcome back and she brought me over to the kids. I was teaching two girls and one boy. They looked really happy and as I sat down, the two girls said I was pretty and I said thank you and out of nowhere the little boy says me too. After all that went down, it was time to begin. It was hard for me to begin with them because it was snack time for them and they were so excited to eat. Once I started, I noticed that they really were not starting to pay attention, so I told them that they had to participate with me before they could continue having their snack time. Once I told the that, we started to segment multiple words at once. After that we read a little bit from a more complex book than I read with the kindergartners. It was around 11 and it was time for me to go. Before I left the two girls came up to me and gave me a hug with a thank you.
When I walked out into the hall way Ms. W was waiting for all of the other tutors to come in the hallway and she told us that we would not be meeting with her and to go straight to the kindergarten classroom to get everything set up and prepared. When I left I was so excited because I could not wait to return again next time.
When Ms. W walked in she had a smile of her face because she was excited to have us work with the kids. She told us the names that we would be working with for both kindergarten and first grade and as she was giving me the names of the kindergarten class, she told me a story about one of the girls that I would be working with.She told me that she came to America with her and her family from a Bermuda refugee camp. Then she went on to tell me that everyday she wears a hat because while the family was in he camp, they would shave their heads due to severe lice they would get. Since coming to America, her family still shaves her head because they still think that she has lice. After hearing this it really did not matter what kind of person I was dealing with because I decided to go in with an open mind and decided that I would not judge before I went into the room. After she told me and the other volunteers the names of the students, she then went over on what kind of tutoring we would be doing with the kids. Our schedule each day was go to our kindergarten classroom promptly at 930 and prepare what we would be doing that day for a half hour, then go tutor he kindergartners till 1030 and walk on down to the first grade classroom and tutor them till 11. She trained us for about 15 minutes then she brought us to our classrooms.
When I went to the kindergarten classroom, the three kids that I would be tutoring were waiting for me. Mrs. B told me to to to a table in the corner with the kids that had name tags with the letter B. (I was teaching these kids different things compared to the other volunteer)The kids has huge smiles on their faces and they seemed delighted to see me. I would have 30 minutes with the students so I decided to segment words with them for at least 10 minutes, then play a game or read a story. Ms. W told us that she would like us to spend some time reading with the kids because they really need to start understanding what they are learning with the segmenting of words. On this day I decided to segment and they were really good at it because the teacher does this alot one girl had mentioned to me. After segmenting I decided to read for the remainder of the time because of what Ms. W wanted us to accomplish with the kids. Once the half hour was up, the kids said thank you to me and they were very happy at what we did that day.
As I walked down to my first grade class, I was nervous because last time I went there I really did not talk to any of the kids except for one girl, but I knew she was not in my group so I had to be prepared to meet new kids. When I walked in the classroom, Ms. R said welcome back and she brought me over to the kids. I was teaching two girls and one boy. They looked really happy and as I sat down, the two girls said I was pretty and I said thank you and out of nowhere the little boy says me too. After all that went down, it was time to begin. It was hard for me to begin with them because it was snack time for them and they were so excited to eat. Once I started, I noticed that they really were not starting to pay attention, so I told them that they had to participate with me before they could continue having their snack time. Once I told the that, we started to segment multiple words at once. After that we read a little bit from a more complex book than I read with the kindergartners. It was around 11 and it was time for me to go. Before I left the two girls came up to me and gave me a hug with a thank you.
When I walked out into the hall way Ms. W was waiting for all of the other tutors to come in the hallway and she told us that we would not be meeting with her and to go straight to the kindergarten classroom to get everything set up and prepared. When I left I was so excited because I could not wait to return again next time.
Monday, March 8, 2010
Linda Christensen:Unlearning the Myths that Bind Us
"I realized these problems weren't just in cartoons. They were in everything - every magazine I picked up, every television show I watched, every billboard I passed by on the street."
When I read this quote I really thought about how stereotypes are always around us. People always judge each other based on their backgrounds, what they look like, or how they act. This is like SCWAMP because it tells us the certain type of people that do not get judged no matter what they do in life. I feel like stereotypes have calmed down over the years but they obviously still do exist because of the issues that we have today.
"Turning off the cartoon doesn't stop the sexism and racism. They can't escape, and now that they've started analyzing cartoons, they can't stop analyzing the rest of the world."
As I read this quote, all I kept thinking was that it was so true. These issues have been around for so long that these issues will always be around us. Even though over the years I feel that people have resolved some part of these issues but there is still racism and sexism. Although some people do not see this issues, they really have not opened up their eyes to see that this around them no matter if they do not talk about the issue.
"When we read children's books, we aren't just reading cute little stories, we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated."
This is so true because in reality we are not reading in between the lines of what stories are really saying. We think we are reading these nice stories to kids but in reality we are reading them something so they can be manipulated to believe that something is true when its not. These books are how children are going to thing how the world runs and that information stays with them until they find out that everything they learned is false.
I found that this was one of the best readings because this opened my eyes the most. I never realized that issues can lie even in the last place I would think of, a children's book. I have learned that what you tell a child when they are young something, that they will have that knowledge with them and they will think that it was life is when technically it is not. All of the issues that are talked about in this reading still occurs today but I feel as though it is not that big of a deal because people have calmed down about some of the issues.
When I read this quote I really thought about how stereotypes are always around us. People always judge each other based on their backgrounds, what they look like, or how they act. This is like SCWAMP because it tells us the certain type of people that do not get judged no matter what they do in life. I feel like stereotypes have calmed down over the years but they obviously still do exist because of the issues that we have today.
"Turning off the cartoon doesn't stop the sexism and racism. They can't escape, and now that they've started analyzing cartoons, they can't stop analyzing the rest of the world."
As I read this quote, all I kept thinking was that it was so true. These issues have been around for so long that these issues will always be around us. Even though over the years I feel that people have resolved some part of these issues but there is still racism and sexism. Although some people do not see this issues, they really have not opened up their eyes to see that this around them no matter if they do not talk about the issue.
"When we read children's books, we aren't just reading cute little stories, we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated."
This is so true because in reality we are not reading in between the lines of what stories are really saying. We think we are reading these nice stories to kids but in reality we are reading them something so they can be manipulated to believe that something is true when its not. These books are how children are going to thing how the world runs and that information stays with them until they find out that everything they learned is false.
I found that this was one of the best readings because this opened my eyes the most. I never realized that issues can lie even in the last place I would think of, a children's book. I have learned that what you tell a child when they are young something, that they will have that knowledge with them and they will think that it was life is when technically it is not. All of the issues that are talked about in this reading still occurs today but I feel as though it is not that big of a deal because people have calmed down about some of the issues.
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