Blog 5- Summer Alternative Field Experience

For me, these summer class have just breezed by but I have learned the most from spending time at the boys and girls club. The students their are so different from what I'm used to. They are all vibrant and have their own individual personalities. I was privaledged with working with 1st graders, a first for me since I have only had real experience with 4th graders. It was interesting learning to adapt my teaching style to younger students. They are still in the stage in life when they take EVERYTHING personally so everything from my instruction to how I would try to modify their behavior had to change to prevent hurting anyone's feelings.

Also, patience is something that I thought I had with students, but this virtue was tested greatly with my focus group. There were a lot of distractions and other activities that took away from my time with the students. I knew that they were excited to work with me but they would sometimes get restless, want to play with the other students, and become disinterested in writing a paper.

Overall, I think that this course and my experience with the students taught me to not only look at the obvious things about students (class, race, behavior, academic level) but also the underlying variables that make them who they are. I think that this is why a lot of students are disengaed in school; teachers label them and have low expectations of achievement for their students. When students see that you care for them, truly, they become encouraged in pleasing you, which is actually pushing themselves academically. I saw some things in my Boys and girls club of what not to do as a teacher, especially with younger students, but I have learned through this course, the instructor, and my peers that it is up to me as an educator to be the change I want to see in the education system, especially in urban schools.

#boysandgirlsclub #alternativefeildexperience #urban #urbanschools