Who knew that tutoring at an elementary school would be so intriguing? Everyday there is always something new to analyze and think about. One topic that I thought was interesting dealt with the student's cultural background. A huge majority of children in this school are from Hispanic background. Besides the students who come from Hispanic background, the other majority of students come from African American, Asian, Native American and White background. Twenty-five percent of these students are bilingual. I have noticed students saying phrases and words here and there in another language besides English. I am sure those students speak that language outside of school within their own home or community.
As for education, I observed that the children master the concept of writing fairly well. On the other hand, data shows that writing is not one of the students strong subjects. As I tutor some of the students, I have noticed they are grasping the main concepts. For example, they understand that a punctuation mark belongs at the end of a sentence and every word at the beginning of a sentence needs to have a capital letter. I can tell that the students enjoy writing in their journals about what makes them happy. Once they have completed their assignment, they are so proud and look for recognition (maybe because they don't receive enough acknowledgement at home).
All twenty-six students in my first grade class room are always looking for attention and love. By listening to their stories and exciting weekends, I can tell their life at home isn't what I expected. I thought the parents of these children would be more involved with their school life along with their social life. Jayna, a Hispanic girl in my tutoring group always tells me her father never plays with her. She is constantly upset because he has no time for her. It breaks my heart to hear this little girl say that her father doesn't have time to interact with her. It seems to me that Jayna's father doesn't have the patience for his own daughter. It just takes five minutes to make a child happy - I am sure he can find the time. In doing so, I believe it will strengthen Jayna's wellbeing and give her confidence to talk highly of her father.
I have noticed that the certain classroom I am tutoring has a mixed number of cultural backgrounds. I would have to say most of the students are from a Hispanic background and the other ten percent are from a White background. By observation, the students don't seem to care about who came from what sociocultural background and why. They all get along no matter what one may look like. Like Jonathan Kozol believes, all students are equal no matter what sociocultural background they come from. Students should not feel left out or segregated because of their race or ethnicity. Kozol believes segregation is still present in society and in many school curriculums. Throughout the days that I do go and tutor at Jamesfield Elementary School, I do not see segregation within any part of the school. I am only there twice a week; therefore I do not know what goes on the other three days that I am not there to tutor.
By reviewing data from Jamesfield Elementary School, the parent participation rates are low and the children are unsupervised throughout the week. This could possibly be because the parents don't have the time to spend with their children. More or less, they just don't seem to care. As a parent, you should care about your child and their progression in school. By going to school, it shapes the students development in society.
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Hey Gina :)
ReplyDeleteThe majority of my classroom is of Hispanic background as well. In fact, I had not one Caucasian student in the room! It was very different than what I am used to. As you can probably imagine as well. I am not sure where you grew up or where you went to school but we both attend Rhode Island College and our school is definitely not that diverse.
Your story differs a bit from mine since my bilingual students are quite the over achievers of the room. Maybe this is because I am volunteering with 5th graders and your students are a bit younger? I am assuming? Or maybe I just lucked out in my class because to be honest, it doesn’t make much sense does it? I mean what we learn about in class seems to mirror your story. Our articles inform us that English Language Learners have a harder time education wise compared to non English Language Learners.
I also like how you discussed how they learn. About them understanding that a capital is at the beginning of the sentence and the period at the end. You were very specific. What grade are they in? This is very basic material!
Lastly, the story about the girl is very sad. But this happens so often! There is a student that I volunteer with that has a similar problem. She acts out negatively because she clearly does not get attention at home. She acts like she does not know how to do the math problem because she is afraid I will make her go back to her seat. She also says very negative and threatening statements. So bad that I had to report her words to the teacher! The teacher said she says those things to get a rise out of people and attention. So sad huh? I really hope teachers and ourselves can use what we learn in class and from theorists to better these child’s life and learning experience.
Enjoyed your post!