Miscellaneous Post #2

Here is a video I found on youtube that had some surprising connections to Christensen's Reading.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HKH4YGKnOSs

I thought that the video was really interesting and surprising. I never thought that the children's market was worth that much, it shows how much children have an influence on their parents to be getting the latest toys, gadgets, and fashion trends. It is sad that the children are marketed to even before they are born.

My 10th Visit

Today I was assigned different students than the ones last week, I was excited to see who I would be assigned, I am glad that I am able to work with different students each week now.

Again this week we played the candyland game. I worked with two new boys (one white and one black) and then a hispanic girl. These kids were very shy and didn't even speak to me, I had to repeatedly ask them if they understood after explaining the directions over two times. I told them that I would play along so that they would better understand the game. I went first, picked a card, made a sentence with the sight word, then moved my piece. Another boy who had played candyland with another tutor went second and then the next player, the hispanic girl named Rosie went next. She picked a card and looked at me blankly, I thought she didn't know the word so I told her what it was (remember we aren't supposed to have the students guess the words) then I asked if she could put it in a sentence. She sat there quietly for over a minute, I was starting to think she didn't speak English. I asked her if she needed help and she nodded her head. Her sight word was "she" so I helped her out with, I said "You can say something like..The girl is thirsty she...I told her to finish the sentence and she still didn't say anything, so I finished it for her. I was kind of frustrated because I felt that she wasn't even trying, I even gave her half the sentence! All she needed to do was fill in the blank, but she didn't seem that interested in the game so I moved onto the next player.

I had the same problem with this boy, he was not trying at all. Even after I helped him and also gave him hlaf of the sentence, he wouldn't finish it. So I moved onto my turn then the next boy (who actually knew what he was doing). After a few more rounds of them not responding to me I changed up the rules. I told them that if they didn't try even after I helped them and gave them half the sentence I woudln't let them move their piece. They then proceeded to fill in the blanks when I helped them iwth the sentence and then all on their own they started making up their own sentences. I feel like I was being too caring in the beginning of the session, after I told them more sternly that I woudln't take it if they didn't try they started to put in effort. I think that they all wanted to participate in the game, kids like to see who is going to "win" so when I told them they would need to put forth effort or they couldn't move their piece they were scared that they wouldn't win so tried harder. This is a direct connection to Delpits Culture of Power rule #4 which states being told explicitly the rules of the culture of power means attaining power is easier. So if they listen to the rules and put forth the effort, they are allowed to move their peace.

Because I was so frustrated with them for not putting any effort into the game in the beginning of the session I didn't give them any feathers. The kids didn't seem to be saddened at all because they were just glad to be playing the game.

I talked to the reading coaches after my intervention and I todl them that I've grown attached to the kids, I told them I would be going back to see them until school ends in June (which they were very happy about). I look forward to seeing the kids, I'm glad to have been assigned Flynn Elementary as a VIPs reading buddy.

Miscellaneous Post

I found an interesting youtube video showing the teacher enforcing the rules to her students.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Akh4mj3rsGs&feature=related

I related this to Delpits culture of power rule 4 which states: If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier"

If the students listen to the rules and follow them, they earn stars and they are then rewarded for those stars at the end of the week.

My 9th Visit

Today was my ninth visit to the school and I was excited to go back because of the break the elementary schools had last week. When I entered the tutors room I was greeted by Ms. Pretty, she told us that most likely we weren't going to be meeting with our regular students but that we would be working with any students that the teacher in the classroom assigned us. I was saddened by this because I had grown close to my studnets, I also hadn't been able to give them a proper goodbye. But I feel like I will come across them again before I am finished with the program so that I can wish them luck and say goodbye to them.

When I went into the classroom that I am usually in, all the students were sitting on the carpet and the teacher was sitting in front of them. I was surprised by this because everytime I went into the classroom the students were usually doing their own thing. Some students would be using the computer some students would be playing on the carpet and some studetns would be reading or drawing at different tables. This was the first time that I happened upon the classroom and everyone was in one place, it was surprising and kind of nice at the same time.

The teacher was holding votes for "May Breakfast" which is something that came to my understanding that she did annually. She would bring different ingredients to the school and the children would help her prepare a breakfast that they would all eat. There were many different food options written on the board and the teacher was asking each child what their preference was. The item with the most votes would be the food that they would all prepare. She had different options for like : chocolate chip pancakes or blueberry, apple juice or orange juice, bacon or sausage, scrambbled eggs or sunny side up, and different kinds of muffins.

The voting process fascinated me and I even made a connection to Delpit's culture of power. The teacher was enforcing the rules about voting and priviledge. She said that everyone who was quiet and didn't should out and waited for their turns would be able to have a say in what they were going to eat (they would get a vote). But those students who didn't cooperate were sent to the corner of the room where they didnt' get a chance to vote and had to sit quietly while the rest of the students decided what they wanted to eat. I thought of Delpit because of rule number 4 which states: If you are not already a participant in the culture of power, being told explicitly the rules of that culture makes acquiring power easier. This is most definately true because those students who listened to the rules acquired the "power" by getting a chance to vote. Those students who didn't listen were sent to the corner and were denied the right to vote.

After the voting was done, the teacher gave me three students who already knew all of the sight words. My job was to play "candy land" with them. It had the same rules as the candy land game I mentioned in my previous posts. The children all sat down at a table where I then explained the rules of the game. These children were so much fun to have, they never fought, they took turns, and they all had a great time. Although I missed my old students, I was glad to have a change. We played the game only once because the voting took up a significant amount of our time and then they were sent back to do a different activity.

The voting took about 20 minutes and then I played the candy land game with them for about another 20 minutes before I realized I had to go. I think that it is a joy to realize you are having such a good time that you stay over your alloted time. I am glad that I got a chance to work with different students in the classroom and I look forward to who I will be working with next week.

Talking Points #10

Shor - "Education is Politics"

1. “People are naturally curious. They are born learners. Education can either develop or stifle their inclination to ask why and to learn. A curriculum that avoids questioning school and society is not, as is commonly supposed, politically neutral. It cuts off the students’ development as critical thinkers about their world. If the students task is to memorize rules and existing knowledge, without questioning the subject matter or learning process, their potential for critical thought and action will be restricted." (12)

I felt that this quote was very powerful. It was something that was very true and that we needed to be made aware of. If students are discouraged while pursuing their education it will naturally harm them and stifle their desire to want to learn more. Education is such a big part of someone's life and that is where they learn to grow as individuals. If they don't get the proper education or opportunities, they will be stuck in neutral.

