Travelogue Day 5-Hour Five

Final Session-Travelogue

Today I met with my student for our final session.  I conducted a review of all the material we completed, by having her complete a mini quiz I made covering all the concepts we have covered.  We reviewed it together and discussed any areas she had concerns with. Overall she showed significant progress.  She had fully grasped all the concepts of her Math homework, and made the changes necessary to complete her homework.

My main concern with her studies was her understanding of story problems.  I wanted her to dissect the question before she tried to solve the problem.  I gave her steps to follow prior to trying to solve the problem.  I told her to look for the question, and to cross out any information that was not needed to complete the problem.  I had her determine what was the best way of solving the problem, did she need to use multiplication, subtraction, addition or division.  She understood the importance of determining which method was the best to solve the problem.  I knew once she understood the importance of this, she would be able to solve the problem.

I discussed her future and told her she needed to focus on her on herself and being a kid.  I thanked her for the time we shared, and explained to her that my time with her, has helped me more than she knew. I understood what it was like to build a relationship with a student that goes beyond the teacher and student. I liked that she gave me a chance to see inside her life and that I could share my life with her.
I wished her the best and asked her to follow up with me in the future if she had any issues with her honmework.  Both her parents thanked me and wished me well in the field of education.  I will take this experience and hopefully apply it to my future in the field of education.

TRAVELOGUE HOUR FOUR-Math and Madness

TRAVELOGUE hour Four- Math and Madness

Today I met with my student and I decided today will be Math homework, but I really want to know what progress we are making.  I wanted to know was she really improving in his Math homework, and was my meetings with her making an impact, or was she still in this MADNESS of saving her family.
We studied her times tables, I showed her the obvious ones we all learn first, the 1's, 2's, 5's, 10's 11's. She got all of them right.  I showed her Division was the opposite of multiplication, and she understood that by my surprise with great ease.  We even hit a little on fractions and exponents   I began to understand that she was rather good at Math.  I began to understand that her issue may not be Math at all.  All this MADNESS was she just needed to talk.
Dual roll, playing more than one role, is what came to mind.  I do not want this Travelogue to be venting, but then I realized  to be an educator, a good educator, one must step out of the box with students and with themselves   I now understood becoming an educator is about taking the time to really understand your students and what they need.  My math student needed a friend to understand Math.
If she was going to really understand school, and our culture she needed to understand people care, educators care, and are willing to take the time to understand the issues of their students, because all situations effect one's ability to learn.
A distraction rather it be a classroom distraction, or a life distraction.  A misunderstanding at school or in life is still a misunderstanding and still has the same impact  of interfering with learning.  We covered her math homework, talked about spring break and explained life and all the mysteries it has.  I explained to her, MADNESS comes rather you are in Elementary school or in college. Madness is madness and it effects us all.  I think the honesty I showed her today will help her with her studies more than all the Math sessions we had.
The fourth hour was the best session we had.  I was honest with her and myself for the first time.  Regardless of age, situation, we all have stress, and things that interfere with our lives, and when those things take center stage they interfere with learning and with life.  I told her how I deal with my life, children and troubles in life. I kept the conversation "kid friendly" but that is what she needed.  She needed the answer to the madness.  I played dual roles fully and now believe she can get through her Madness, rather it is Math or the struggles of a young girl discovering herself.

Travelogue Day Three- 3 rd Hour

Math through the eyes of an Adult Kid

Jessica Jimenez Ramos


The topic of homework and family is still a major struggle for my student.  She has reassured me she is focusing on her homework, but I think her main concern is still her family.  As we sit down to review her studies, she is still inquiring about adult topics and ways to improve her life here in the United States.

As always I am ready to play multiple roles, cause I have learned that being an educator takes more than just teaching a student the subjects of school, but being a friend and a mentor.  We talk about school, her friends and I attempt to review her math.  I find that most of her Math questions, even though they are questions regarding Math focus around the life of her family.  She ask about bills, and how people make money to pay rent, all trying very hard to relate these questions to her math class.

I am confident when I say I think my student understands the subject of math very well, but her personal life has become more important, and it causes a distraction.  My student is not struggling with understanding math, or even English, she is struggling with being a child.  My student has adult problems but lives in a child's body.  For the rest of the day after we finish her math I answer as many questions as I can, even though I know they have nothing to do with math. I am hoping if I answer all of these questions next week we can focus on math.

If anything I will say I answered all the questions she could possibly have and I am hoping she will focus on math next week.  I am determined to make sure my student sees the importance of her studies as well as the childhood she is missing.  I wish she could focus on her math, at this point it would be easier to explain.

Math Made Easy

Math Made Easy

 by

Jessica Jimenez Ramos

University of Central Florida

 

Travelogue- Week 2 (2nd hour)

My second meeting with my student went a lot better.  We talked about her homework and her expectations.  Her expectations were not what I excepted.  She wanted to make her family proud.  At first I excepted her to tell me she wanted to excel, or be noticed in the class, but that is not what she told me.  My student told me, they recently came to the United States and her goal was to help her family. What a concept from such a small child, to carry the thought and responsibility of having to care and support her family.

