Edit: Hi, all! I wrote much more on my contextual factors, so I decided I should re-edit this entry and break my factors up into four different posts. Here's my first part still:
Mill Stream Middle School is located in Northtown, Oregon. Northtown has a population
that is 78.4% White, 12.7% Hispanic, 1.2% Asian, 1.2% Native American, and 4.9% other, and 71.4% of the population is made up of families (US Census Data, 2006), which means that a good proportion of the population is in the schools or interacting with the schools in some way. The community around Mill Stream is full of nice, newer two story houses, and the school has the feeling of a school that is located in a very nice part of town, due to how new everything still looks, and how much technology and books are in the classrooms. This means that I look at my students as having more resources, and so I am perhaps a little less sympathetic toward them than I am my students at my student teaching facility. That being said, I still have tremendous sympathy towards them just because they are middle school students, and I remember how isolated and horrible I felt in middle school, so rest assured that I still feel for them.
Tuesday, October 12, 2010
Tuesday, October 5, 2010
4.1 Reflections
Kids I find it easy to like: The kids who are eager to please, and work hard. Also, the kids who rise their hands to give answers, or ask questions, and who pay attention in class.
Kids I find it hard to like: The kids who shout out answers, or pick on and bother other kids who are doing classwork, or make racist and homophobic remarks.
Kids I am sorry for: The kids who constantly need approval, the kids who don't socialize well, and the kids who obviously have a bad home situation, or a difficult parent.
Kids I feel threatened by: The kids who are sneaky and who appear to comply, but find their own ways to not comply, and to make trouble for other people. I suppose I also feel threatened by kids who are bigger than me and who have emotional problems, but I haven't had much experience with those students, and I've never really felt personally threatened by a student, just more that my authority has been threatened.
Kids I identify with: The quiet kids who get their work done, or the kids who really understand and enjoy the subject area, or even if they don't enjoy it, they understand it well enough to get the work done. I was one of the quiet students who usually really understood the subject matter, even if I didn't speak out in class much, because I didn't want to draw attention to how much I knew.
Kids I gravitate toward: I gravitate toward those same students, the quiet ones who seems to understand and make progress, though I also gravitate toward the students who are actively involved in class, and who like to tell their answers and ask questions, and talk in class discussions.
Kids I feel inadequate around: The kids who don't know what's going on, no matter how much I explain and how many ways I explain, the kids who missed a step along the way back in grade school, or have life issues interfering with their learning, or who just can't understand what they're reading, even after exercises and groupwork, and who need intervention that I can't provide. And the kids who don't receive a lot of support at home, or have dependency issues, or have to work after school and can't come in for help, I feel that I can't do enough for any of these kids.
Kids I probably don't even notice: I hope that I notice all my students, but I suppose it would be fairly easy for a kid who was a good student and kept their head down to go unnoticed by me except when I assess and grade their work, and since they seem to be doing well on their own, I may not devote as much attention to them as to the ones clamoring for attention and help.
This reflection made me really think about the behaviors that I don't like in kids, and what I might find threatening, and I had to think about how I would deal with those students in the classroom. I realized that I'm not really afraid of upfront behavior, but more threatened by passive-aggressive behavior, and deceit, rather than temper tantrums and violent behaviors. I also had to think about the students that I might not notice, and resolve to not let there be students I don't notice.
The hardest part of this reflection was thinking about the kids I feel inadequate around, because there are so many needs I want to meet, but I do realize that I'm only one person, and I can only do so much for students, especially when I have possibly have over 120 students in one semester. I suppose the key for me is to utilize my administrative and counseling supports when I have students with lots of life issues.
Kids I find it hard to like: The kids who shout out answers, or pick on and bother other kids who are doing classwork, or make racist and homophobic remarks.
Kids I am sorry for: The kids who constantly need approval, the kids who don't socialize well, and the kids who obviously have a bad home situation, or a difficult parent.
Kids I feel threatened by: The kids who are sneaky and who appear to comply, but find their own ways to not comply, and to make trouble for other people. I suppose I also feel threatened by kids who are bigger than me and who have emotional problems, but I haven't had much experience with those students, and I've never really felt personally threatened by a student, just more that my authority has been threatened.
Kids I identify with: The quiet kids who get their work done, or the kids who really understand and enjoy the subject area, or even if they don't enjoy it, they understand it well enough to get the work done. I was one of the quiet students who usually really understood the subject matter, even if I didn't speak out in class much, because I didn't want to draw attention to how much I knew.
Kids I gravitate toward: I gravitate toward those same students, the quiet ones who seems to understand and make progress, though I also gravitate toward the students who are actively involved in class, and who like to tell their answers and ask questions, and talk in class discussions.
Kids I feel inadequate around: The kids who don't know what's going on, no matter how much I explain and how many ways I explain, the kids who missed a step along the way back in grade school, or have life issues interfering with their learning, or who just can't understand what they're reading, even after exercises and groupwork, and who need intervention that I can't provide. And the kids who don't receive a lot of support at home, or have dependency issues, or have to work after school and can't come in for help, I feel that I can't do enough for any of these kids.
Kids I probably don't even notice: I hope that I notice all my students, but I suppose it would be fairly easy for a kid who was a good student and kept their head down to go unnoticed by me except when I assess and grade their work, and since they seem to be doing well on their own, I may not devote as much attention to them as to the ones clamoring for attention and help.
This reflection made me really think about the behaviors that I don't like in kids, and what I might find threatening, and I had to think about how I would deal with those students in the classroom. I realized that I'm not really afraid of upfront behavior, but more threatened by passive-aggressive behavior, and deceit, rather than temper tantrums and violent behaviors. I also had to think about the students that I might not notice, and resolve to not let there be students I don't notice.
The hardest part of this reflection was thinking about the kids I feel inadequate around, because there are so many needs I want to meet, but I do realize that I'm only one person, and I can only do so much for students, especially when I have possibly have over 120 students in one semester. I suppose the key for me is to utilize my administrative and counseling supports when I have students with lots of life issues.
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