Community Factors - Students

CF - Students

      There are 29 students in my practicum class, plus one student aid who often takes tests and does work with the class, as he is in the same class, same teacher, but 7th period instead of 4th. Because of this fact, and because he is accepted by the other students as a member of the class, I will count him as the 30th student. There are 10 boys and 20 girls in the class. Of these, I have two students who are from the same family; they are German Apostolic, although neither of them wear the traditional head piece or clothing often associated with the religion. I have two boys who are of Hispanic origin, although I don’t think that either of them were raised to be completely bilingual, and as such are not fluent speakers. All of the other students appear to be White, with no obvious minority racial or religious differences (although some could be present and not self-identified). Although I am not completely certain of all of the demographics in the room, I will make sure to be aware of the ones I do know of. For example, it will be important not to assume that the two Hispanic boys know the answers to everything, or to assume that they get the material and don’t need help or checking-in. It will also behoove me to be conscious of potentially controversial religious material. In general, however, I am committed to being conscientious about how I present controversial ideas or material, and to being open, accepting, and inviting of difference, and I think that will serve me well with any “hidden” diversity in the classroom. 

      The class as a whole seems to be very cohesive and tight-knit. They get along well and, although they are competitive, they don’t seem to gang up on each other or leave any one out. There are a few groups of students who tend to do all of their work together and occasionally will distract each other and get off-task due to side conversations. Because there is no seating chart in the classroom, the students were able to sit where ever they wanted at the beginning of the year, and so this lets me see who is friends with whom automatically. There is a group of four girls who sit in the back right corner (when facing the students) who, in particular, seem to get off-task and not pay attention because they are having their own conversations. They seem very cliquey to an outside observer, and I will have to be conscious of their engagement. If the talking gets out of hand, I may consider moving the class around and making sure they get broken up. There are a few other groups who get off-task while doing independent practice activities, but are not usually an issue during instruction. As long as they are getting their work done, I do not object to side conversations. However, Spanish teacher that I am, I will be consistently encouraging them to use Spanish in their conversations.

      There are a few quiet students in the class as well, but they seem to fall into two categories: shy by nature, or unmotivated and disengaged. The shy by nature students all seem to be hard workers and are doing fine in the class. There are two students, however, who are not very involved in the class and as such are not doing very well. For those students who are just quiet, I will do my best to make sure they continue to do well, and that I am checking in with them - often they will not ask for help because they are shy, and I have to make sure I am accessible to them and they are not intimidated or scared to talk to me. Those students who are disengaged are going to be a tougher task, but I think the same strategy holds true for them; if I continue to check in and make it clear that I am available for help (on classwork or otherwise), then hopefully I can engage them a little more and help them to bring their grades up. 

CF: Classroom

CF: Classroom

        The classroom I will be working in is relatively large, especially as compared with some of the other rooms on campus. It is a rectangular space that stretches out away from and to the left of the door. There are around 32-35 student desks in the room that take up the majority of the space. They face the white board and projector screen; the television is at the front of the room too, in the far left hand corner (from the students’ perspective). There are also a few bulletin boards, a filing cabinet, and a globe at the front. Along the left hand wall are the windows, and in the back left corner is the computer desk. Along the back wall is where I have my desk, but also a table with a box for each period’s work and grade reports posted above those. The back right corner is the teacher’s desk and cabinets. Along the right-hand wall are cabinets and counter space full of classroom resources - dictionaries, pencil sharpener, tissues and hand sanitizer, stapler, etc. It is a big room, and although I have a big class, I plan to utilize the space by having them move their desks around often to do group work, games, or just to get a change of scenery. The sheer size of the room will certainly allow me much more freedom with how I set up the classroom.