2. “The teacher brings lesson plans, learning methods, personal experience, and academic knowledge to class but negotiates the curriculum with the students and begins with their language, themes, and understandings. To be democratic implies orienting subject matter to student culture – their interests, needs, speech and perceptions – while creating a negotiable openness in class where the students’ input jointly creates the learning process.” (16)

I feel that this quote is very reflective of what teachers should be doing. Although teachers may walk into a classroom knowing which lessons they plan to teach and how they want to go about doing so, the teacher must keep in mind they he/she must curve the teaching style/subject to what the students need. Teachers should also connect what they are teaching in the classroom to subject matters outside the classroom as well, the student should feel that the material they are learning are important and that it relates to them. If students feel connected to the material they are more likely to try harder when it comes to work. This will also create an open and receptive class, students won't be afraid to share their viewpoints and opinions with everyone.

3. "In school and society, the lack of meaningful participation alienates workers, teachers, and students. This alienation lowers their productivity in class and on the job. I think of this lowered productivity as a performance strike, an unorganized mass refusal to perform well, and informal and unacknowledged strike." (20)

I felt that this quote was relevant because it is something that is seen everyday but probably something that is overlooked. I feel that when students and adults feel that they belong, or have a group that they can connect with, they are more at ease and more prone to fulfill their obligations. People who feel that they are alone, are more likely to keep to themselves and not try their hardest when it comes to their responsibilities. They will more than likely feel like they don't need to or they won't see the point in it.

This reading was enjoyable for me because I made connections to alot of the quotes to the real world. The reading told me that teachers need to bend the way they teach and to consider the life style of students into what their lesson will be about. Teachers need to show students that they are willing to work with them so that both parties will be happy, and that having an open classroom is important so that students will be encouraged to share their opinions and views. When students participate in class, they will be more successful in their education, students and teachers should work together to make sure that everyone in the classroom is comfortable.

My 8th Visit

No intervention today because of Spring Break!! :)

Talking Points #9

Citizenship in School: Reconceptualizng Down Syndrome
By: Chrisopher Kliewer

1. "How absurd to be judged by others at all, especially by those who have never experienced a disability who are unwillingly providing us with support or who don't listen to the voices we have." p. 2
I felt that this was such a powerful quote, and it moved me alot. I feel that people who don't understand what others are going through, shouldn't have a say in the decisions of how they should/can live their life. I feel that if people with disabilities, more specifically, people with down syndrome are able and willing to take the "average level courses" then they should do as they please. People who don't understand the disability shouldn't take it upon themselves to make decisions for them.

2. "...society itself is hurt when schools act as cultural sorting machines-locations that "justify a competitive ethnic that marginalizes certain students or groups of students...[that] legitimize discrimination and devaluation on the basis of the dominant society's preferences in matters of ability, gender, ethnicity, and race..and [that] endorse an elaborate process of sorting by perceived ability and behavior". (p. 2.)
I felt that this quote was important as well because I completely agree with it. I feel that schools often do act as "cultural sorting machines". If the schools are to be repeating this cycle over and over again, then society as a whole will never grow. We will be stuck in the same pattern, always "discriminating" never learning to trust each other or learn about the different ethnic/cultural groups outside our own.

3. "In turning his attention to school-based literacy and mathematics instruction, Gardner points out a peculiar disjointedness between classroom learning and the problemsolving, critical thinking needs of students when they enter the wider community." (p.6)
I feel that this quote is important as well because it shows that the level of knowledge measured shouldn't be just the standard mathematics and literacy. I feel that students who are "book smart" aren't always necessarily "street smart". Math and literacy that is taught in school does not guarantee a student to be successful in society. Schools need to broaden their views on what is considered "intellectual" and what is not.

I felt that this reading as a whole has broadened my horizons. I never stopped to think that students with disabilities could/would want to be learning in classrooms like my own. I don't necessarily think I thought they shouldn't, it just never came to my attention, and I never thought it was important for me to think about things such as these until I did this reading. I connected this reading to Delpits, "culture of power". I felt that the school administration didn't and shouldn't have a right to place student with disabilities in a "special ed" class. This relates to Delpits culture of power because of rule 5 which states that those with power don't know or acknowledge that their power exist, and that those who don't have power, often acknowledge or are aware of their powerlessness. The students with disabilities are quite aware of the decision making power the school's authority has and the school doesn't even realize or are aware of the affect their decisions have on their studnets.

My 7th Week.

This week there was no intervention because the kids were being assessed. I was very excited, because I wanted to see how much my kids had improved. But then Ms. Pretty told us that we were going to be assessing different kids, because our kids were most likely already assessed by the teachers. This bummed me out a bit, but felt a little better after she told us we could see how our kids did before we left the school for the day.
Ms. Pretty gave us a sheet with simple directions on how to assess the students. It basically said to read each section carefully, pronounce the correct sounds, make it clear to the student what you are asking, repeat directions over again if it is not understood, and not to tell the child whether or not he/she got the answer right/wrong. Each student was placed in a category i.e. rhyming, identification/categorization, blending. And that was the section that the student starts off with during the assessment, after you are finished with that section, you must cover the next two categories before you end. If however, the child gets a 4/5 or a 5/5 in the next two categories, then continue on with the next category, and don't stop until the child receives a 3/5 in a category. If the child finishes the whole packet with a grade of 4/5 or 5/5 on every section, then that child would be moving to phonics because they are on the brink of learning how to read.
I went to my usual room, (room 24) and asked the teacher which students still needed assessing. She gave me two folders, the first one was named Robert. I pulled Robert from his activity at the art table and brought him to a quiet corner in the room. Robert was working on his Rhyming, so I started off with that section, asking him different questions and marking which ones he got right and which ones he got wrong. He did very well, and i moved onto the next section. Before I knew it, Robert was already on the back of the page! I was so excited, I thought that Robert was going to finish all the sections with either a 4/5 or 5/5 but the second to last section Robert received a 3/5 and thats when I was obligated to stop. I was very impressed with Robert and wanted to know who his tutor was, I know whoever it is would be so proud of him for doing such a good job on all of the sections.
The next person I had was Jose, and he was also working on rhyming. Unfortunately, Jose didn't do as well as Robert did but he did achieve a 5/5 on the section he was working on (rhyming). The next two sections I had to have him assessed in he received a 3/5 so I stopped after the required sections.
After that, I went back to the room where all the reading buddies meet and talked about my experience with the other tutors. They had similar responses, some of their kids did well and some of them didn't. The files on my kids weren't in the teachers room so I have to wait until next week to see how they scored. Ms.Pretty came in and asked if I could assess one more student because she was running behind and I said that it was fine.
It was a girl named Roxie, she was on the blending section. Roxie did very well in her section and the next two sections so I moved onto the next section after that. That is where Roxie didn't do as well and only received a 2/5 so thats when I stopped. I gave the folder back to the teacher. All the students in the classroom kept asking me when they were going to get turns and be assessed by me but I told them that it wasn't up to me, and that if I could, I'd like to assess all of them. They were all very cute and I didn't even want to leave that day, I was having a great time with all the one on one sessions I had. I went back to the room and had my papers signed before I made my way back to RIC.
Ms. Pretty reminded us that we didn't have intervention next week because the studnets would be on spring break. I now have to wait 2 weeks to see how my kids did. I'll be waiting, I'm hoping they did as well as I know they all can. =)

