Entry 2, History of Education

This was my first week helping out in Mrs. Cullimore's class. So far it has been great, and I have been learning so much. In this entry I would like to talk about the opportunity I had to work one on one with a student and then discuss the similarities and differences of Scera Park Elementary to schools from earlier periods of history in the United States.

I was given the opportunity this week to work one on one with a student. I helped him complete some of the words and phrases he was working on, as well as, read a few books with him. English is this student's second language, as a result he is a little behind on the average reading level. I would be too, if I had just learned the language last year. I was really impressed by this child and his passion for the subjects of the books he was reading. We first read an informational book about guinea pigs. I was amazed at how much information he retained and could relay back to me. It was fun to see how excited he was about the guinea pig book. The second book we went over was about Utah legends. It was a little bit more challenging, but the student had just as much enthusiasm as before. He loved reading about the mysterious creature that lurked in one of the lakes in Northern Utah. From what we have been going over this week in class I couldn't help but ponder how thing's would have been different for this child in the earlier time period of segregation. Although the student was not African American, he too would have been segregated from the white children. I am so thankful that our educational system has changed. This student is now able to receive the equal opportunity of education as every other child

The fact that segregation no longer exists in schools was a huge difference I saw this week. The children conversed, played, and grew together. Race did not seem to bother them one bit. Mrs. Cullimore gave equal opportunity to each of her students. She treated them with kindness and the utmost respect. It is amazing to see the difference this classroom had compared to the pictures of the "Little Rock Nine" and "The School Children Protesting...". In the classroom there is no longer the embedded hatred as before. Although there are many differences in the school's today there are some similarities as well. School is still five days a week, I'm assuming kids look forward to the weekend as much as they did before. Math, Science, English and other core subjects are still taught in the schools. Teachers are educated and still want their students to succeed. Our country has made huge strides since the days of segregation and has made an impact on countless lives. I am so thankful that the student I worked with this week is able to go to a school that has the tools to help him learn and grow.

Entry 1 Continued

  How does knowledge of the way people learn related to the experience of being a teacher?

I will be completing my fieldwork at Scera Park Elementary. I am super excited to get started and look forward to working with the kids in a second grade class. This week I met with my mentoring teacher to discuss what times I am available to help out. Unfortunately I was not able to get a lot of time with the kids I will be working with, however I was able to ask Mrs. Coleman how knowledge of the way people learn relate to her personal experience of teaching. 

Before I tell you Mrs. Cullimore's answer let's review how people learn. There are three different categories in which people learn best; visually, auditory, and kinesthetic/tactile. Although some individuals can learn through multiple learning modalities there is usually one that they prefer. Having your preferred modality be visual means that you learn by seeing. Mrs. Cullimore preferred learning modality is auditory. This means that she learns best through hearing information. This did not surprise me since most teachers are auditory learners. The final modality is kinesthetic/tactile. This means a person learns by doing. Through experiences they take in the information through the five senses. It is important that students learn this way as much as possible since it allows them to use all of their sensory processes. I believe this will help them embed the information into their memory much easier. 

Now that you know the three learning modalities, you are ready for Mrs. Cullimore response to my previous question. She explained that having the knowledge of how people learn is a huge part of being a successful teacher. In a class of second graders there is evidence of all three learning modalities. As a result, you must plan your lessons in a variety of ways throughout the week. It is important to incorporate all the modalities in your teaching so that you may reach each student in your class. I can tell that Mrs. Cullimore really cares about her students and wants them to succeed. She includes all the learning modalities in her teaching. I look forward to working with her and I know I will learn a lot during my time at Scera Park Elementary.