         There are quite a few posters and other decorations on the classroom wall. Some of them are useful grammatically, like the poster of Daffy Duck with Spanish question words or the time-telling poster. Some of them are purely cultural - there is “The Great Chile Poster” with all of the different kinds of chile peppers, a poster of Madrid, some of Mexico, etc. There are also a few postcards up on one of the bulletin boards. There is an American flag, but also a Mexican flag, up in the room. The back wall is currently covered in student work: maps of South America, coloured and labeled by my supervising teacher’s Spanish 1 students. I like that the room is colorful, and there has been an obvious effort made, through these posters and other tchotchkes around the room, to bring culture into the classroom. However, other than the aforementioned poster of Madrid, the maps, and a few postcards from Costa Rica, I find the classroom to be very Mexico-centric. Although I do know that many of the native speakers are Mexican-American, I think it is important to recognize the twenty other Spanish-speaking countries of the world. My teaching will be altered as I try to bring in examples and illustrations of countries and cultures other than Mexico - maybe even some maps and posters of my own!

        The room, as I said, is large and colorful, and my class is 29 students plus a student aide. It is a fourth period class, which for many of them means it is their last class before lunch. Many of my students seem to know each other from outside of this class, but they all seem pretty comfortable with each other and with the lay out of the classroom, as well. All of this contributes to a somewhat loud, chaotic, community feeling. The students are a little rowdy at times, but I prefer that to a class that is not active. I know I will have to gear my teaching towards channeling their energy into actual classroom activities, and will have to find ways to engage them. I will have to recognize that it is right before lunch, and I assume I will have to accommodate accordingly on some days when they are especially squirrelly. 

Contextual Factors - school

Contextual Factors:

2. Description of the school

     The 2005-2006 district profile for the Silver Falls School District indicates student enrollment at 3,604 students. Of these, 15.4% were identified as “minority” students, and 9.9% were identified as ESL. In 2009-2010, 82.9% of the school district was White; 14.1% Hispanic; .9% Asian/Pacific Islander; 0.7% Native American/Alaskan Native; 0.7% Multi-Ethnic; 0.4% Black; and 0.1% unknown. The total minority population was 616 students out of 3,637, or 16.9%. Silverton High School’s statistics for that same school year match these statistics very nearly, although there is actually a slightly lower percentage of the student body identified as minority (14.7%), and there is a larger percentage of the student body who identifies as White than there is district-wide. Although no official information is available, a fairly significant portion of the student body is Old Believer, a sect of Russian Orthodox Catholicism. These students, although white, often dress in traditional attire and miss school for religious events a few times per month. They could be considered a minority group on campus.

     The Silverton High School new campus was completed in summer 2009, and consists of a two story building with multiple wings as well as the CTE building which houses Agricultural Science, Auto Shop, Wood Shop, and Metal Shop classes. There are also two greenhouses by the CTE building, and a number of athletic facilities including multiple tennis courts, a football stadium, and soccer fields. In the main building, apart from all of the regular academic classrooms, is housed the choir and band rooms, practice rooms, two auditoriums, an all-purpose fitness room, a weight room, the business and culinary academy, and three student computer labs. 

     One wing of the main building houses the Special Education classrooms. These are split into three distinct branches: the Learning Resource Center (LRC), mainly for basic learning disability support; the Structured Learning Program (SLP), for students with major emotional disturbances, Autism Spectrum Disorder, or other similar exceptionalities; and the Transitional Learning Center (TRC) for students with more severe disabilities. There are eleven full-time faculty who work in Special Education, including faculty specifically assigned to all three departments and assistants. There is also an ELL classroom with two teachers assigned to those students specifically, and a migrant education consultant. 

     The school itself is all very new, and feels a little imposing upon first entering. There are quite a few cases along the walls in the main entrance and hallways, full of Silverton paraphernalia past and present, but not a lot of student posters until the classroom hallways. Most halls, rooms, and offices are clearly marked, but there are few, if any, signs or indicators leading the way to anything in the building, making it impossible to find your way around without asking for directions. It is all very impressive, and looks as new as it is. Things are kept very clean, and the school feels very well-organized and structured. They pride themselves on their reputation as a good school, and do their best to keep that reputation visible in the way the school is organized. The students are typical high schoolers - lots of cliques and subgroups of stereotypical students sitting together in the lunch room - but they are very friendly with their teachers and the staff: I have observed on multiple occasions students interacting with teachers that they have had in the past (not current teachers) on very good terms. Silverton High School feels very much like a close-knit, tight-run community.

