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.