Blog number 1

I drove up a very large hill just to reach the school building. As I passed by the houses on the street they looked a little outdated and the neighborhood was pretty quiet. Nothing really surprised me about the area and it seemed like a very nice place to go to school and live. The neighborhood is not off a busy street or in the center of city chaos. The school is made out of bricks and has a huge stone staircase that leads up to the main door that was off centered and confusing to find. As I walked up to the school I was extremely nervous and asked myself what is the purpose of me being here at this time and am I really going to be able to help the students. According to Kahne and Westheimer I am participating in the giving and caring model. Through giving my time to these students I will learn a great amount about them and myself as a soon to be teacher. I will understand the students and be able to grow from this experience. Inside with my purpose in mind, I signed into the main office and talked to the reading teacher. She brought other tutors and I to the classroom to get the students we were assigned to. I noticed how colorful the room is and that there are a lot of pictures on the walls. Everything was organized so the students could easily grab their materials and get to work. There is a number line and an alphabet rug and a board for the teacher to write important words on. The classroom is actually pretty small and the students tables and chairs fill it up. On the outside the school is huge and inside the hallways are very large and wide with classrooms being very small. The school feelings welcoming and safe yet controlled. The students know what the students are their for and know that they need to focus in the classroom. The teacher was very powerful and held the students attention. The students were all participating which is an extremely important part of the educational process according to Ira Shor. When students were called on and the teacher did not understand what they were trying to say she would critically interrogate them and ask them why they think that is correct like Boler points out in her article that shoes how voices need to be challenged. The students take their schooling very seriously and are whiling to learn. Respect is valued and when a classmate is speaking and cannot be heard the teacher directs everyone’s attention to the speaker and commands respect of that student. This was an interesting way of dealing with students voices not being heard in the class and I really liked how the teacher handled the situation. I will definitely use this in my classroom because I saw how well it worked and how well the students responded and understood respect. There was no fighting in the classroom and everyone seemed to get along really well. Listening is valued and raising your hand before speaking is essential in this classroom.