Talking Points #8

Social Class and the Hidden Curriculum of Work
By: Jean Anyon

1."Work is often evaluated not according to whether it is right or wrong but according to whether the children followed the right steps." p.3
I picked this quote because it was something that really bothered me as I read it. I feel that this isn't new to the educational system, I feel that there are some teachers that base grades on whether or not they feel the student followed the procedure and not if the student got the question right. I feel that if the student is not following the right steps, then the teacher should still give the student credit if the right answer is produced. There are always many different ways to come up with an answer, so the student shouldn't be penalized for following a different procedure, but rewarded for being able to figure it out on their own.

2. "The four fifth grade teachers observed in the working-class schools attempted to control classroom time and space by making decisions without consulting the children and without explaining the basis for their decisions...very often ignored the bells to switch classes...Things in the room "belonged" to the teacher." p. 5
I picked this quote because this is something that bothered me too, this is also something that I can connect with. While reading this passage I thought of my middle school experience, where some of my teachers would do the same things that the teachers in this passage would do. Often times, teachers would ignore the bell and keep us after the allotted time because they didn't finish their lesson plan. Everything in the classroom belonged to the teacher. We did have clocks in the classroom however, so the students weren't nearly as dependent on the teachers as the students in the passage are. But the thought that these students are so tightly controlled in this article bothers me a lot.

3. "Social studies also involves almost daily presentation by the children of some event from the news. The teacher's questions ask the children to expand what they say, to give more details, and to be more specific. Occasionally she adds some remarks to help them see connections between events." p. 8
I picked this quote again because this is something that I can relate to. During my fifth grade class, we did "current events" and every monday students presented their article to the class. We were to pick an article out of the newspaper, bring the article to class, write a short summary explaining the article and then connect to our lives. I thought and still think this is a good idea, it is a great way for students to get involved with their community and learn what is going on in the world.

I found this article to be an interesting one, especially because I related to many of the instances in the article. This has to be one of my favorite articles to date, I love reading about the differences between social classes. I found that the higher up the child is in the income bracket, the more fun they had in school, and the more freedom they had. The lower income students didn't have any freedom, most of their lesson plans were repetitive, they didn't have fun with any of the projects. The problem with this kind of learning is that it is basically memorization. The students who came from privileged families had more freedom to express their imagination and creativity. They learned without textbooks, did many different kinds of projects, worked together, and had more freedom to roam around the school. The teachers considered them while doing lesson plans, and negotiated with the students. I like to think that this is the best way to teach, if the students are having fun, they will put forth more effort and there will be a better turn around for both the students and the teachers.

My 6th Visit

This visit was a little hectic! This week Ms. Pretty said that if we thought our kids were doing well with the pre-primer sight words that we could move onto the primer words. I made the switch because after working on the same words over and over again each week, my kids pretty much knew each word without hesitation. Ms. Pretty let us know that some "candy land" board games were donated to the school and she wanted volunteers on trying out the game with the kids.
This candy land was a bit different than the other candy lands that we remember playing when we were younger. This candy land had the same characters, but they looked a little different and sometimes their names were changed. Princess Lolly was now just plain Lolly (which sort of made me sad).
I was excited to have something new for my kids because they always complained of doing the same activities over and over again. So after I met up with my kids and we talked alittle about our weekends we got down to business. First, I started with some of the new primer sight words and I was very impressed that they knew almost all of them. They did get stuck on a few but I didn't have them try to sound it out because they were supposed to know the sight words by memory. (it is impossible for them to sound out sight words, because they would get the wrong result if they sounded it out, hence the name sight word). After our quick lesson on the sight words we moved onto the candy land game.
The candy land game basically had the same rules as it normally does (each person picks up a card, each card has a color on it. Whatever color is on the card is the color that you move your character to on the game board, first person who reaches the end wins. But sometimes you land on a "gum drop" and lose a turn, or you may get a card with a picture on it, in that case you move your character to that particular picture. This may be good or bad depending on where the picture is located on teh game board. Sometimes you end up moving backwards, sometimes you end up moving very close to the finish line). For this candy land, each child had to pick up a card, each card had a color and then a sight word written on the back of the card. In order for the child to move their character to that color on the game board, they had to identify the sight word and then use that sight word in a sentence.
After I explained the directions to the game, they kids were eager to start. We had a bit of a struggle starting the game, because all of them wanted to go first, but I had them pick a number and Cindy guessed correctly so she started the game. At first all of the kids were having a great time, but after awhile Cindy got upset because she was no longer in the lead. I told them that if they would continue to act the way they were, if they were going to be "sore loser" (I didn't say that to them, I said that if they were going to get upset if they werent winning) then I would no longer indulge them with board games, I told them that I will start bringing only the sight words and a poem every week and that no matter how many times they complained about being bored that I wouldn't budge because they didn't appreciate it when I did bring something new. This got their attention very quickly, Cindy said she wasn't getting upset over not winning, but was getting upset because "her tooth hurt". I could tell right away that this was a cover up, and that she was in fact upset about not winning, after weeks of working with her, I knew she always liked being in the lead. So we all started over and played the game again. This time, I could tell that some of them were getting upset that they weren't winning, but they didn't express it in any way. They were quiet, they paid attention, and they waited patiently for their turn.
Before I knew it time was up, the game made the time fly by very quickly and this was something I was grateful for because they were all being very distruptive (until the end when I lectured them.) The only person that received a feather this week was Sophia, she never once complained, and she didn't get upset that she wasn't winning. I mostly gave the lecture because of Cindy and Tom. The other two were kind of mad that they didn't get a feather but I explained to them that they weren't on their best behavior that day. I said that if they were better behaved next week that I would give them all two feathers each. This excited them and they ran off to their classrooms.
Afterwards, I talked to Ms.Pretty about my experience with the game. I told her how frustrated I was with the fact that they were all being sore losers (with the exception of Sophia). She said that that was normal behavior, keeping in mind that they are kindergardeners, they all love to win and compete with each other. She said not to let this get to me because in time they would learn to be more understanding. I told her that it went pretty well and that they knew most of the words, but I corrected them on a few of them. I then filled out my paperwork, got my log signed and then made my way back to RIC. I'm hoping if I use the candy land game next week the kids will be a little more laid back.

