reflections on teaching and learning in urban schools
Sunday, January 28, 2007
Reactions to "The First Year" Pt. 1
What were your reactions to Part 1 of The First Year? What scenes or storylines impacted you most, and why? In what ways, if any, were the teachers' day-to-day challenges made even more difficult by working in a huge, bureaucratic urban system?
The storyline which impacted me the most after watching some of "The First Year", was the the teacher who was trying to find a speech therapist for his student. It really impacted me because, it seemed like he was running into road blocks that were out of his control, like the fact that his student's insurence could not get him the assistance he needed. It worries me, because the teacher was doing as much as he could. One factor of working in an urban system was the "order of command" he had to follow to get things done. And even though he wanted to do the "footwork", he was discouraged because certain phone calls should come from higher authority.
I feel that it was very well done and showed the hardships that these first year teachers were facing. One storyline that got me was when the teacher had the "trouble makers" father in for a conference and the father just went on and on about how he was embarrassed. I think as a teacher when you see the student really getting upset you have to ask them to leave and speak with the parent. Teachers are not social workers, but that is their student and there are alternative ways of handling the situation. I think there good have been a better solution where all parties could work together and each find satisfaction.
I agree with Noel. The most poignant part of the movie for me was definitely the part where the teacher struggled to find a speech therapist for a child desperately in need of one. It made me think of the last school I observed at in the suburbs. This school has such an abundant amount of resources it made me so sad to think of the child in "The First Year." This suburban school had at least 1 aide and/or therapist (speech, occupational, etc.) PER CLASSROOM, every day of the week. It just seems so unfair to me that our education system allows such enormous differences in the quality of education based only on where a child happens to live.
I had actually seen this video before, and it had the most impact on me than any other teacher movie that I've seen. The storyline that impacted me the most, or that I found the most interesting, was the storyline about the teacher speaking to her high school (ESL students I think), students about how their class might get cut and they would be mainstreamed. It always hits me hard to hear about people being shortchanged in one way or another. I just can't understand how, if there are teachers who want to teach it, why certain subjects get cut. Who makes that decision? If a class isn't on a standardized test, that class isn't worth anything. Those kids might get mainstreamed, and hearing their opinions about it just broke my heart. They won't succeed as well as they could have if they are mainstreamed. That is ridiculous. I don't understand how our top priority isn't having ALL students equipped with the classes and support they need in order to succeed. Another thing I noticed from the movie is the fact that there were a lot of scenes where the teachers are interacting with this that and the other person. The filmed showed them in the classroom, but a lot of their time was spent trying to find someone to help out given situations. For the kindergarten teacher, it was a speech therapist, for another teacher it was parents. I think the fact that teachers have to interact with so many other people besides their students gets overlooked. Just being good with kids and having them be your top priority is not enough. You have to be able to interact with a LOT of different people. Without those types of people skills, it will be hard to succeed as a teacher. I just love this film! So thought provoking!
My reaction to "The first Year" was that my first year of teaching is going to be really hard. Not only is it hard because everything is new to you and you have to start from scratch and make all your lesson plans, but there will be many hard situations I will have to overcome. These teachers had a lot of struggles to overcome and being in an urban system meant a lack of resources, support and facilities. When the one teacher went back home and saw the playground at his sisters school he thought about how much his students would really enjoy that. It really touched me that some young children don’t even have a playground to play on. I remember that being what I looked forward to everyday in Elementary school. It really made me realize that if I do decide to teach in the urban schools, they most likely wont have all the resources that I had in my schools. Which in turn could make it a lot tougher and more time consuming for me. The part that impacted me the most was the lack of a speech therapist. It is so much harder to teach in a school that cant offer you those resources. And if you chose to do something about it, it could make it a lot more stressful and time consuming...especially for a first year teacher. I thought it was a great inside look at the reality of a first year teacher.
"The First Year" impacted me and showed me exactly what it is like to be a first year teacher, and not just any first year teacher, but one in an urbanized area. Along with Peter I would say that the story that got to me was when the little boy’s father embarrassed the child in front of his teacher. Sometimes actions like this gives a unique understanding to the teacher as to why their student acts out the way they do in class. After I saw the way this parent talked to his child, I was wondering what I would do in that situation. Would I say something to the parent? I have no idea how I would handle that. I suppose talking to the parent would be the best way to do it, but how do you tell a parent not to talk to their child and put them down like that?
I'm not going to lie... I'm scared to actually become a teacher! I know it's what I want to do- what I need to do. But there is still so much fear. I won't be able to sleep the night before! What will my kids be like? Will they like and respect me? Do I have enough training to really be a teacher! Will I be able to face all of the things that come ahead? Not only could I relate to the bilingual teacher in this movie (I'm going to be a bilingual elementary ed teacher), but I was really impacted by Maurice, the Kindergarten teacher who was really trying to find a speech pathologist for his student Tyquan. It broke my heart! What would I do in a situation like that? How would I handle it? This movie really made me think about being a REAL teacher. Not a super hero teacher like you may have seen in Freedom Writers, were you have to give up everything (work two jobs, get a divorce from your husband who just "doesn't get it"). I want to do the best I can to be a good teacher in the real world.
Some of their difficulties seemed to be the same stuggles as other first year teachers. But added to that list, was not being able to get ahold of parents and social worker, lack of a classroom, fear of losing programs(because of low budgets), trying to keep kids away from gangs, losing students without a explination. These are just some of the stuggles they faced in that first year of teaching. This reinforced that my future students will struggle more than in just math or reading. That my job is not just 9-5, and that it will be taken home with me. That I have the opprotunity to have a profound impact on my students. Thinking about this made me realize that much more, how I need to keep the action, passion, and compassion alive within me. I apologize for how cheezy that was, but it is true, i refuse to become one the teachers who becomes drained after only a few years of being the classroom.