     Given that the demographics of the high school very closely reflect those of the community at large, I feel the same considerations apply in that regard. It is exciting to know that there is such a large support community in place for Special Education, and although it is, sadly, not quite large enough to support those students it does help, it is nice to know that there is a team of dedicated individuals in that field. I think that having them there, visibly supporting those students, will help me as a classroom teacher be aware and actively working to help support those students in my classes who work with the Special Education departments. Given the overall atmosphere of the school, I feel it behooves me to be very familiar with the rules and regulations of the school and its policies, but also to build up good relationships with my students. On the one hand, I will be well aware of what it expected of me and of the students at all times, but I will also be a friendly face to them, and they know they can come talk to me about whatever they need, academic or not.

Contextual Factors - community

Contextual Factors:

1. Description of the Community

     Silverton, Oregon is located in the Willamette Valley, just about 20 miles east of Salem, in Marion County. Silverton was first settled in the 1800s, rising to prominence as a lumber, power, and trading center in the 1850s (although it was then known as Milford, and was located slightly upstream). It remained an important lumber and metal center for most of the first half of the 20th century. On the most recent U.S. census, the reported population of Silverton was 7, 414. 

     The racial makeup of the town of Silverton, as reported on the last census survey, is as follows: 6,620 (89.3%) reported as White; 857 (11.6%) as Hispanic; 32 as Asian; 16 as African American; 486 reported as “some other race,” and 175 self-identifying as “Two or more races.” In 2000, there were 82 American Indian or Alaska Natives living in Silverton, and there are an estimated 3 Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islanders. The area is, therefore, predominantly White. [It is important to note, however, that the Silver Falls School District encompasses a much wider population than Silverton proper. For more statistics on the school district and Silverton High School itself, please see section 2 of contextual factors.]

     According to the most recent survey, the median household income for Silverton (proper) was $38,429. This is slightly lower than the median household income for the U.S. at the same time, which was $41,994. About 10.4% of the families in Silverton were living below the poverty line at the time of the last survey. 13% of individuals were living below the poverty line at this time. 

      The area around Silverton High School is residential - nice to moderately-nice homes, small streets, lots of trees. There is a Catholic church on the corner near the school that has a softball field and a community garden. The high school actually has a large piece of property on one side of it that is open farmland. This butts up against the greenhouses, auto shop, agricultural science buildings, and the athletic facilities. The main driveway leading in to the school grounds has a small marshland alongside of it. The school is located off of the main streets of Silverton, fairly removed from the heart of the town. (Please note that all descriptions refer to the new campus, completed in summer 2009.) 

     The community of Silverton feels like the small, tight-knit community that it is. It is a more conservative area, but the further into town and away from the farms you get, the more liberal it is. Silverton recently elected the first openly transgendered mayor in the nation, Stu Rasmussen, which would seem surprising for such a conservative area if this phenomenon of in-town liberality were not present. It is, however, not that big of a deal for the citizens of Silverton, who accept Mayor Rasmussen and seem to align well with his politics. The town itself is very neighborhood-feeling, with small local businesses and restaurants. There is a lot of vegetation along the streets, and most Silvertonians seem to take pride in their yards and gardens. The area surrounding Silverton is predominantly farm land - rolling hills and fields, with large farm houses and barns breaking up the landscape. It is typical, picturesque, rural Willamette Valley countryside. 

     Although the minority populations are fairly low in the Silver Falls School District, the poverty rates in the area are quite high, and it must be taken into account that many students attending Silverton High School come from low-income families, or farming families. They may be expected to work, either at outside jobs or on the farm, to help support their families. This can have a considerable effect on their school work, which may be unfinished or done poorly as a result of having to spend a lot of time working. Students also miss school often for religious holidays (Old Believers), or hunting trips, which are popular among rural families during the open season. This affects their school work, since they are sometimes gone for the introduction of key concepts in the classroom. As a teacher, it is important to be aware of when students will be missing school, and to build up relationships with students such that they can approach me and let me know when and why they will be out, and what they can do to make sure they stay on top of their work. I must also try to have a good support system in place for those students who for religious or familial reasons have to miss school or have a hard time completing work outside of class. 