Talking Points #7

Peter McLaren

1. .."the lived sense of difference of these students in their everyday class-based culture expresses a realistic understanding of their future options in the labor force, an understanding acquired from their families, peers, and the values encoded into working-class life in general." (228)

I found this particular quote both disturbing and very real. I feel that many students look to the lifestyle that their families have (mostly parents) and feel that not only can they not do better, but that maybe they don't deserve to do better. I feel that these students are at a constant struggle, that even if they did try their hardest, they feel that because no one around them is succeeding, that they cannot succeed either.

2. "For many economically disadvantaged students, success in school means a type of forced cultural suicide, and in the case of minority youth, racial suicide..when compared to dropouts, they were significantly more depressed, less politically aware, less likely to be more assertive in the classroom if they were undergraded, and more conformist." ( p.229).

I felt that this was a very powerful quote as well, I feel that if a student did want to stay in school and not drop out like the majority of his/her classmates, then he/she would feel outcasted. Why should they committ themselves to more social abuse, when dropping out and "following the crowd" was so much easier? I feel that even if a student wanted to stay in school, they would be ridiculed by everyone around them which would make staying focused that much harder.

3. "One way in which girls combat class-bound and oppressive patriarchal features of school is to assert their "femaleness," to replace the officially sanctioned code of neatness, diligence, application, femininity, passivity, and so on, with one that is more womanly, even sexual, in nature." (p.231).

Of all the quotes, I found this one to be the saddest. I felt pity for the girls that felt they needed to replace such feminine traits with other ones "sexual ones". I feel that these girls are conforming to what their society wants them to, they are giving into the pressures to look and dress a certain way. Instead of "asserting their femaleness" they are giving into the male demands of their peers and transforming themselves as sexual objects.

I found this article extremely interesting, and I found myself agreeing with many of the things that I read throughout the essay. I thought that students do often feel pressure from the surrounding community to do certain things, with the girls in the above example, instead of what they are aiming for "asserting femaleness" they are actually doing the opposite. Instead of students taking advantage of public school, they are dropping out and conforming to what everyone else in society is doing. They feel that school is less important than giving into their "street smarts". If they do in a sense become successful, they are committing social suicide.

Talking Points #6

Trisha Rose.

1. "Hip hop is just one moment of long African American history, it is a sign of enormous creativity and hope."

When I heard this quote, I immediately thought of a class I took last semester, Engl207. We watched a program on African American impact of the arts. I thought of things like jazz, poetry, and art. And I believe this quote is most definitely true. African Americans have influenced many different forms of entertainment that we don't notice today.

2. "Gangster, Pimp and Hoe trinity are the images that take over commercial hip hop from the mid 90s, there's a market for it."

This is most definitely true, when hip hop is portrayed on tv, or in the media, almost all the time there is at least one of these images. On tv, when there are music videos the artist is in there with a gaggle of girls and it basically shows their "party lifestyle". Hip hop has a certain image, and it is very much stereotyped.

3. "Vulnerability is the biggest Achilles Heel".

This is something that is always talked about in different hip hop songs, the majority of the songs are flaunting the lifestyle they live, how much money they have and what kind of girl they have. To show that they have a weak spot, is unacceptable and I can't think of a single song where the "gangster or pimp" is shown weak.

This was an interesting video, it is something that you don't see everyday. I feel that hip hop isn't analyzed way too often so when we do get to see/hear something about it it is very interesting. I think that most of what Tricia Rose said was true, and it made me very aware of the things I hadn't noticed before. i.e. the holy trinity.

My 5th Visit

Well today started out pretty good, except the fact that I was late again. I couldn't find my umbrella anywhere, its such a bummer because it was so nice out last week, but anyway..other than that my morning went well.

We met someone new today, her name was Ms. Pretty, she was on maternity leave and just recently came back to school. She is the person in charge of the VIPs program at the school I tutor at, and Ms. Dalomba was filling in for her. She introduced herself and let us know how to get in contact with her. She seemed very nice, and for someone who just had a baby, she looked amazing. But she let us know that other than the sight words and the poem, we were allowed to play games as well. This was very exciting news, because my kids always get bored of the sight word game and the poem very fast. Usually, they are able to finish it within 15-20 minutes, and I don't want to waste the remaining time with just idle talk so we end up playing the sight word game again. With the addition of a new game, I thought it'd keep their attention more and gain more excitment.

After I got all my materials ready, and got myself situated, I went to meet the kids. Cindy and Tom were both very excited to see me, with my absense the week before they told me they missed me but were glad they got to play on the computers while I was away. I told them that I had a new game to share with them and they were excited, but I said we would only play it if they were good, and got through the rest of the materials for the day. Sophia was running late again (she has gym before she meets with us, which makes her late) so we started the sight word game with out her.

We got through the sight word game relatively fast, surprisingly both Tom and Cindy were paying attention and were making sentences quickly. After about 5 minutes we were done and moved on to the poem. The poem I picked was "Winter Snow" they both took turns reading the lines then I made them point out a few of the words that rhymed, and some words that had the same beginning and ending sound.

Sophia still hadn't showed up by the time we finished the poem, so I started to explain the rules of the game without her. We were playing "picture dominos" Each piece of paper had two pictures on it, each with a different sounding word (i.e. cat and piano, dog and moon). Each of the kids got 6 papers (dominos) there were enough so that only one domino was left to start the game. After I started to distribute the dominos Sophia joined the group so I briefy told her what I was doing. After I passed out all the dominos (I was also playing) I told them that the object of the game was very similar to the real game of dominos. We had to match up the pictures with other pictures that had the same beginning sounds (i.e. cat and car, dog and doll). The kids did very well, I was surprised that everyone didn't fight against me while playing this game, usually they are constantly asking me to go to the bathroom, to get drinks, and just to join their friends in playing different games.

About three quarters of the way through the game, the dominos were starting to not have matching pairs, so we had to start a mini domino game to the side. We played this game for the rest of the time session, and we finished just in time. I was glad that I had a new game to offer the kids, after all of the sight words they had to do I think they deserved it. Although I noticed that the kids were being alot more easy to deal with, I found that I missed it when they were sort of all excited and jumpy. I asked them if they were feeling well, and they all stated that they were just tired, so hopefully they will be back to their normal selves next week.