The culture of students who have immigrated to the United States is much different than the culture and goals of students born into Anglo American families.  I do not want to generalize but students I have worked with in the past who are native born to the United States have very different goals.  Many of them just wanted to have the assignments done.  Some wanted to learn and get a good grade, and some just wanted to get out of the house. To date I have never had any student tell me they wanted to learn Math, with the intention of helping their family excel in this country.

My student has the skill level to understand the Math assignments, she understands the instruction, I believe her issues is not Math, but the stress of her life.  She is a young girl in grade school and life should be easy. She should not be worried about the economic status of her family, or supporting her family at her age. She should be enjoying herself and her childhood.  Instead of living the easy life that childhood often can be, she has taken the stress of adulthood.

I explained to her that I understood her concerns coming from a family that suffered economically, but that she could not do anything to help them, due to her age, and that the best thing she could do is focus on her studies and take it easy.  I explained to her, focusing on her Math and her grades will help her be successful in the future.  She listened very carefully to me, and grasped what I was saying.  I explained that if she did well in her classes, she could get scholarships and grants that could help her continue her education and be successful. 

I told her lets focus on living the easy life for now, and making Math easy.  I told her she has all the time in the world when she is an adult to think about adult things, but now it is time to be a kid.  She liked that idea, and agreed she was going to focus on making Math fun and easy.

Children from other countries come to the United States with expectations many of us would not except and may not know how to address.  I felt this was a chance for me to role play and play the part of a friend as well as a mentor.  I know successful educators often play multiple roles in the classroom and if I was going to be successful in her tutoring sessions I needed to play a different role. Hopefully she continues to relax and Math is the most of her concerns.

Till Next Meeting....I hope she is making Math Easy!

Math or Math Misunderstanding ?

Math or Math Misunderstanding?

I volunteered as a tutor for 3rd grade students in Polk County.  These students are having difficulty in math and reading.  I figured I would be able to help them considering it was third grade level, and I knew I could handle both subjects at that level.  At first I wondered why their parents were not assisting them considering it was a lower level of math and reading, but I knew my focus needed to be the children not the parents.

Day one, I met my first student.  She was very bright student, had a lot of potential and was full of life.  She wanted help with her math. We went over fractions, word problems, some division.  All of it seemed pretty good, until I asked her, what she was struggling with.  That's when the problem seem to arise.  I asked her what she wanted help on.  She could not answer me, she gave me a blank stare.  I asked if she understood everything and she seemed to respond with a yes.  I was very puzzled by her lack of response but figured she would answer me eventually.

Finally her parents arrived at the school, and then I found out what the problem was.  It was not her inability to understand the problem, it was her inability to explain the problem itself.  She spoke Spanish in the home and had problems translating the story problems into Spanish from English.  When I worked with her on the problems in English, she understood and could come up with a solution.  The problem arose when she had to go home and seek assistance from her parents, she was unable to translate the story problems from English to Spanish and back again.

I left a note for her teacher, hoping they could find a solution for her, or had the story problems in Spanish cause I figured she might not be the only one who was struggling with the translation.  I now wondered if the issue she was having was really in math, or translating her homework to her parents.  Where was the information getting lost?  How much information gets lost every day due to language barriers, not only in the classroom, but in the home?

This had me thinking, and wanting a follow up? Was the issue, a math misunderstanding, or was math getting lost in translation?

"Star Teachers"...Do they exist?

"STAR TEACHERS"

When I think of a "star teacher" I think of  an educator who gives all they have on a daily basis and goes home with a sense of achievement   Many people may imagine a star teacher to be one that is well known and recognized through out the community, and that may be the case, but it does not have to be.  A star  teacher is an individual with a passion to teach, and the desire to persevere regardless to their situation.

Many educators will seek the perfect school, want to make a name for themselves  and achieve career goals.
Some educators may want status, and believe this makes them special, or achieved  but to me a star teacher, is one to functions who educate children, and believes in the mission and passion of education.

I believe there are many great educators who want the best for their students, who work hard, and feel good about their jobs, but a star teacher focuses on their students, and the achievements they make.  Star teachers stand out for their great works, even though it might not be reflected in the classroom setting, or in the students grades, it is seen in how they treat and care for their students.  A star teacher focuses on every aspect of their students, and puts their learning and well being before anything else.

Star teachers make their learning environment work, they realize the situation they are in, and do the best they can in that situation.  They do everything they can to build relationships with the students, parents and administration in hopes their students will benefit from these relationships.  Star teachers understand their environment and work every day to make sure it is relevant to the needs of their classroom.

As a future educator my goal is to achieve star status, but not in the eyes of anyone but my students.  A true Star teacher may never get recognition  but they will know they are a STAR, and they will see that in the eyes of their students.

Culturally Responsive Management Strategies

Classroom Management

Educators today have it tough! The expectations of what a classroom should look like is almost like a "fairy tale classroom".  Many times parents will want to see certain things in their child's classroom, even though those behaviors are not seen in the home.  I understand there needs to be an authority figure in the classroom, but I think parents and educators need to collaborate when it comes to achieving success within the classroom.  

