Tuesday, November 3, 2015

Service Learning

     Okay, so trying to connect my Service Learning experience with three authors that we have read this semester is pretty hard. I am in a fourth grade classroom and they really do not discuss nor do they have to discuss the topics that are covered in the readings. I can see some similarities to some authors, however, I feel they are a bit of a stretch. I actually used Taylor's blog as a model for mine, because we are both in the same situation with limited ways to connect our classrooms to the authors so far. 

      Collier: In my classroom, the students are minorities students. There is actually only one student who is not considered a minority. The primary language spoken in class is English but every now and then I will hear a little side conversation of Spanish. It's really cool to see the students smiling while they talk in Spanish. I haven't asked the students what languages they speak and what language they first learned but the next time I have service learning I will ask and post an update! 

      August: Although August teaches about creating a safe environment for students who are LGBTQ or know someone who is LGBTQ, I feel it can relate to creating a safe environment for students who are considered a minority and speak a different language. 
     In the reading group I had the Thursday before Columbus Day Weekend, we were reading about Christopher Columbus. Some of the names were Spanish and Portuguese. I let the students read and it was really cool to hear how they pronounced a Spanish word. I was following along with them so I could help them if they got stuck on a certain word. When they got to a certain word, that was Spanish, I proceed it one way- the English way- and they pronounced it the Spanish way, and more then likely the correct way. I didn't correct them because I don't know Spanish and they did. It was really cool to hear their voice kind of get excited when they saw a Spanish name or something they recognized. It was cool for my to hear their accent and their pronunciation of the word! 

     Delpit: The classroom I am in is a fourth grade class. Their teacher is Ms. Priscilla Santiago. She is only 23 years old. The kids absolutely love her. She runs her class very well. She explicitly tells her students what they should be doing. When a student isn't doing what they should, she asks them what they should be doing. If they do not know, then she tells them again. If they do know, she tells them to do what they should be doing then. She doesn't  ask open ended questions that could leave the students with even more  questions. She gives them the rules and codes they need to succeed in her classroom. She has different reading groups that are broken up based upon each student's reading ability. The advanced students get advanced reading and critical thinking questions to accompany that reading. Her lower level reading students get readings that will challenge them but not to the point of discouragement. The readings that she has me help them with, are to help better them. She caters to each students needs while providing them the tools they need to improve as well as get ahead in certain aspects. 

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