I didn't give them any feathers today because everyone seemed to be in a foul mood. They did listen to me, but they kind of seemed reluctant to talk to me. I would have to ask a question several times before I got an answer, and the kids just seemed to not care much about the activities. I wanted to give them feathers, but I was still upset with myself for two weeks ago when I gave Cindy a feather when she didn't deserve it. I held out on this one and kept telling myself that they will get feathers when they truly deserve it. Oh and I forgot to mention, the school was having a themed day where students could dress up in their favorite characters, and Sophia was dressed as Tinker bell! It was about the cutest thing I had ever seen and made me miss my elementary school days. But anyway, after I walked the kids back to class, I went to the VIPs classroom to fill out paperwork.

I made note of the game that I played with the kids today, and filled out all the other paperwork, then put away the materials that I used for the session. After that I made my way to RIC.

Spring Break

Last week was spring break, so I didn't meet with my kids. I'll have to make up that meeting.

Talking Points

In the Service of What?
By: Kahne and Westheimer

1. "His high school seniors were not asked to articulate an understanding of the conditions and contexts that might have contributed to the loss of a family's home or to a pregnant mother's decision to turn to crack cocaine." (p.3)
Here, it shows that while Mr. Johnson's ideas were clear, he did require his students to get to know the people they were caring for. The students were able to feel good about themselves for helping out the community, but they didn't "understand" the point of it. They did not see how the people they were helping ending up that way, so they missed "the big picture.".

2. "Ms. Adams' students, by contrast, began their work with a systematic and critical analysis of the causes of homelessness and of the strategies employed to prevent it." (p.3)
Here, Ms. Adams' methods were more effective. The students came to an understanding as to why there were homeless people, how they got there, and as a result can probably draw conclusions to the real world and find ways to minimize the numbers of homeless people. By doing research and having an understanding for the people they are caring for, the students will feel more fulfilled and understand why they are going to such great lengths to make a difference in the community.

3. "The distance between the one caring adn the one cared for diminishes. Unfortunately, in many service activities, students view those they serve as clients rather than as a resource." (p.7)
This further emphasizes my point that although the students are doing good deeds to help the community, they might not fully understand why they are doing so. If the students arent making an effort to get to know the people they are helping, they won't get the meaning behind the project. They are helping the community yes, but what will the student gain in return? If they get to know the people in need, they can make life long friends, and even get so attached to the project that they will find ways to prevent and or help the community in the long run.

In conclusion, I found that the reading was a very interesting one. I think that students being required to participate in service learning projects in high school would be a good thing, but if the students don't get to know the community they are trying to help, then it will be in vain. The students should try to connect with the people they are helping as much as possible. Students will develop self esteem, higher order thinking, they will make use of multiple abilities and it will be an authentic learning experience.They will experience the excitement and joy of learning while using the community as a classroom.

My 4th Visit

I don't know why, but for some reason I thought that I was supposed to be at the school at 9 am instead of the actual 9:30, so I ended up getting there super early. I waited in the parking lot from about 8:50 until 9:20. But anyway, apart from that, the day went really well.



I went to the meeting room, gathered my materials, and reminded the advisor that I wouldn't be in the next week. I picked the poem "I Am Me" because it seemed like something the kids would enjoy, but naturally, being so forgetful, I forgot the poem, I always forgot the chart that I'm supposed to use to record which sight words I'd be using with the kids. When I got to the classroom I was greeted by Tom and Cindy (my third child was still m.i.a.) so I started without the third person. First we talked about our weekends, I asked them how they were doing and they were really excited over the fact that the principal said they were able to go outside today, since it was so nice out.

I told them that I forgot the poem, and they were somewhat upset, but I told them that I would give them two feathers if they behaved. We started with the sightword game, since I forgot the chart, I had to manually draw one out with my pen. I was surprised with how well they were behaving. About ten minutes after our session started, we were greeted by the third student, (Sophia). She was very shy at first, but I introduced myself and she seemed to know the other two already. I explained what we were doing and she fell into our "sight word game" pretty naturally. After we filled up the entire sheet with our sight words, I used the sight words in a different way. I placed the cards face down on the table and each student took turns picking different cards and making sentences with them. I think the kids like this method better than using the actual chart, because they are able to use all of the sight words and aren't restricted to the usual six. (I made note of that and will probably be using this method from now on).

After this, I picked up all the cards and mixed them up and then showed them to the students one by one, they had to read the cards aloud to me simotaneously. After we finished this (they were really tired of working on sight words) I gave them a break because there was only five minutes left of the session and I think they deserved one. I gave both Tom and Sophia a feather, but when I asked Cindy if she thought she deserved one she wouldn't answer me. I think Cindy knew that she couldn't answer honestly that she thought she deserved one, throughout the session she was getting out of her seat, at one point the teacher had to come over and tell her to behave. I kept asking her what was wrong because she kept her head down on the desk and was ignoring me whenever I tried to talk to her. She had tears in her eyes but didn't want to speak to anyone.

When it was time to go, I took them back outside. I brought her to one side and asked her what was bothering her again and she said that she wanted a feather. I told her that I didn't think what she did to me was very nice, if I asked her a question she should answer. She started crying at this point, and even though I tried to be stern with her I couldn't hold my reserve and ending up giving her a feather as well. Looking back on it now, I realize that I should have stuck to my gut feeling and not have given her a feather, but I'll try to work on that. (I'm kind of a softie.)

After I walked the kids back to their classrooms, I went back to the VIPs room to fill out documentation. I told my advisor about Cindy's behavior and she said she would most likely talk to her the next day, to repremaind her for her actions. Since spring break is next week, I also reminded her that I wouldn't be there as I would be going to CA. (Soooo excited!) and that she would make note of it. I guess that's it for now, looking forward to my next meeting with the kids.

Talking Point #4 Christensen

1. "When we read children's books, we aren't just reading cute little stories, we are discovering the tools with which a young society is manipulated." pg. 1.
I picked this quote, because when I read it, it opened my eyes and showed me how true it was. These books are how children view the rest of the world, they get their first impressions of the different races, sexes, and cultures.

2. "Many students don't want to believe that they have been manipulated by children's media or advertising. No one wants to admit that they've been "handled" by the media. They assure me that they make their own choices and the media has no power over them - as they sit with fubu, nike, timberlands, or whatever the latest fashion rage might be." pg. 2
I chose this quote because it is something that I can connect with. I too, am guilty of feeling a sort of resentment when analyzing Disney movies/characters. I don't want to believe that my favorite childhood memories could be anything but for pure enjoyment. When reading about how Disney movies and shows portray people in a bad way, I will do anything to keep it from my mind. But it doesn't hide the fact that it is true, and that these underlying messages do exist.

