Emma+Berger-Singer

On February 14 I went to Oakley Elementary. It was Valentines Day, so it wasn’t too much of a surprise to see the kids laughing and smiling when I entered the classroom. They were eating Ice cream Sundays and Doritos. I introduced myself to the teacher and then she introduced me to the class. The kids seemed very excited to have a guest. She gave me my first job, which was to fill up cups with coca cola and then pass them out to the children. It surprised me that thy kids were given so much sugar! After they finished their Sundays it was time to open up their valentines, which came with even more sugar for them to eat. I surprised at how well behaved the kids were, (even with all the sugar in them). They listened to the teacher with out hesitation. The teacher stepped out for a minute and I was in charge. They were a little rowdy so I knew I had to calm them down some how, I clapped my hands twice to see would happened. I was surprised to find out that they immediately stopped what they were doing and all clapped twice. I clapped three times and again they followed. We did this until the teacher came back. I think I enjoyed it more than they did. I was happy to find that the classroom was a pretty diver both economically and racially. There was one Latino child, the teacher said he was born here but his parents were fairly known to the country. I head him singing a song in Spanish, so I went over to him and poke the little but I knew. He asked me how I knew his language in a surprising but very excited way. I could tell it made him feel good. I’m glad I was able to contribute some positive energy to the classroom.

On the 19th I went to Oakley for the second time. There happened to be a sub that day, she was much different from the teacher I saw on Monday, she seemed a lot less tolerant and not too pleased to be there. One good thing about her being there was that I could become much more involved. When I first arrived they were just getting started on a new lesson. The teacher was to set up a structure with wooden blocks and the kids were copy what they saw. She had me build two wooden structures for the kids to copy. A lot of the kids whined that they couldn’t do it, so I went around to each student giving them motivation to get started. Some of the kids were more needy than others. Some needed me to sit right next to them others were independent starting with no help at all. But what they had most in common was that when they were done they showed me their work, looking for my approval. When this activity was over, it was time to talk about black history month. The substitute passed out worksheets and asked me if I wanted to teach this lesson, I hesitated at first but once I got started I thoroughly enjoyed it. We talked about Martin Luther King and Rosa Parks. I asked the kids to raise their hands and tell me what they knew about each of them. One student said Martin Luther king was the president and others said things like "he wanted to make the black and white people play together." After I heard their ideas I read them a story explaining the importance of Rosa Parks and MLK, and then I asked them question to test their comprehension. The children were very involved and seemed to enjoy learning.

Emma that is so excited that you were able to help out so much in class that day! I am envious you got to teach a lesson, let alone such an important one! I am also very proud that you were brave enough to do it. I think it is great that you knew to ask the students questions before and after. I guess that seems natural but when I was asked to give a tour of the farm the other day to kindergarteners while I was volunteering it was so hard for me to communicate to them and think of appropriate questions. I guess I just need to spend more time around children that age. -claire

Hey Emma,

I was intrigued by the building blocks drawing assignment. Some children enjoy trying to draw what they see, while others shrink at the task and don't think they can do it. Your observation clearly shows the divide in the childrens response to the task. The motivation you shared with the more "needy" kids was likely appreciated and encouraging. Did you see any changes in their attitudes, capabilities? ~Laura Cohen

On Wednesday the 21 I did a lot more observing than the other two days. I sat back and watched Ms. Riley teach about three-dimensional objects. She asked the students questions like "what is the difference between a two dimensional shape and a three dimensional shape?" Or "How many sides does a three demensional Square have?" If the kids struggled with the questions she would give encouragement by saying things like, "I can tell James is thinking really hard about this question" and wait patiently for them to come up with an answer. After a short lesson the teacher explained the next project involving what they just learned. They were each assigned a different building that they were themselves supposed to construct out of the wooden blocks. After the construction they were to draw their building on paper, much like what they did that Monday. The teacher gave the kids an example. She built a Library and drew it on the overhead projector. When each child was done with their building they were going to put them all together to make one city. I went around to each kid to see how he or she was doing. The children had the most trouble with drawing what they saw. I found it helped if I told them to look at each shape individually.

This Wednesday I went to Rainbow Mountain, Adrienne and I got lost trying to find it so we were about 45 minutes late. It looked like an old house and had many small buildings, which surrounded the playground. This seemed to tell me something about the school, which is that play and social life are two very important parts of their teaching philosophy. In odder to get the pre-K class I had to walk through the playground. When I arrived it was naptime. The classroom was divided into two sections. The section I entered, were the kids who didn’t really sleep. They lie on their cots and read books or played quietly. A curtain divided the other section. I peaked in, all the lights were out and children were all fast asleep. I sat and talked to the teacher for a while. She was very calm and sweet. After a while it was time for recess. She took the kids outside and I looked around the classroom to see what kind of learning materials they had. Most of the toys were labeled in Spanish and English. The posters on the wall were all educational. I thought this was very good for children who get distracted easily, so no matter what they look it is something they will learn from. I went outside and watched the kids play. They all played well together. There was a third grade class outside as well and I was surprised how well the third graders and Pre-k kinds played together.

