Lessons We Learn from Children

I think children are the most interesting people. You can never be surprised by what can come out of a child's mouth. Children are honest and do not hold back. In "Walking Trees", Ralph Fletcher gets to know the students better through writing workshops. One student named Carlos wrote about his jealousy towards his mother's boyfriend. He was very open with his feelings. I think writing is a good way to try to get to know students a little better. Students may feel they can use writing as a way to express their feelings. Teachers should all take on the responsibility of trying to get to know students better in order to try to teach them better.

I think as teachers we should accept the fact that not all children have a perfect life. Every child is different. Every student has a different set of circumstances. My uncle works in a public school. He has shared many stories with me about his students. Many come from broken homes or have no contact with their parents at all. I think a lesson we can learn from children is that even the innocent may be affected by the cruelties in this world. Some children are forced to live with huge burdens on their shoulders. You never truly know what goes on behind closed doors. As teachers we must be open to the fact that our students come from varying backgrounds. We have to do our best to accomodate their needs and teach them effectively.

Expanding your Knowledge Base...

I believe it is very important for teachers to expand their knowledge base about different racial/ethnic groups. If I want to be a great teacher, I must be able to relate to all of my students. Every child in a classroom has a different culture, a different life. When I have my own classroom one day, I know that no two students will be alike. Every student has their own background and I must do my best to expose myself to the diverse backgrounds in order to teach my students properly. I think I can expand my knowledge on the students' backgrounds by having the students participate in projects about their culture. I can think of fun engaging activies that will be helpful and beneficial to both my students and myself. I also believe that I can learn more about the students through their families. If I understand a students' background better, communication with the parents will be easier.

An experience that I had which taught me about my own bias was when I visited an Abbott school. The Abbott school I visited was in Hoboken. I have lived in Hoboken my entire life and to be honest I did not think an Abbott school was right in my town. I knew that Abbott schools were located in low income neighborhoods and I never really looked at Hoboken in that way. It came as a big surprise to me. Out of the three schools I visited, the Abbott school turned out to be my favorite. The classroom I observed was very well organized. The teacher seemed very experienced and was very engaged with her students. The building itself seemed clean and very organized. Realizing that an Abbott school was located in my town was definitely a wake up call. You can never really judge a book by its cover. You really never know what you will find.