Thursday the 24th was my first day helping out in Ms. Mara’s classroom. She wanted me to be there for nine so that we could talk for a few minutes before her students came to class. I got lost on the way (Providence is not the best when it comes to signs and lane markings), but I called to let the school know I would only be a few minutes late.
When I was almost there, I noticed that so many of the signs for businesses were in different languages (not just Spanish, either). The neighborhood was pretty run-down; some of the apartment buildings around it were boarded up and many others had unkempt yards.
When I walked in, there were murals on almost every inch of the hallways, along with papers saying positive things that people had noticed about the students’ behavior. I still got to Ms. Mara’s class before her students because first period hadn’t ended yet. I separated some rubrics for the day’s activity while Ms. Mara went out to gather her students.
I worked with two classes of seventh and eighth grade students for two hours and a sixth grade class for a half hour before lunch. The assignment was to finish their scripts for the fairy tales they had been assigned to perform. Before they started, Ms. Mara went over the agenda written on the board and she finished up the lecture from the day before about the idea of “confidence”. Then, all the classes, Ms. Mara, and I did warm-ups to get loose. They broke up into smaller groups to work on their performances. I walked around and asked which fairy tales they were performing and helped out with some ideas for what they could do to pantomime different actions. When all the groups were ready (some actually weren’t completely finished), Ms. Mara said it was performance time. Students sat on the desks (shaped in a U within the class) to watch the shows. The students were graded on a few different things: believability (being serious about the role, not laughing during the performance unless called for), motivation (clearly conveying actions through pantomiming), emotion, and the overall quality of the show.
A few students had trouble remembering that they need to always (in some way) face the audience and some had trouble with pantomiming effectively, but overall the presentations were very good. The second class of the day that I tutored, after their performances were finished, got so excited about their shows that they wanted to perform for the elementary school across the street. Since my first visit, they have started plans for a rendition of “Snow White and the Seven Dwarves”, but they have to change the character names so as not to infringe on copyrights.
Ms. Mara and I walked the sixth graders down to the cafeteria when it was time for lunch and then we went back to the classroom to talk about various things. She really seemed to want to help me get the most out of this tutoring experience. I’m really glad I was placed with Ms. Mara because she genuinely appreciates the help I can give to her students.
I feel that this school values good behavior, but this school is different than others because the staff lets the kids know when they are doing good things instead of just scolding them when they misbehave. Ms. Mara is very strict on punctuality. If a student is late for class, they automatically receive detention and must stay that afternoon unless there is a conflict. I know for a fact that Ms. Mara values creativity. I don’t know of very many teachers, especially in an urban public school, who would deviate from the curriculum they had already planned out in order to foster an idea the students had.
I am so excited to be tutoring for Ms. Mara and her students. They are all very bright and I feel very welcome in the classroom.
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Hi Kait,
ReplyDeleteYour attitude and approach to your Service Learning is extremely positive. Interactions and expectations are central to building strong relationships with your students. Bravo! Think about Shor's affective/cognitive discussion.
Dr. August
Hi Kait,
ReplyDeleteAfter reading your post it seems like you’re in a very fun, interesting class. I have never, ever taken a drama class and I should becomes it seems like a lot of fun. I also realize that your tutoring/teaching experience is in a middle school. I am doing my tutoring in an elementary school and there are many differences between teaching at an elementary level and in a middle school but they are both the similar in some ways. My classroom experiences are a lot different from yours because I am in a 2nd grade classroom doing reading/literacy games with my students where as your helping your students prepare for their plays. But I can make a connection that we are both helping and engaging our students to practice. For example, I help my students read books, spell words, work on literacy and you are helping your students prepare for their drama plays and how to speak when they perform their character in their play. But we as tutors are both assisting our students to get better, do well, and to make sure they accomplish something. Remember, “practice makes perfect”. I am wondering right now what it is like to teach in middle school classroom.
Also, while reading your blog you talked about that Ms. Mara gave a lecture to her students about “confidence”. Did she give a lecture about this so her students believe in themselves, know they can do a good job and be strong while they are performing? What was her point she was trying to make when she spoke about “confidence”? You also mention that you and Ms. Mara did warm-ups to get loose. What are the warm-ups the students have to do? I really like the idea how she grades her students on their performances. It shows that they understand why they are performing; they believe in themselves, have a positive attitude, how they behave, how they can connect and react to their peers and how they can connect their play to the outside world.
Your school seems like they are very helpful to the children because you point out that the school values behavior and how it is different from a lot of other schools. You say that the staff of the school lets the children know they are doing a good thing and just don’t yell at them because they are misbehaving. I strongly agree with this belief because they should let the students know when they are doing something good. This will lead to let the children know that they should always do the “right thing” and not the “wrong thing” that will get them in trouble. This will as well help the students improve their behavior. It’s also good to know that Ms. Mara values creativity because this helps the students place themselves in a position that is encouraging them to think outside of the box, and participate so they are not just sitting back and not achieving anything in the classroom. Yes, it is totally true that a teacher should allow more time for creativity and participation. Ira Shor argues and describes that education is a socializing activity and social experience. He believes that students should participate and it is an important value because its most important place for a student to begin and the student is getting involved. This engages students to gain knowledge and to develop their intelligence.
Hope its going well still!
Hello there! Wow, your service learning experience sounds like it must be quite fun. I would love to help students develop plays based around fairy tales! How did the students respond to your presence in class? I found that some of the students in my class didn't quite know what to make of me during the first few visits, but I was able to get to know them after a while. I wonder if it's like that every year when a teacher gets a new set of students, there is probably a period of warming-up time where the students have to get to know and connect with their teacher. I can't wait to build a rapport with my own class full of eager art students (:
ReplyDeleteI'm really glad Ms. Mara discussed the topic of confidence with her class. I know for many, many middle school students confidence is somewhat lacking, it certainly was for me! I don't think middle schoolers get enough of a chance to develop a good self image, so I'm glad she explored the topic. I'm sure you can remember those awkward pre-teen days, I'm not quite sure if I've even out grown them yet! haha
ps. It was fabulous to work with you on the Biomimetics (or in my words, BiomimetRics haha) lesson plan. I hope I see you around campus still!
Hey kait,
ReplyDeleteI think thats its fabulous that you get to help the students with performing plays. That is a great way to get to see the students creative side and allow them to enjoy the process of learning. I believe that confidence is a key factor to be able to put on a good performance and get into character. Confidence is also something that many middle school students struggle to achieve. Therefore, I think that it is great that Ms. Mara discussed this concept with her students and took the time to address a concept that may not be directly out of the set curriculum. Did you notice students lacking a sense of confidence on stage? I think that to be able to perform a skit one must possess a certain confidence in order to perform to their highest ability.
Your service learning experience certainly sounds very different from my own. I am working on fluency with fourth graders. It's very interesting to hear your experience and compare it to my own. I wish the teacher of my classroom and I had formed a good of a relationship as you and your students teacher. Were you able to form relationships with the students as well? Do the students seem like they are comfortable up on stage or do they seem somewhat insecure about being the center of attention?.....It seems like you have a fun journey ahead of you. Good Luck!