My Purpose

One thing that really resonated with me from last class was the idea of purpose in the teaching field. I’m sure we’ve all felt a scorn or a laugh when we’ve told someone that we are in college to be teachers. Of course, not everyone feels that teaching isn’t a great profession. I’ve had many people say that teaching is an excellent field and that teachers are always needed. However some people, mainly my family, think that teaching isn’t the best way to go in term of a career. They are more concerned with my financial stability. They have good intentions; they want me to be well off. They’ve even said things like, well if you’re going to teach, you should teach math so you actually get a job.

That’s as close as a compromise I’m going to get though. They don’t share my philosophy that you have to do something that makes you happy. I could have the well-paying job in the world but if I don’t like the job or I feel like I’m not making a positive impact on society then I feel as though the work is meaningless.

I know how much some of my former teachers have impacted me, and that’s exactly what I would love to do for someone else. There’s a quote out there that goes along the lines of, “If you don’t work to make your dreams come true then you’re working to help make someone else’s come true.” I could never do that, be some sort of office zombie. But in a way, the quote is completely true to me. I will be making my dreams come true by guiding students along and teaching them in order to help them get to a place, whether that is college, military, or even just graduating high school, where they can begin to make their own dreams come true.

Parent Panel

I found the parent panel in class to be very interesting and insightful. It occurred to me in class that I had never really thought about parents and meeting with them in my teaching career. I've always been focused on students and thinking of ways to reach them all in lesson plans. There was a lot of things that the parents said that I found helpful. I like how they said that phone calls are usually the best way of reaching them. One of my biggest take aways is that I shouldn't just call when issues arise. Making positive phone calls about their children is always pleasant and can also establish a positive relationship with students. It says to the student, I’m here for you, and I notice your weaknesses as well as your strengths. It also establishes a better connection with the parent to the student’s school life.

However, I did have some questions after the panel. The parents seemed very interested and willing to know about their children in school, a few of them said that if we see a change in their behavior we should notify them right away. Personally, I don’t feel as though that is always a good idea. We as teachers should find a balance between looking out for our students and overly watching them. Maybe we don’t know the student well enough to make such a quick call. Or maybe calling home isn’t always such a good idea. What if we report a change in the students’ behavior to their parents and that only makes the issue worse. As teachers if we don’t meet the parents or have had a conversation with the student about their home life, then we have no way of knowing if the child has a safe home life. Our classrooms should be a safe space for our students, and we as teachers must find a balance between reporting to parents and being there for students who may need to keep their minor issues to themselves.

Being that role of a teacher has always been one full of layers of grey areas. All I can really say is I will be a teacher who will strive to make both good and bad calls, but will strive to have a good enough relationship where students will feel safe in confiding in me if they need an adult to talk to and cannot go to their parents/ guardians. 

CF Scavenger Hunt

1) Children’s Friend, founded in 1834

4) There are four schools in the Central Falls school district.

8) Yes there is a post office in town. (See picture below)

10) There are no movie theaters in Central Falls, the closest ones are in Lincoln and Providence.

12) Jenk’s Park is located right next to the Central Falls city hall. (See picture below.)

16) There are no large supermarkets in town such as Stop N Shop or Shaw’s, but there are many little market like places in CF. Some examples being Carlo’s Market (see picture below). However there is a Save A Lot and a super Stop and Shop close by in Pawtucket.

19) Adam’s Memorial Library

22) Central Falls High School

23) James Wilson

24) Charley Bassett, Jim Slwy, and Max Surkont

 

Carlo's Market

 

 

Jenk's Park

 

CF Post Office

 

 

I knew by looking on MapQuest that Central Falls was a small city. But by driving around it I got a better sense of how small and congested the city is. I can’t help but feel that this city is very cluttered and lacks a lot of open spaces. Even visiting Jenk’s part, I noticed that it was very small, and that MapQuest is misleading because parts of the park on the map were actually just parking lots. This scavenger hunt led me into neighborhoods I would have probably never been to, and I got to see how even the housing areas are cramped. Often time’s people have to travel out of CF for entertainment and shopping because there is a lack of fresh grocery markets, movie theaters, and shopping centers. The layout of the city with its tiny, barred shops and lack of open areas can lead one to feel a sense of entrapment.

 

Thinking as a teacher candidate, I realize that students may feel this way about their home town. Just driving from CF to Pawtucket’s downtown area I noticed a difference in architecture and structure and students must notice that too. Taking the bus from CF to downtown Providence, students see the water, art, culture, and the malls. This says to students that there is not a lot in Central Falls that fits with the modern culture, you have to leave the city to get to that. There is a sense of teaching pride of CF to the community which makes me hopeful because there is a lot of history and things to be proud of here. Unfortunately it is often shadowed by current issues with the education system and headlines of corruption in local politics.

Chapter Four, Going Deeper in Smaller Areas

One thing from chapter four that is really standing out to me is the idea of “Going deeper in smaller places” (53). We’ve all heard or even said to some higher educator, “When are we ever even going to use this?” I feel like if content teacher had the chance to select the main points of their curriculum and teach those things in detail, students would be more engaged and remember more about the topic. As Daniels and Zemelman suggest it would be difficult to do this, especially for history teachers, but I am a big believer that it would be beneficial to students.

Along with this approach schools could vamp up electives to cover more specific topics as well, so that if students found he core subject interesting, they might choose an elective to learn more. For example, if only a few major battles of World War II are covered in the core U.S History class, an elective based on the entire war might be available. English teachers already have to do part of this narrowing process by selecting one or two books that are supposed to represent the entirety of the theme of alienation or stand as a poster child for Brit Lit.