Over the years educators have lost their authority in the classroom, there are so many limitations with what a teacher can do in regards to discipline, many teachers feel their hands are tied.  Whether it be out of fear, or concern for their position, educators are at a loss when it comes to classroom management if they so not have the support of the administration and the parents.  Today's educators need to be prepared for the parents just as much for the students, and this is why training and education is crucial for educators who will be working in institutions where students' are known to act out, or the climate or school culture is known to be rough.

I believe classroom management is a team effort.  Yes it is the responsibility of the teacher to control the classroom and provide a safe environment for all students, but there needs to be outside support.  Educators need to take the time to evaluate their classroom and take the necessary steps to build relationships, and establish guidelines, but educators need to know that parents and the school administration will support them in their decisions when it comes to classroom management   

When educators are properly trained, and are provided with the necessary tools, they are more confident in making the necessary decisions when it comes to controlling a classroom.  I think parents as well as the administration and the students also need to have some accountability in classroom management also. Students need to be held accountable for their actions, as do parents for their children.  Students need to see structure all around them, not just in the classroom.  when parents take the necessary steps in the home and provide guidance  that guidance will be reflected in the classroom and in their child's behavior.  If a child lacks those skills and an educator has attempted to control the situation and the student continues to act out, then I believe the parent holds a level of responsibility and needs to be held accountable.  when a team effort is made the chances of success increase.

We have enough violence in the world and it is a shame that so much violence spills into our schools and classrooms.  We as educators and community members need to take an active role in ensuring safety in the classroom and in our communities.  I believe if we work together classroom management can be effective and students will reap the benefits in their future success.

Promoting greatness by finding assets in People

The ability to recognize an asset is a tool that many might consider a survival skill.  Looking for a potential in a person and seeing the benefit they can provide might be seen as a negative, but I see it as savvy. Many times we are limited by what we do not see, or believe we do not have. In reality people often limit themselves because they are not able to use the resources they have around them.  We often are taught to believe we make our own success and we need to make our own achievements, but seeing the potential in others around us, might just be the most resourceful tool we have to make our own success.

As a future educator I hope my students will be able to work together and see success when combining talents with their peers.  I hope to show students that they can learn just as much from their peers, as they can from their own experiences. When students are able to work together and build on each others skills, and assets they are often able to achieve a higher level of success. As a future educator, and a student I have found learning how to work together can be one of the best lessons learned in life. Working together for a common goal is much easier to achieve, when a team comes together and combines their efforts.  The hardest part in achieving this, is usually building trust, and acknowledging team work is the best path.  If one is able to successfully assemble members who are willing, then success will follow.

This is the mindset I want to portray as an educator in the field, and to my future students.  I want my cohorts  in the field to know I am there to assist them in meeting their goals, and open to their input and feedback in accomplishing mine.  I know I have a set of skills, and work best when I have a team to help me achieve mine.  I hope to encourage my students to look for a team of friends/classmates within their classroom or school that will promote them in achieving their goals.  I want them to seek out friends and see the potential in them, as I hope to in each of my students.

I want to see the potential in each of my students, so they are able to also see that same potential in their friends, classmates, and hopefully in themselves as well.

Building Relationships

Opportunity Gaps- In our society we are separated by several things and it starts very early on in life.  Some believe we play a part in that separation with the decisions we make, the people we choose to be friends with, and how we live our lives, but I feel society impacts our mindset more than we think.  Separation starts as early as our education does, our environment, our social class, often determines where we go to school, who teaches the class, and what is being taught. Many of these will impact how we see the world, and our place in it.  It is not uncommon for schools in low socio-economic areas to have less funding, and inadequate standards, even though public education is state and federally funded.

I believe it is these differences that create opportunity gaps in our society. 

It is important that we recognize these gaps, and make improvements in effort to close them.  I feel it is important for educators to learn how to understand these gaps and why they exist.  Once they are able to understand why these gaps exist, they can look for tools that may counter the effects.
I think it is important for educators to understand, that they are not limited by their budget. Educators need to discover tools within them and their students that can be utilized to close these gaps within education.  Building friendships and rapport with students can be an effective tool, just as discovering the cultures within the classroom, and exposing students to different thoughts within academia   I understand educators need to meet requirements, and devote time to designated curriculum, but use that curriculum and infuse the students.
I truly feel any effort outside of the box, is a move in the right direction.  I love the idea of stepping out of the box.  I think trying new things is what makes people grow and develop.  Often we will evaluate something on its effectiveness, but we also learn from mistakes, and sometimes we learn more from our errors than our successes.
I hope this will encourage educators to try.  I live under the motto try, what you can lose.  Some might say a lot, but sometimes loosing, is what builds success.  When you try and success is not seen, you know what does not work, and you know not to continue.  I believe knowing not what to do, is just as effective and important, as knowing what to do.  I feel as a future educator, as long as I am trying, I cannot loose.
I would appreciate any feedback from educators and their experiences with stepping out of the box

Learning to manage time