Reflection 4.1

Kids I find it easy to like: kids who are engaged, bright, excited about being in the classroom - basically, kids from whom I get the feeling that they are just as passionate as I am about the subject matter. Also, kids who are clowns - what can I say, I like it when kids can have a good time.

Kids I find it hard to like: kids who are openly hateful towards others (those who use language that I find unacceptable towards other groups, or just those who use the language without thinking); kids who are openly disrespectful, towards me or others.

Kids I am sorry for: kids who are struggling; kids who are too shy to speak out in class; kids who I think have a socio-economic disadvantage.

Kids I feel threatened by: I'm not sure? I don't know that I have felt threatened by a student before...

Kids I identify with: probably the kids I find it easy to like - the ones who are bright and engaged and in upper level classes, the ones who are like I was in high school.

Kids I gravitate towards: again, the kids I find it easy to like: engaged, and/or the jokers.

Kids I feel inadequate around: students who are minorities - I care deeply about equity and social justice, but I will always feel inadequate around students who are actually, personally affected by inequality because my own life situation has always been so privileged.

Kids I probably don't even notice: the ones who do average work, speak out sometimes but never are dazzling. I DO notice the really quiet kids, because I feel compelled to draw them out, but the ones who are right smack dab in the middle don't always register with me.

Reflection 3.2 "Learning about inclusion"

I interviewed a parent from my home town who is openly bisexual, and currently living with a same-sex partner. Although her child is now graduated and in college, I asked about what is was like going through the school system.
Has your child received any different treatment at school because of your sexuality?
"No, not that I can recall. I don't think anyone ever took it out on her. If her teachers even knew, it didn't affect how they treated her. There were a few who maybe talked to me differently, but not her."

[Did] other parents permit their children to socialize with your child in events or activities outside of school?
"We had a different situation, as you know.** So, yeah, a lot of parents were a little uncomfortable with letting their kids come over. But we had so many [music department] events, most parents would let their children come to those. Sometimes not one on one, though. That did freak some of them out."
**Until recently, she had lived at a large communal house with a variety of people living there. The house functioned as a contained arts community, and some of the partners in the house were fluid.

[Did] teachers treat you or your child differently?
"Not [my child]. But me, yeah, every once in a while I would get one who was uncomfortable with me. Never rude, just uncomfortable. Avoiding eye contact, quick meetings, stuff like that. Although [my child] was always great in school, so that probably helped make people comfortable. And it stopped when she got to high school, since the other teachers knew me already.** If they were going to treat me differently then, it was because I annoyed them at work."
**She worked part time at the high school that her child attended as a choir director.

Achievement

The three dimensions of achievement are, to my mind as a teacher:
1. Understanding
2. Fulfillment of personal goals
3. Creating new goals

Understanding is first and foremost in my conception of achievement because I do not believe that anything can really be accomplished without understanding. Whether it is as simple as completing a task or as complex as creating a new program for your school, if you do not have a sound understanding of what is being asked of you and the concepts you are working with, you will never truly succeed. I think it is important to foster comprehension before a finished product can be put together - I don't want students turning in work if they don't have a full grasp on what is being asked of them, both mechanically and conceptually.

The fulfillment of personal goals is important when considering achievement, namely because that is often what gives one the greatest sense of satisfaction IN achievement. To really feel as though you have been successful at something, it is crucial to have clear in your mind what you consider success to be. As we talked about in class, having students set their own goals is an integral part of the learning process; it is also advisable, however, to conference with students about what those goals are and how they can be made realistic and yet still challenging.

The third dimension of achievement has to do with making sure you don't stagnate. Both in an academic setting and out of it, setting goals is important - but once those goals are achieved (or not), you have to always set new ones. To take a popular, "stereotypical" goal - becoming a millionaire: well, once you become a millionaire, what then? You will have accomplished your goal, good for you - but hopefully you will still have a fair amount of life left to live, and it seems silly to have worked so hard for so long at achieving one thing, and then never striving for anything again. I think this example, though blown out of proportion, translates directly to real-world goals and accomplishments: it is necessary to always be creating new goals, new places to set your sights, or you will stagnate and achievement will cease.