Never Judge a Book By its Cover
Description/Overview
As a young adult, we all fumble and fall (hypothetically speaking) once and while. Being an early teen or young adult is difficult at times, because we never know which way is up. We have so many decisions to make, life lessons and knowledge to learn, and yet we still manage to survive the whirl wind of emotions we are going through. It is even more difficult, when you are placed in a classroom where no one understands you or speaks your language. In my mind, that must be either a rude awakening or a terrifying thought! Imagine someone standing next to you, a friend, and you cannot understand them nor them understanding you. Frustrating, yes? Well, everyday ELL and/or LEP students struggle with this everyday in the classroom. Depending on your town or city's demographic, it may not be as common, but in certain places, this is the case. We as future teachers must understand the difficulty that one such student must be dealing with. That is why we are trained to find different ways in which we can incorporate different levels of literacy into our lessons everyday!
Skills Gained
Throughout this course, we were to read multiple close reading articles to understand what literacy is all about. In the two readings that I closely relate to on the "Readings and Research" tab are mostly involved in certain demographics that lack English proficiency. It is not that they are not intellectually competent, but that language is a barrier which causes a great deal of academic failure in the school systems. There is also the differentiation of tweens or young adolescents. It is them who have different learning abilities and levels, in which the teacher must be aware of. This is for the sake of the learning curve as well as the learning success of each and every individual student. Skills that I have learned throughout these readings is the how to discern the developmental needs of every child as well the building up the literacy levels of ELL and LEP students within my classroom. This can be done with a "tracking method" as well as catering to each learning ability group and level.
Lessons Learned
I am currently applying the knowledge, insights and skills I have learned from this experience to my own field experience at In-Tech Academy. It is there that I truly understand the value of literacy in the classroom. In-Tech Academy has a large, well over half, population of students that come from immigrant families and whose family level of English proficiency is extremely low, almost obscure. It is there, that I apply the skills and knowledge that I have learned from Education 360 to their classroom. Coming from a family of immigrants and being a first generation college student in the United States, I can relate to them on the most basic of levels. It is there, that I connected with the students more than I have connected with any other school that I have completed my field experience at.
Impact/Importances
When working with students in Mr. L's 6th grade class, I feel as though I impacted them on such a level that I encouraged them with my helpfulness and my new ideas to classroom learning. Both teachers and students were open to my ideas and my helpfulness to students who were in need of just a little push in the right direction. I encouraged them with my own personal experiences as well as how exciting learning can be when we cater to each learning and language level.
As a young adult, we all fumble and fall (hypothetically speaking) once and while. Being an early teen or young adult is difficult at times, because we never know which way is up. We have so many decisions to make, life lessons and knowledge to learn, and yet we still manage to survive the whirl wind of emotions we are going through. It is even more difficult, when you are placed in a classroom where no one understands you or speaks your language. In my mind, that must be either a rude awakening or a terrifying thought! Imagine someone standing next to you, a friend, and you cannot understand them nor them understanding you. Frustrating, yes? Well, everyday ELL and/or LEP students struggle with this everyday in the classroom. Depending on your town or city's demographic, it may not be as common, but in certain places, this is the case. We as future teachers must understand the difficulty that one such student must be dealing with. That is why we are trained to find different ways in which we can incorporate different levels of literacy into our lessons everyday!
Skills Gained
Throughout this course, we were to read multiple close reading articles to understand what literacy is all about. In the two readings that I closely relate to on the "Readings and Research" tab are mostly involved in certain demographics that lack English proficiency. It is not that they are not intellectually competent, but that language is a barrier which causes a great deal of academic failure in the school systems. There is also the differentiation of tweens or young adolescents. It is them who have different learning abilities and levels, in which the teacher must be aware of. This is for the sake of the learning curve as well as the learning success of each and every individual student. Skills that I have learned throughout these readings is the how to discern the developmental needs of every child as well the building up the literacy levels of ELL and LEP students within my classroom. This can be done with a "tracking method" as well as catering to each learning ability group and level.
Lessons Learned
I am currently applying the knowledge, insights and skills I have learned from this experience to my own field experience at In-Tech Academy. It is there that I truly understand the value of literacy in the classroom. In-Tech Academy has a large, well over half, population of students that come from immigrant families and whose family level of English proficiency is extremely low, almost obscure. It is there, that I apply the skills and knowledge that I have learned from Education 360 to their classroom. Coming from a family of immigrants and being a first generation college student in the United States, I can relate to them on the most basic of levels. It is there, that I connected with the students more than I have connected with any other school that I have completed my field experience at.
Impact/Importances
When working with students in Mr. L's 6th grade class, I feel as though I impacted them on such a level that I encouraged them with my helpfulness and my new ideas to classroom learning. Both teachers and students were open to my ideas and my helpfulness to students who were in need of just a little push in the right direction. I encouraged them with my own personal experiences as well as how exciting learning can be when we cater to each learning and language level.
- Developed and understanding of how student's relate to personal experiences.
- The importance of being readily available for any student at a time of need.
- The importance of catering to different levels of learning and literacy. Each student is different and should be treated as such.
- Learning the group development is just as important as individual development.