On the 7th of March we went to the Rainbow Mountain School again. We had another obstacle because on the way there our car ran out of gas. Luckily we were still on warren Wilson road. We flagged down some of our classmates and they drove us to the gas station to get some filler. We arrived about 45 minutes late so we asked the office if we could poke around a little bit instead of disturbing our assigned classrooms. I knew my class would be napping, so I figured this was the best bet. As we strolled around we ran into one teacher who invited us in. It was a first grade classroom and they were having reading time. I sat next to a small girl, and her teacher suggested she read to me. She went to pick out a small book from the shelf. I noticed she had a lot of trouble reading. I helped her sound out each letter until she got the word. I think there may have been some dyslexia involved because she often mixed up her D's and B's. She reminded me a lot of myself at that age. I enjoyed helping her learn, even though it was challenging. I think having the opportunity to work with kids who have trouble reading, helps me, because I feel like I can relate. I feel this helps me to be more sympathetic and gives me the patience I would need in order to work with kids who may learn slower than others.

//Rainbow Mountain seems to be cursed with an inability for people to get there, but once you finally do everyone is so friendly. I was really impressed with how kind and welcoming everyone was. I think being able to relate to a student like that will make you an incredible teacher. Ansley//

I went to the rainbow mountain school for the last time on March 14th. It was quite time for the children, so I sat and talked with the teacher for most of my time. She happened to be Warren Wilson alumni, she told me why she decided to become a teacher, and how she kind of flipped back and forth between an art major and an education major, which I was able to relate to. After we talked about that, we discussed the bureaucracy that goes along with teaching in a pre school. She said it is state run, so every half year the state comes to ratings to the classrooms and teachers, based on the cleanliness and there education of the teachers. Apparently the pre schools are rated like restaurants and they have are a four-star pre school.

On Monday April the second I went to a first grade class where I sat and observed for most of the time. The teacher had her six-week-old baby with her; she carried it around while teaching, rocking it back and forth. She said that the teachers were allowed to bring their children to with them to school until they were eleven months old. It seems that the school is very accommodating for new mothers. When I first arrived the kids were having show and tell, after show and tell a helper read them a story out loud. I recognized it from my childhood; it was the “Magic School Bus”. In the story they were traveling through the body, learning about white and red blood cells. When the story was over the kids were allowed to ask questions and talk about what they learned from the story. After story time they moved to science. They were beginning to learning about how to put things into categories, like a scientist does. The teacher passed out a worksheet, where the kids were to cut out words and past them into there correct categories. I went around trying to help the kids get motivated. One kid had no interest in getting started, I had a difficult time trying to help him, this seems it will be one of the most frustrated things about becoming a teacher

I went to Art space for the second time on April the fourth; I went back to the same first grade class. They went to through the same routine, having show and tell, story time and then a lesson, this time a geography lesson. The teacher asked me to do the read allowed this time. It seemed that there were a lot more cooperative with me than the teacher, probably because they were not has comfortable with me. I like the idea and set up of Art Space, but I did have a problem with the classroom I was in. It was one classroom made into two, divided with a thin bookshelf, I could hear everything that was going on in the other class and I found it very distracting.

Isaac Dickson was by far my favorite. As soon as we walked in the door we were welcomed and it was obvious that they were prepared for our visit. The office knew which teachers we were assigned to work with and took us to each classroom. The teacher I saw seemed to be expecting me and seemed happy I could join her classroom. The class was very colorful and had at least 5 different stations. There was a loft and many bookshelves. I asked one of the students which grade it was and she explained to me that it was called K-1-2 meaning it had kindergarten, first and second grade. Each grade was taught in different sections. It was like switching classes but in one classroom. Each lesson was about fifteen minutes or so, I got the chance to observe two lessons and I was very impressed by the teacher’s method of teaching. She definitely fallowed John Dewey’s theory of Experience and Education.

On Monday I got a chance to sit with one of the teachers and discuss some issues about the public school system. I noticed that compared to Oakley they seemed to have a lot more "stuff" like pets, art supplies, and even lofts! I asked how this was possible, assuming that they must get more funding then Oakley but apparently each classroom only gets $150 for an entire year! What make this possible was based mostly on donations from parents and money out of the teachers pockets. This helped me realize that it takes true dedication to become a teacher!

On the 2nd of May I was able to spend more time with the kids. They were writing thank you letters to a doughnut factory and the fire department. I helped many of the children get started, read over the children letters, but spent most of time sitting with one individual who happened to be behind on his work. He had a big personality but had more trouble than the others, he was a good kid but needed lots of attention. I feel like my biggest challenge in the classroom, will be figuring out how to divide my attention between the kids who really need it and the ones who don't as much.

--I feel similar. That was what was nice about the kids in my classroom who were helping each other out so much. On two of my visits to the classroom the kids were helping each other out and working together. I think this is a good way to have everybody helping people who need help so the teacher can help everybody who needs help and check in with people who seem to be doing fine.-- Adrienne T.

LT 5/15