First weeks

I've now been to my school twice and I'm loving this experience.  I have to admit, before we started I was very nervous about it.  I grew up in a very small school in a rural community where everyone was white so this was a totally new experience for me.  Driving through the neighborhood of the school, I noticed how very poor this area is.  Everything is very rundown and I could tell that it's a very diverse community.  The area around the school was actually very nice though because it's a fairly new complex of about 3 different schools.  Inside the school was also pretty nice because of the newness of it and my nerves started to go away when I actually got inside and was around the kids.  My first week we didn't actually work with the kids but just went through a sort of orientation with the literacy coach.  I couldn't believe it when she said that about 80% of kids aren't at the reading level that they should be and that many of the schools just don't have the funding for teachers to spend the amount of time needed with these kids to help them learn to read.  We were told that that was one of the poorest school districts in the nation.  The coach even told us that some of the kids at this school were refugees from other countries where it used to be their job to pick up dead body parts.  This was unbelievably sad to me and I just can't believe the lives that some of these kids had been forced to lead.  

This past week we were actually put in the classroom.  This school is very diverse where white is actually the minority.  The poverty of some of the children was noticeable as some looked as if their hair hadn't been brushed and they were wearing too small or disheveled clothing.  At my school I'm working with kindergartners and first graders.  In the kindergarten class this was especially noticeable.  They also seemed very high strung and it seemed like the teacher doesn't get a chance to get a lot of teaching done because some of the children are very disruptive.  A lot of my time was observation but with the little bit I worked with the kids, it was amazing the amount of words they didn't know.  It actually really shocks me to know that some parents just don't take care of their children properly, doing things like helping them learn to read and do well in school.  There was one little girl who didn't know simple words such as in and she has a very hard time paying attention in the classroom and was continually disruptive.  It's sad cause they all seem like good kids, they just don't have the guidance they need at home.  I am glad though that I actually felt very comfortable with the kids right away, often helping the teacher keep them under control and paying attention.

The first grade classroom I was in was much less hands on at first and the teaching style was very different.  This teacher was more laid back and seemed to gain more respect from the children.  There was also a huge difference in the maturity level here and I don't know if it's because of the one year difference or because of the teacher.  In both classrooms I noticed that the teachers demand a lot of respect and focus a lot on the behavior of the children, doing their best to make sure that the class isn't disruptive.  I also spoke with the first grade teacher and was told once again of the poor reading level of these children.  She told us that even when she taught fourth grade, the reading level of the kids was awful, when she knew she had already taught some of the same students in first grade the same things.  I hope that the rest of my time spent in this school goes well and that I make at least a small impact on the students in helping them to read.