3. "For some the lesson doesn't end in the classroom. Many who watched cartoons before we start our study say they can no longer enjoy them. Now instead of seeing a bunch of ducks in clothes, they see the racism, sexism, and violence that swim under the surface of these stories." pg. 5
This quote is something that I found interesting, because again I can relate to it. I feel like being an English major, I also analyze different issues such as race, gender, psychological well being, and violence in texts. This doesn't just stop in the classroom, but is somethign that I carry with me when I am trying to enjoy other texts that I read for pleasure. I am constantly analyzing, and decoding what certain symbols and gestures might mean.

I found this essay both interesting and heartbreaking to read. As stated earlier, I love my Disney movies, and I don't want to come to terms that they all have underlying content that children shouldn't be exposed to. But I did find the essay informative, and because I take a children's lit class, I am forced to look at different children's books, movies, and shows and decipher what they are teaching younger children. Although I will always hold Disney movies close to me, I do realize now that they may unintentionally give children the wrong message.

3rd Visit

I was actually 15 minutes early today for my third visit! I had a bit of a panic in the morning however because my usual parking spot (on the side of the street) was occupied by another car, so I had to park in the school's parking lot. This scared me because the sign stated "School Personnel Only" I don't know if I am considered "school personnel" but I had no other choice but to park there because there were literally no other parking spots available.

Anyway, on my way to the school I heard on the radio that there had been a few bad car accidents on different highways, as I was glad that I wasn't caught in traffic, I quickly realized that most of my fellow volunteers were because when I reached the school there was only one other person there. We waited until about 9:35 before I received a text message from Kaitlyn telling me that she'd be a little late due to the traffic. The other volunteer and I went ahead to our designated "reading buddies" room and got ourselves situated. I picked out a new poem for the kids to work on this week which was "The itsy bitsy spider" (the kids loved it!) and informed the advisor I wouldn't be in the week of spring break, she told me to email her to remind her about it later. She also told me that the young boy that had arrived late to my group last week, was placed in a different group and I was now assigned a new girl, whose name was Jessica. Soon, the other volunteers were slowly trickling into the room and they too prepared their materials.

When I got to the classroom that I worked in last week, the usual teacher was no where to be found. In her place was another woman, I'm guessing she was the assistant teacher, but anyway, the other volunteer and I were waiting for about 5 minutes before we approached her and asked where our children were. She informed us that the children had to migrate to the classroom we were because they were in room 14. She said that it would take a few minutes and to just get our materials ready for they would be in shortly. I went to the table that I was at last week and picked out my six words for the "sight word game" when I was soon greeted by Tom and Cindy. They both ran up to me and gave me hugs (which made me break out into a huge smile). We sat down and I asked them how they were doing before we started our game. (Jessica was nowhere to be found). I told them that I brought feathers with me today and judging by how they acted the rest of the session, they must have really wanted those feathers because the school store would be open that Friday. They did very well on the sight word game, we flew on by, I only had to stop once to help Cindy make a sentece with the word "and". But other than that we had little interruptions. After our sightword game, the teacher of the classroom came in from whereever she had been and seemed like she was in a bad mood. She yelled at the children to get their things in order and told them to be quiet. This kind of caught me by surprise, because I wasn't expecting the teacher let alone expecting her to come in and yell at the students. I felt really bad for them, but it was not my place to say or do anything on their behalf.

After the sight word game we moved on to the poem, which again they loved. Cindy had problems with some of the words in the poem so I helped her get through it then I asked them some of the questions that we had on the back of the poem. We finished fairly quickly and I had enough time to go over a few of the identification exercises with them, and to my surprise, they loved this too! I think they got excited over the fact that we would be working on something else, although they didn't get the right answers right away, they worked hard with them. I think I will try to integrate these exercises more into the program because they needed some work on the I.D.'s and they seemed to have fun with them too.

After this, we still had about 3 minutes left, so I let them pick any of the sight words they wanted and make a sentence out of them. It was time to wrap up, so I asked them if they thought they deserved a feather. They both thought that they deserved them, and so did I so I gave them each one feather, this made them very happy especially with the school store opening on Friday. The kids begged me to come in the next day even though I've explained to them many times that I would only be able to see them on Tuesdays. Then they rushed back to their rooms in time for snacks.

When I got back to the classroom I stared my documentation process and wrote that they both improved their behavior alot. I marked that I gave them each a feather and told them that if they were good enough next week, I'd maybe give them two. When everyone else got back, we exchanged stories, and talked about how are kids were different/similar. I think that something that we all agreed on would be that the kids had lots of energy and it took a lot of work to keep them focused and entertained, usually the kids enjoyed the activities but got bored of them pretty fast.

After the proper documentation, I signed out at the main office before making my way back to RIC.

2nd Visit

Well to my surprise, I was actually late again. I thought that because I knew the way to the school I'd be able to leave at a later time and arrive to the school as scheduled, but I hit traffic, what a disaster that was. But anyways, when I got to the school everyone was already there waiting for our advisor to pick us up. After waiting for about 10 minutes we realized that she wasn't going to pick us up, and that we had to meet her at the room. When we got there she explained to us what we should do every morning (since we hadn't met the week before due to winter break the elementary schools had). She gave us our assigned groups and told us which room we would be meeting in. She showed us what and where to document things, and then spoke to us individually about what we should be working on when we meet with our students. I would be working specifically on "sight words" and working on a different poem with them each week.

Our advisor showed us how to play the sight word game, which consisted of a game board with six columns going across and five columns going down. Before the game the teacher (I) will pick six different sight words and write them into the empty slots on the bottom row. Each row is labeled 1,2,3,4,5, or 6. The student will take turns rowing the dice and depending on which number it lands on, the student will have to make a sentence with the sight word that is in the sixth column. When the student is done making a sentence, the teacher will write in the sight word in the slot above the word. The game ends when there is one entire column filled with the same sight word.

The poems that we would be working on were different every week. I looked into the poem folder and its contents were strikingly similar to the ones that I was used to working on in elementary schools. These poems consisted of Mary had a little lamb, The Itsy Bitsy Spider, Humpty Dumpty, Winter Snow, and much more. On the back of these poems there were questions that the teacher could ask the students, some of the common questions that were there were: which sentence has the fewest amount of words, which has the longest amount of words, how many words have a double "L", and which words rhyme.