9 comments:
The storyline which impacted me the most after watching some of "The First Year", was the the teacher who was trying to find a speech therapist for his student. It really impacted me because, it seemed like he was running into road blocks that were out of his control, like the fact that his student's insurence could not get him the assistance he needed. It worries me, because the teacher was doing as much as he could. One factor of working in an urban system was the "order of command" he had to follow to get things done. And even though he wanted to do the "footwork", he was discouraged because certain phone calls should come from higher authority.
I feel that it was very well done and showed the hardships that these first year teachers were facing. One storyline that got me was when the teacher had the "trouble makers" father in for a conference and the father just went on and on about how he was embarrassed. I think as a teacher when you see the student really getting upset you have to ask them to leave and speak with the parent. Teachers are not social workers, but that is their student and there are alternative ways of handling the situation. I think there good have been a better solution where all parties could work together and each find satisfaction.
I agree with Noel. The most poignant part of the movie for me was definitely the part where the teacher struggled to find a speech therapist for a child desperately in need of one. It made me think of the last school I observed at in the suburbs. This school has such an abundant amount of resources it made me so sad to think of the child in "The First Year." This suburban school had at least 1 aide and/or therapist (speech, occupational, etc.) PER CLASSROOM, every day of the week. It just seems so unfair to me that our education system allows such enormous differences in the quality of education based only on where a child happens to live.
I had actually seen this video before, and it had the most impact on me than any other teacher movie that I've seen. The storyline that impacted me the most, or that I found the most interesting, was the storyline about the teacher speaking to her high school (ESL students I think), students about how their class might get cut and they would be mainstreamed. It always hits me hard to hear about people being shortchanged in one way or another. I just can't understand how, if there are teachers who want to teach it, why certain subjects get cut. Who makes that decision? If a class isn't on a standardized test, that class isn't worth anything. Those kids might get mainstreamed, and hearing their opinions about it just broke my heart. They won't succeed as well as they could have if they are mainstreamed. That is ridiculous. I don't understand how our top priority isn't having ALL students equipped with the classes and support they need in order to succeed.
Another thing I noticed from the movie is the fact that there were a lot of scenes where the teachers are interacting with this that and the other person. The filmed showed them in the classroom, but a lot of their time was spent trying to find someone to help out given situations. For the kindergarten teacher, it was a speech therapist, for another teacher it was parents. I think the fact that teachers have to interact with so many other people besides their students gets overlooked. Just being good with kids and having them be your top priority is not enough. You have to be able to interact with a LOT of different people. Without those types of people skills, it will be hard to succeed as a teacher. I just love this film! So thought provoking!
My reaction to "The first Year" was that my first year of teaching is going to be really hard. Not only is it hard because everything is new to you and you have to start from scratch and make all your lesson plans, but there will be many hard situations I will have to overcome. These teachers had a lot of struggles to overcome and being in an urban system meant a lack of resources, support and facilities. When the one teacher went back home and saw the playground at his sisters school he thought about how much his students would really enjoy that. It really touched me that some young children don’t even have a playground to play on. I remember that being what I looked forward to everyday in Elementary school. It really made me realize that if I do decide to teach in the urban schools, they most likely wont have all the resources that I had in my schools. Which in turn could make it a lot tougher and more time consuming for me. The part that impacted me the most was the lack of a speech therapist. It is so much harder to teach in a school that cant offer you those resources. And if you chose to do something about it, it could make it a lot more stressful and time consuming...especially for a first year teacher. I thought it was a great inside look at the reality of a first year teacher.
"The First Year" impacted me and showed me exactly what it is like to be a first year teacher, and not just any first year teacher, but one in an urbanized area. Along with Peter I would say that the story that got to me was when the little boy’s father embarrassed the child in front of his teacher. Sometimes actions like this gives a unique understanding to the teacher as to why their student acts out the way they do in class. After I saw the way this parent talked to his child, I was wondering what I would do in that situation. Would I say something to the parent? I have no idea how I would handle that. I suppose talking to the parent would be the best way to do it, but how do you tell a parent not to talk to their child and put them down like that?
I'm not going to lie...
I'm scared to actually become a teacher! I know it's what I want to do- what I need to do. But there is still so much fear. I won't be able to sleep the night before! What will my kids be like? Will they like and respect me? Do I have enough training to really be a teacher! Will I be able to face all of the things that come ahead?
Not only could I relate to the bilingual teacher in this movie (I'm going to be a bilingual elementary ed teacher), but I was really impacted by Maurice, the Kindergarten teacher who was really trying to find a speech pathologist for his student Tyquan. It broke my heart! What would I do in a situation like that? How would I handle it? This movie really made me think about being a REAL teacher. Not a super hero teacher like you may have seen in Freedom Writers, were you have to give up everything (work two jobs, get a divorce from your husband who just "doesn't get it"). I want to do the best I can to be a good teacher in the real world.
Some of their difficulties seemed to be the same stuggles as other first year teachers. But added to that list, was not being able to get ahold of parents and social worker, lack of a classroom, fear of losing programs(because of low budgets), trying to keep kids away from gangs, losing students without a explination. These are just some of the stuggles they faced in that first year of teaching. This reinforced that my future students will struggle more than in just math or reading. That my job is not just 9-5, and that it will be taken home with me. That I have the opprotunity to have a profound impact on my students. Thinking about this made me realize that much more, how I need to keep the action, passion, and compassion alive within me. I apologize for how cheezy that was, but it is true, i refuse to become one the teachers who becomes drained after only a few years of being the classroom.
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