Going deeper in smaller areas requires a lot of thought and careful selection of what material and books are used in classrooms. From the tone of the chapter, there is a desperate need of revising what books and textbooks are used, so if anything, this drastic change would be a great change on many levels. Overall, the idea of a more in-depth investigation into more important topics is one that seems cohesive and logical to a high school setting.

Responding to Chapters One and Two

            The whole time I was reading the first two chapters of Subject Matters by Harvey Daniels and Steven Zemelman all I could think about was the Common Core. Being an English content teacher candidate, the Common Core isn’t exactly my exciting upcoming friend; it’s more like a messy loud roommate that leaves its hair in the drain of the shower. However, the first two chapters really got me thinking about the transition from fiction based text to nonfiction based texts in a whole new light.

            The scenario of the cross subject project and study of the fast food and our culture inspired by the students at Best Practices High School reading of Fast Food Nation got me really excited. It was interesting to see all the ways the teachers covered the topic in their carefully selected readings and projects. Here I can really see the integration of scholarly articles, text, and examination of real life events coming together to create a smooth, complete lesson. It got me excited, and really started to open my eyes to the possibilities of staying within what the Common Core standards dictate and what literature my students will have/should read.

            What I also found powerful in these chapters is the idea of schemas and having students build off of their background knowledge to scaffold into higher learning on a subject. As I’ve heard in many textbooks and education classes, no student comes to a class a blank slate. As teachers, we build off of the footing they have and go onward to more things. Before a student can understand a piece of reading in a book about anything they need that footing. This got me thinking of Gardner’s Theory of Multiple Intelligences and to what the panel of students at CF told us. One student said something along the lines of “Teachers need to be able to explain things in different ways so that students can understand it.” That means that every student should be exposed to information in different ways.

So if a student is learning about frogs then the teacher should show them pictures of frogs, some short clips so students can see how they move, what they sound like. Maybe if the opportunity was there, bring in a frog for students to touch or go to a zoo and observe frogs. Have open discussions about experiences they’ve had with frogs, fill out a KWL chart to brainstorm and gather their thoughts. Just reading about a frog and having never seen one is difficult and unreasonable.

Literacy

            One thing I have always been good at is being resourceful in terms of figuring out how to get from one place to another. Growing up my parents didn’t always have a steady vehicle and I couldn’t afford one so it was up to me to find my own ways of getting to work, school, and extracurricular activities. When I was sixteen, I got a job at a local Wendy’s which was luckily only a fifteen minute walk from my house. Of course there would be times that co-workers, classmates, and anyone who happened to know me who was driving by would offer me a ride, but my only truly guaranteed way of making money and getting an education was myself.

            As I got older, and was still without a car or wings, I started taking public transportation. I can remember the first time I ever took the Ripta. I was with a large group of friends and in celebration for one of their birthdays we decided to go to the Providence Place mall and see a movie. None of us had our own cars at the time and if we did, there was no way we’d all fit, so we decided on busing. Busing wasn’t something my parents approved of, but then again neither was waking on a main road during any elements to get to work.

            When I started going to college, a close friend named Laura knew I was nervous about taking the buses (there was a transfer involved to get to RIC) and took me under her wing. At the time, RIC had two separate buses that both came into the college. Laura had her own car, but didn’t like driving in the city, so she’d often bus. She showed me around the bus terminal, which I had never really been in because the sixty stop is separate from the main terminal at Kennedy Plaza. She also showed me where to grab a quick bite to eat that wouldn’t cause me to travel too far away and miss my upcoming bus. As we took our first trip together, she pointed out the streets we went on, what was around us, and helped me get familiar with the area. Because I was able to plan adventures to class in the timeliest manner that ensured I’d get to campus on time and would be able to navigate my way home on foot if I needed to.

            Looking back on this, it all sounds kind of silly. Of course everybody needs to be an adult and find their way to their various obligations. But it’s much more than getting from point A to point B. Because of circumstances I’ve always had to be responsible for my own life from a very early time. If I wanted to work, then it was up to me to get there. Having to take full ownership of myself from so early on made me have to think about the future. I never could go into any day blindly. If I was in a routine, mornings were easy and mindless, but if I had to travel outside of the normal route, I had to do some researching around bus schedules and mapquest to figure out how to get there. Just planning for this class required me to look at routes; checkout bus times look at street views of Central Falls to make sure I was going to be heading in the right place. There’s not GPS guardian angel for me to pop on my dashboard.

            Having to be resourceful like this has taught me a lot and helped me grow a lot. For example, running across busy city streets to catch the bus that’s about to pass by me has taught me the importance of timing. No but in all seriousness, having to problem solve, plan, and be ready to make adjustments to an already perfectly planned schedule sounds a lot like creating lesson plans and altering them to the needs of the class. Taking buses has helped make me adaptable to limitations and circumstances. I’ve been forced to be resourceful and figure out ways of getting to me where I need to be and when I need to be there. For example, there is a new trolley system that has taken the place of the two buses that use to go to RIC. Trolleys are much smaller than standard buses and in the morning it is hard to find a seat or even get on a trolley because the commuting Mt. Pleasant high school students are also trying to get to school. In order to get to class on time and avoid waking up an hour earlier, I figured out that if I got on the trolley before it hit the bus terminal, I could just stay on and continue to ride it all the way to RIC.

            Busing, like teaching, can be trial and error and of course there’s no way to ever get it right all the time. But being able to adapt and learn from experience is something to ensure each ride will be smoother than the last.

About Me- A First Post

Howdy!

My name is Heather Francis and I am a secondary ed, English, and creative writing student at RIC.

I have one cat: Rin

And two ferrets ----------------------------->

Rosco and Zoey.

I enjoy reading, writing, lazy days in bed, and hanging out with friends. I work two jobs and go to school full time. 

That's pretty much me in a nutshell. See you all in class.