Our advisor then talked to me about "identification" where the students had to identify which word didn't belong with a group of other words. An example of this would be : cat, sat, bat, and sun. The word that wouldn't belong would be sun because the other words all have the ending sound of "at". She explained to me that I would be working on the same skills with them every week, so I'd first start with the "sight word game" then move onto the poem, and if time permitted it, would finish with the identification exercises. She also told me that since it was our first time meeting the students, that today should be laid back and that we should try to get to know our students as best we can.

I admit that I was a little nervous when I was to first meet the kids, I wanted them to like me and I was hoping that they wouldn't give me too much of a hard time. I was lucky enough to be placed in the same classroom as another girl from our volunteer group. She would be using the table next to mine, but was assigned three girls. I was assigned to one girl and two boys (one of which was missing so we got started without him) I got to know the kids, we exchanged names, I told them how to pronounce mine (which they had fun with because my name was so different), I asked them their interests and told them what I was there for.

After about 10 minutes of introductions, I started with my first lesson: the "sight word game". At first the kids were very excited about it, but soon after they tired of the game and begged me to move onto the poem. The students started to become very antsy, getting up to get a drink from the bublar and going to the bathroom. I feared that I had lost total control of the situation until I mentioned to them that if they behaved I would give them each a feather. This got them to quiet down a bit, but they were still moving around in the chairs and looking around the room. During the middle of our "sight word game" a student came and sat down at our table. I asked him if he was the boy that was supposed to be in my group but he didn't respond, I then asked the other two children in the group if he was the boy that was missing, but they said that he was not. I asked him one more time if he was in the right spot, if he was here for the "reading buddies" program but he sat mute. So I proceeded to play the sight word game without him and he just sat there (I later found out that this was the boy in question and felt extremely bad about it, but my advisor told me not to worry about it because he should have spoken up).

After the sight word game we moved on to the poem. The poem that I had with me was Humpty Dumpty, so we read the poem together. The young girl in my group (Cindy) seemed a bit lost when reading it, so I took some time and asked the boy (Tom) to not answer any questions that I asked her. I told her to read each sentence aloud, and helped her with the words that she was stuck on. After she had gotten through the whole poem, I asked them the questions that were placed on the back of the sheet. Before I knew it, time was up and I returned the kids to their classrooms. I didn't give them feathers, because even after I asked them to behave and to listen to me they wouldn't cooperate. So I told them that next week if they were well behaved I would give them each a feather.

When I got to the room, I filled out the proper documents. I wrote down what I worked on with them, along with some comments I had for each of the kids. I wrote that Cindy had a lot of energy and wouldn't sit still, she kept getting up to get a drink and wouldn't concentrate on the work. Tom was a bit better, he listened when I would repremand him but kept looking around the room for more "interesting" things to do.

After this, I signed out at the main office and made my way back to RIC.

Talking Point #3 (Carlson)

1. "Three techniques of normalization and "hence" marginalization have been of primary importance in this regard: (1) the erasure of gayness in the curriculum, (2) the "closeting" and "witch hunting" of gay teachers, and (3) verbal and physical intimidation of gay teachers and students."
I thought that this quote was important, because it is one of the basis's for the entire essay. I felt that Carlson built his argument around these three points, and I also felt that this quote was undeniabaly true. Right now, we are in a nationwide "homophobic" state, it is something that shames me to say but is nonetheless true. This must be changed indefinately, and Carlson makes some fantastic points as to why it should be.

2. "Among the best diagnostic procedures for identifying a homosexual, according to Waller, were "such personality traits as carriage, mannerisms, voice, speech, etc."
I thought this quote was absolutely ridiculous, but also very true. Often times we classify who is "gay" and who is not by the way the person carries him/herself. There is this phrase "gaydar" that came to mind when I read this quote, and while some of the gay population may carry themselves in a certain way, there are other gay members who don't coincide with the typical stereotypes.

3. "The official policy in most school districts is in fact identical to that of the U.S. military, namely : "Don't ask, don't tell."
I picked this quote, because before reading this topic I hadn't ever know of its existence. I knew that of all the social complexes of America, that the military would most likely be one of the most, if not the most, homophobic groups. This may be because of the stereotypical gay figure is one that is "feminine, flamboyant, a girly girl" and the military is known for its brute strength and "heroism". I found this rule to be absurd, and I think that this should also be abolished immediately.

I found this article to be extremely interesting, especially because I have many friends who are openly "gay" (both boys and girls). I feel that it is time for America to let go of its "homophobic" ways and to finally embrace and accept everyone for who they are. I feel that many years from now, people will look back and laugh at the way that we ostracize "gays", just as we look back and laugh now at the way our ancestors had captured and persecuted "witches". But if we are going to get to that point, America needs to start doing something now about this every growing problem.

Talking Point #2

Why Can't She Remember That? By Terry Meier

1. "Many children in multicultural, multilingual classrooms are not used to an adult asking them questions for which it is obvious that the adult already knows the answer." p. 245
I think that this quote is important to the text because it shows how the children are confused when adults ask them questions that are obvious. The children have different cultures from one another and some of them may find it a waste of time, or find it silly to answer a question that is so obvious.

2. "Unfamiliar with the book readig routines many teachers assume as common knowledge, children who have not been read to at home may find these routines aversive, puzzling, or simply boring." p. 245
I think this quote is also important to the text because it shows that the children aren't used to some of the rules that apply to this society in regards to ready anyway. Some children have never been read to, they can either be very excited about it or they can find it boring and tiresome. If they do find it boring then it is sort of like setting them up for failure, the children don't find reading fun now and in the years to come they will feel the same way.

3. "Many youngsters develop the impression that books are not about them, their families, or communities, but rather always about "the other." p. 247
I think this may be one of the most important quotes in the text, just because it shows that children are easily amused as long as the subject relates to them. Children love books that they are familiar with, if they feel they can connect to the main character, or of different scenarios in the books, they will enjoy the book that much more, often asking the teacher to re read the book. But some children (like the Asians and Hispanics in this text) feel that the stories that are read by the teacher are about the "other children" (meaning whites and blacks) this may cause the children to feel like they aren't good enough to have a book written about them, or they may feel left out. Leading to them disliking reading time.

