CHES

1. Collect Stories (italicized the one I'm expanding on)

• Third grade has a field trip coming up and the new Chinese student, Joey, brought his money but not his permission slip and he did not understand the problem (due to lack of English). Nina wanted to help the classroom teacher deal with the situation.
• Standardized testing- testing one student with an IEP in a small classroom with another who doesn’t have an IEP. One student gets more time, extended directions, and the other doesn’t.
• The office staff seemed extremely overwhelmed. Nina and I needed to contact the secretaries a few different times and it was either difficult, or I felt that I was inconveniencing them because they had so many other people waiting on them.
• I was set to sit in on a meeting with my teacher and the principal and then the principal asked that the meeting be confidential. It was about Nina’s increasing course load at Elementary School 1.

2. What Happened?

Christine Calderon

02/12/13

Field Post #4

Notes for first visit Feb. Friday 8^th, 2013:

Today I walked in and the special education teacher was talking about tea with Ms. Teller. The students where lined up against the wall again waiting to get the signal to come into the classroom and start their morning routine. After this I walked around to see if anyone needed help with their math problem. There was a student from the ELL class I was in last year that was awarded a prize for reading a certain amount of books. The teacher then announced other students that could go downstairs to enjoy the reading event. There where 4 or 5 students that stayed behind. The teacher then told the students that even if they at least one they would’ve been able to go and have fun.  Some of the students began to trickle in. I was assigned with three other students who were working on their vocabulary and spelling words.  These three students where still in the process of learning English they had their own cards and vocabulary words to study. These three students are as follows:

Miguel- Knows some English is really excited about learning English. When asked about who helps him study he mentioned his uncle who worked in a restaurant.

Ali- doesn’t know any English and cannot read in English but can read and write in Spanish

Joe- knows some English and is a bit more advanced than Miguel. When asked about who helps him out he mentioned his father and his brother help him and they know some English from

February 19^th, 2013

Location: Public magnet high-school in Center City

Classes: 11^th grade American History (Ms. R), 10^th grade English (Mr. T)

*Again, sorry these are a little late! I go to my placements on Tuesdays so I tried to upload them as soon as possible. 

After a three-day weekend, Ms. R starts class by asking students about their weekends. A few students raise their hands to tell the class what they did over the weekend, such as going to church, going out to breakfast with their families, having relatives over, etc.

We’ve talked a lot about getting to know your students and where they come from, and simply starting the class by asking about weekend activities seems like a great way to do this. It gives students a chance to share information about their lives and even says something about the different cultures we come from. The only concern Ms. R seemed to have was that so many students want to talk and the classes are only an hour.

The general environment at this school is very relaxed. Students usually stroll in 5-10 minutes after class officially begins, there are no bells and no attendance is ever taken.

Generally this “laid-back” system seems to work, but I do wonder about students that show up very late or do not have as much self-motivation to complete their work without someone reminding them to. At the same, it is very good preparation for college and the workplace.

Elementary School 2: 2/12/13

Fieldnotes- 2/12/13, 10am-3pm

Classes: 11^th grade American History (Ms. R), 10^th grade English (Mr. T)

As I wait outside of Ms. R’s classroom, a few students are in the hallway waiting for their classes to start. There is a big white board on the wall outside the college counseling office and it has an “SAT question of the day on it.” The students waiting for their classes begin to discuss the question and try to figure out which is the correct answer.

This seems like a great way to give students something to focus on at a time when they could get restless in the hallway.  

Students slowly trickle into Ms. R’s 11^th grade American history class. Most students are there within the first 5-10 minutes after class officially begins. The students are friendly and say hi to me as they walk in. Ms. R quiets them down by turning off the lights and saying “screens down please” (in reference to their laptops). She asks me to introduce myself.

I like that Ms. R has me introduce myself to the students. It makes me feel as though I have a part in the class and makes it easier to begin getting to know the students and make sure they feel comfortable around me. She also tells them they can ask me about college because they are all beginning to think about applying to schools.

Christine Calderon

02/12/13

Field Post #3

Notes for first visit Feb. Thursday 7^th, 2013:

I came in with the students lined up against the wall outside of their classroom. It was nice to get friendly hellos from the students who seemed to like my presence there. When we settled down we went over the same routine as last Friday. They had Morning routine, which was to take out homework if they had any and to take out their math word problems and start working on them. While working on their problems the morning announcements came on and they stood up for the Pledge of Allegiance and they did fluoride. After their morning routine they go into reading and after reading they go into writing- these are the two classes I will be apart of on Thursdays and Fridays. Today for writing they where going to go onto the “rug” and sit around and read. They were finishing up their story of the week that had to do with inventions and inventors. When sitting in the circle it was curious that the students sat on the floor cross-legged and one of the students pulled up a chair automatically for the teacher. I found it interesting that the teacher had to sit on a chair while the students sat on the floor and looked up. Having just had read Freire this simple action spoke to me.  I too pulled up chair since it seemed like the “right” thing to do. It felt odd to me but the students and teacher didn’t seem to react too much to this action.

Friday, February 2, 2013 - Field Placement Visit #2

Ms. Bard greeted her students as they entered her classroom. They came in doing the usual routine, which is to settle down and work on things listed on the do-now paper. Students walked into the classroom carrying their binders, folders, books, and other materials they needed. No backpacks were seen in the classroom. All students left their belongings on their blue rectangular desk. Each desk could fit only two students. However, I found these desks too small for some of Ms. Bard's students. It caused them to slouch in their chairs in addition to having their legs spread out very wide. While peering over one student's desk I noticed clean copies of Maus I and Night wrapped in a rubber band. I assumed that they were reading these books in 10th grade English. Seeing these books made me recall my 10th grade English class where I also read these two books when learning about the holocaust.

• Elementary school in a suburb of Philadelphia
• Tucked into a neighborhood, surrounded by trees, grass, etc.
• School goes from K-5^th, all in one building
• No businesses, schools, religious buildings, etc. near the school, but primarily houses
• My placement is with Nina Smith, an English Language Learners (ELL) teacher
  • This is the second semester in a row that I am working with Nina
  • She is the ELL teacher for both Elementary Schools in the district
    • Last semester I only went to one of the Elementary Schools (Elementary 1)
    • This semester I will be doing 2 ½ hours/week at each school
      • The schools are in the same district and similar communities- how will they be different?

Sorry these are a little late! I had my first field placement today.

The school I am at is a 9-12 public magnet school in Center City. I am with Mr. T's 10th grade English classes, and beginning next week I will also be with Ms. R's 11th grade American History class. 

The first thing I notice when I walk into this school are the colors. Every wall is a bright shade of orange, green, yellow, blue, or purple. I come in during lunch time so all the students are out of class. As I walk to Mr. T’s class I see students hanging out, eating lunch, and walking around in the hallways. I do not see many teachers, and the students are not supervised. I walk into Mr. T’s class and he is having lunch while a technology class goes on. This particular room has big windows, bright blue colored walls, and five tables instead of desks. On the walls are various posters about the core values of the school, inspirational quotes, project instructions, and more. Immediately, I can feel the culture of this school is very warm, safe, mature, and fun.

In word.