I found the readings this week to be very connected with what we have going on at the Boys and Girls club. In the first article, it mentioned how students would create questionnaire surveys and go around to the community and seek their perspectives. My students are doing the exact same thing, and it seems as if they are almost too interested and willing to do this narrative work! When we tap into their interests and make the curriculum an open slate for students to pour their thoughts onto, we are truly teaching them. Giving a student knowledge is one thing, empowering the knowledge that they already own and building upon it is another. There was a quote from the reading this week that said, "Teachers need to know something about their students' family makeup, immigration history, favorite activity, concerns and strengths." While working at the Boys and Girls Club, I have been inspired even more to facilitate an activity at the start of every school year with my children where we all draw a picture of our family. On a separate piece of paper, each student can write their own personalized answers down in a pre-assessment. There was a moment this week that reminded me of a writing trait that I'm learning about in my writing course. Organization, and the need to be an organized writer led one of my students to have experience in the timely effort of the writing process. She had to start her chart over twice, but I showed and explained to her that she got better each time. I feel as though she would have become easily frustrated and might have given up if not given proper explanation. Below is a picture of the seed activity I performed with my students where we visually compared and contrasted two famous works of art.
What a week! I've been told a million times to be flexible by the college of education, so I feel like I am doing something wrong if I act rigid and stiff against the adversity which I find myself in. Despite the time management flop, we work very well as a team to produce evidential products of their writing process. I believe that this project is a step towards equity for students who may live in poverty and don't get to experience life the same way others do. Gorski believes that children deserve to be treated as though they have a right to a better education. Equity in the classroom in today's world is almost as rare as Bigfoot, yet educators should be aware of the steps being taken to close this gap in order to create the envisioned future of a brighter classroom. "Teachers are not trained and schools are not equipped to make up for societal inequalities." (Gorski, 2013). That's because there is no amount of training one person can receive in order to help them see how to care about children. Showing empathy is an introductory step into teaching with a purpose, driven by personal connections. Sometimes you may be one of two adults who read with a child on any given day. It made me ecstatic to see their faces light up when I was gathering them together to start. The Tampa Bay Reporters are taking confident steps towards creating a real news paper written and created by their collaborative efforts. Here is a photo of my students' press passes, which are journals that keep track of their inquisitive thinking. Recording their thoughts is a huge part of teaching the writing process so I'm glad we get to do this.
The first week of my experience at the North Tampa Branch Boys and Girls Club was something to remember. I met young children who were eager to be part of something greater than themselves and work as a team to produce evidence of their intelligence. The rigid behavioral structures already in place at the club make it difficult to create the feeling of a classroom learning atmosphere, and oftentimes I wish that we were able to still work our projects after snack in the quiet arts and crafts room. But alas, as Napoleon Bonaparte tragically discovered, you can't win em' all. During our readings, it mentioned how we should not make judgements on children too quickly regarding their beliefs or behaviors and to let them express their feelings before you analyze their intent. For example, with the newspaper activity and press passes. I had a girl slip her pass right into her purse, and had Ayden not told me she did that, she probably would have walked off with the notebook. I didn't get upset or yell at her, I simply asked for it back because I understood her anticipation and wanting to feel like a real life reporter at home. Connecting with the readings from my Children's Literature course, visual arts and the outlets for children to explore play a big role in their learning process. 2 dimensional figures, 3 dimensional figures, color contrasts, medias, textures, and a vast array of other features help bring the world of literature and writing to life for children. Here is one partner group's work after they brainstormed ideas together. It was nice how they thought to put advertisements, after being taught the difference between display ad and classified ad.
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