I really enjoyed reading this text, I think I learned from it even if I may not be teaching in an elementary school setting, I feel I can still use the lessons that are in this text in my own classroom. I feel that everyone, not just children, like to read books or read anything that they can connect with, so its not only a matter of finding the right book, but it is also about making the books come "alive" for the students. So while it is important to read aloud and have a "reading time" it is also important for the teachers to do activities that involve the book as well. But beware that the activities aren't taking over the reading time, the activities and the reading time must be separate. The subject of asking "obvious questions" is something that we can do without, some children may be amused by it, but there are also children who aren't. These children are the ones who don't understand why the question is being asked because there is no point to it, the teacher assumes that these children don't know the answer to the question and come to the conclusion that the child needs more help when in fact the child is not being challenged enough. To make sure the child is getting the most from reading time, we can do without the obvious questions and pick more books that the children can connect with, and also make the books "come alive".

Talking Point #1

Amazing Grace by Jonathan Kozol

1. "Have you read about George Washington? ...I don't even know the man" (p. 4)
Here he is having a discussion with Cliffie, who says that his role models are Michael Jackson
and Opera. I think this quote is a good one to use as an example because the children in these
areas don't seem to understand the significance of history, but then again should they? It
definately doesn't seem like George Washington has a profound influence on him, and people like Oprah and Michael Jackson do.

2. "Somebody had power. Pretending that they don't so they don't need to use it to help people-
that is my idea of evil" (p.11)
I thought this quote went well with Johnson's reading about those who have power, but don't
acknowledge it.

3. "My teacher says, "We came here in chains and now we buy our own chains and we put them
on ourselves, every little store sells chains. They even have them at check cashing.." (p.12)
This was a very strong quote, I felt that this showed how the black society was trapped,
even if they are "technically free" in this area, they don't have the resources to succeed,
therefore they are stuck "buying" their own chains, living in misery.

I truly felt that this piece was one of the saddest that we have read this semester, almost every story that we encountered in this short essay was gut wrenching to reach, I can't image what it would be like to live it. I felt that there was tragedy after tragedy, and that these people had nothing to look forward to. This and many reasons is why we can't break the cycle of poverty and racism.

This mostly reminded me of Johnson's piece of white power, and those who have power and ignore it or don't acknowledge it. But those who don't have power, suffer everyday and know the extent of their powerlessness. I felt that if those who did have power, could lend a hand that everyone would be better off.

My First Visit

Let me start off by saying that I am horrible with directions, so naturally my morning started off bad. I made it to the school around 9:25 (mind you, I was supposed to meet the adviser at 9:30am). Once I got to the school I realized we were right next door to a hospital, parking was an absolute mess. I ended up parking a block away from the school and had to literally run to try and make it on time. When I got to the school, I had no idea how to get in! Every door I approached had a sign that stated "This door is locked, visitors must enter through the main entrance and obtain a visitors pass" but it didn't tell me which direction the main door was! I circled almost the whole entire school before I happened to find the main entrance, and once I entered I realized that I was the last student there, all the other students/volunteers were already signed in and waiting for our adviser to show up. Luckily, they were nice enough to point me in the right direction and I got situated pretty fast.
When our adviser picked us up, she brought us to the location where we should meet every morning. There, she gave us a brief introduction of herself and soon launched into the details of our purpose there. She walked us through out paperwork, told us we would be working individually with a group of 2-3 children, showed us the activities that we would be doing with our kids, and gave us some helpful tips. What I liked about my school was the fact that we got a sheet of "feathers", our adviser quickly explained the significance of the feathers (they are sort of like money). When a student is doing exceptionally well they are given a feather, but they aren't just handed out, students must earn them. At the end of every week, the school sets up a sort of store, where students use the feathers to purchase items they want. I haven't seen the store but I assume that it consists of things such as pencils, pens, candy, and little toys, my school had a store like this also, and I remember looking forward to every Friday to see what I could get next.
Anyway, after we went through the logistics of our purpose there, and the goals that the program has for the us and the students, our adviser took us on a tour of the school. The school was fairly small, and she told us that it was a circle. There was a bathroom set up one for boys and girls, but I found it peculiar that the sink was placed outside. It was one of those hideous foot operated sinks, the circle ones that only turned on when you pushed your foot down on the petal, eww. Anyways, everytime we passed by, sure enough there were a few boys and girls that shyly waved to us.
She took us to three different classroom, I think it was grades K and 1. The first classroom was the classroom that I would be working in, when we entered the kids were having storytime. All of them were sitting on a rug while the teacher was reading a book. The kids were excited when we got in, most of them saying "Hi!" and standing up, the teacher had to put her foot down and told the children to behave.
The second classroom we went to the children were having playtime and snacktime. When I first got into the classroom, a girl ran up to me and gave me a hug! She didn' t bother to say hi or introduce herself, but she gave me a hug then moved onto the next person. She gave almost everyone a hug but stopped at the only boy in our group. I assume that the girl thought the boy had cooties, because she looked at him for a split second then ran off to play with the computers. She was so cute! There was a case of fruitcups sitting on a table, the students ran up and helped themselves, from what I could see it consisted of slices of pineapple and apple. The kids were located at different part of the classroom, some were playing on the rug with blocks and some were playing on the computer. We were introduced to a "small girl with a big mouth" as they said, she was tiny but had loads of energy, they often placed her on the computer when they wanted her to "be quiet."
The third and final classroom we visited was pretty much the same as the first two classrooms. The students were sitting at their desks working on a particular lesson that I can't really remember. But they were polite, and surprisingly quiet.
After our quick tour we headed back to our "meeting place" where she informed us that next week was winter break so we did not need to meet that Tuesday. She then signed our papers and walked us out. Before leaving, I had to stop by the office to log out, and record how much time I spent at the school that day.
I'd have to say that I had a pretty successful first meeting, even though I didn't get a chance to work with any of the students, I'm sure that when I do get the chance I'll have even more fun. I enjoyed seeing the classroom and the different children, I loved how they were all so friendly and welcoming. I feel that I'm going to have a great time each and every time I visit.

About Me

Well as you all know, my name is Thanhsobaghnha Iv (soooo long, I know. Think of how much fun I had learning how to spell my name! No doubt I was envious of all the other kids in school who had such shorter, easier names.) but I go by Thanh. I am a Junior at RIC and am just now realizing that I want to be an English teacher. I am taking four other classes besides this class, three of them being English, (and let me tell you, it is definately not fun) and the other is a Tech class that I'm taking in order to fufill the Tech requirments. My free time consists of homework, homework, and homework. I also work part time as a caller at New England Tech, I basically just make appointments for students to come and tour the school, I can get some pretty bizarre people on the phone sometimes. But other than that, I enjoy reading, baking, spending time with my family (which is huge by the way), and spending time with my boyfriend. Hm..I guess I'll end this entry here. See everyone Tuesday! :)