1) Reflective Journal
My last two visits were much better experienced’s than my first! I’ve had the opportunity to get to know a few more of the students and I’m finally remembering all of their names. Bittersweetly, the child I wrote about in my previous post has moved in with different relatives, more apt and knowledgeable in helping her receive the assistance she needs to overcome her trauma and learn how to manage her behaviors. The teacher informed me that she now attends a preschool with a much smaller class size and a higher teacher-student ratio and that she's enrolled in dance class and absolutely loves it! It’s discouraging that I didn’t have the opportunity to get to know her better but I’m so happy to hear that’s she’s living with relatives who will nurture and appreciate her.
I will say though, the atmosphere in the classroom is completely different now. There’s less disruption and students seem to stay engaged in activities for longer. The teacher is much more focused on staying on task as well. I headed up the matching game at stations today, and some of the children were concentrating so hard on remembering where the matches were that we were able to play two or three games before the 15-minute timer went off.
Something that will definitely stick with me was listening to one of the ELL students explain the goal of the game to her little sister in Mandarin, their natural language. She said to me, “Ellie doesn’t know much English yet so I will tell her.” She’s so soft-spoken and a bit difficult to understand because she speaks with an accent but she would turn to me and ask me what the pictures on the cards were (they were valentine themed) so she could tell her sister speaking Mandarin. When she held up the cupid card and I told her “Little man of love.”, she looked at me like I was from another planet and just kinda shook her head at her sister. Probably the best part of today.
What I’ve discovered about curriculum from my most recent visits is that the three-year-old children in the classroom are tracing their names on dot worksheets and the four and five-year-old students are writing their names. And some are really good at it too, especially Ellie and her sister who are able to clearly write out their first and last names. I have two and almost three-year-old children in my classroom and I’ve never considered trying to show them how to write their name because they just seem so young to me. Perhaps I’m undermining their potential and maybe this is an unconscious bias of mine that can now be confronted.
2) Environmental Analysis of Diversity.
How are families involved in the classroom? How are cultural differences between families and diverse language backgrounds addressed by the teacher? How are cultural differences and diverse language backgrounds evident in the classroom environment? What are your ideas for involving families in the classroom?
Family members are welcome to volunteer in the classroom whenever they’d like. They’re welcome to read a story, help out with stations, or just hang out with their child. They’re also strongly encouraged to attend classroom parties, open houses, and other school functions. I wasn’t able to attend the Valentine’s Day celebrations, but the teacher informed me that quite a few parents attended the party, and the amount of leftover treats covering the countertop in the classroom was even more evidence of parental participation.
The teacher addresses the diverse language backgrounds by clearly labeling everything in the room in English, Spanish, and whatever other languages any of her students may speak, such as Mandarin Chinese. Thanks to online translating technology, this task isn’t as daunting as it seems. Sadly, she doesn’t really observe any diverse holidays in the classroom apart from Black History Month.
Classroom newsletters including pictures of students should become a weekly if the not monthly norm in all schools. They help keep parents informed on what’s happening in the classroom and up to date on school events. And parents just really like seeing pictures of their kids participating in activities.
My last two visits were much better experienced’s than my first! I’ve had the opportunity to get to know a few more of the students and I’m finally remembering all of their names. Bittersweetly, the child I wrote about in my previous post has moved in with different relatives, more apt and knowledgeable in helping her receive the assistance she needs to overcome her trauma and learn how to manage her behaviors. The teacher informed me that she now attends a preschool with a much smaller class size and a higher teacher-student ratio and that she's enrolled in dance class and absolutely loves it! It’s discouraging that I didn’t have the opportunity to get to know her better but I’m so happy to hear that’s she’s living with relatives who will nurture and appreciate her.
I will say though, the atmosphere in the classroom is completely different now. There’s less disruption and students seem to stay engaged in activities for longer. The teacher is much more focused on staying on task as well. I headed up the matching game at stations today, and some of the children were concentrating so hard on remembering where the matches were that we were able to play two or three games before the 15-minute timer went off.
Something that will definitely stick with me was listening to one of the ELL students explain the goal of the game to her little sister in Mandarin, their natural language. She said to me, “Ellie doesn’t know much English yet so I will tell her.” She’s so soft-spoken and a bit difficult to understand because she speaks with an accent but she would turn to me and ask me what the pictures on the cards were (they were valentine themed) so she could tell her sister speaking Mandarin. When she held up the cupid card and I told her “Little man of love.”, she looked at me like I was from another planet and just kinda shook her head at her sister. Probably the best part of today.
What I’ve discovered about curriculum from my most recent visits is that the three-year-old children in the classroom are tracing their names on dot worksheets and the four and five-year-old students are writing their names. And some are really good at it too, especially Ellie and her sister who are able to clearly write out their first and last names. I have two and almost three-year-old children in my classroom and I’ve never considered trying to show them how to write their name because they just seem so young to me. Perhaps I’m undermining their potential and maybe this is an unconscious bias of mine that can now be confronted.
2) Environmental Analysis of Diversity.
How are families involved in the classroom? How are cultural differences between families and diverse language backgrounds addressed by the teacher? How are cultural differences and diverse language backgrounds evident in the classroom environment? What are your ideas for involving families in the classroom?
Family members are welcome to volunteer in the classroom whenever they’d like. They’re welcome to read a story, help out with stations, or just hang out with their child. They’re also strongly encouraged to attend classroom parties, open houses, and other school functions. I wasn’t able to attend the Valentine’s Day celebrations, but the teacher informed me that quite a few parents attended the party, and the amount of leftover treats covering the countertop in the classroom was even more evidence of parental participation.
The teacher addresses the diverse language backgrounds by clearly labeling everything in the room in English, Spanish, and whatever other languages any of her students may speak, such as Mandarin Chinese. Thanks to online translating technology, this task isn’t as daunting as it seems. Sadly, she doesn’t really observe any diverse holidays in the classroom apart from Black History Month.
Classroom newsletters including pictures of students should become a weekly if the not monthly norm in all schools. They help keep parents informed on what’s happening in the classroom and up to date on school events. And parents just really like seeing pictures of their kids participating in activities.
Britnee -
ReplyDeleteI'm glad to hear that the student you were concerned about is (hopefully) in an environment where she will receive the support she needs to heal from the traumatic experiences she has had. How interesting that you have siblings in your classroom for whom English is not a first language! It would be an interesting experience to see them translating for each other. Don't be afraid to ask the student to teach you a few words in Mandarin.
It sounds like you learned something new about teaching children about name writing. In your classroom, having lots of exposure to activities that help strengthen their hand muscles, using a variety of writing tools, and seeing their names being used are good strategies for beginning reading/writing practice.
I wonder if there are other ways than newsletters that you already use in your own classroom to encourage family engagement.
Teri