"Shaping My Teacher Identity and Myself as a Whole"

Service learning has broadened my horizons on so many levels. It improved me as a whole because I am less bias, I respect people no matter if they come from the richest of rich or the poorest of poor, and by being exposed to such diversity I appreciate everyone’s culture, socioeconomic status, religion and race so much more.

As a teacher you need to be open-minded and not judgemental, and this experience has made me just that. I can not openly say I am ready to step into a classroom alone and teach a lesson, because I have to overcome my insecurities such as public speaking; but I can say I am heading towards the right direction. Service learning in this school has brought out my emotions in such a positive way as a person because I can say that I have laughed, cried, gotten mad, joked around, and been strict with the students in the classroom.

These students brought out the “real” me by opening up to me and telling me about their home lives, who they have a crush on, what sports they like to play, what they want for Christmas, and one boy Micheal* even broke down and told me about the death of his father. I was extremely bias walking into this classroom on the first day, now I realize these students are just like me when I was in third grade, and just because they come from different socioeconomic backgrounds than I did, does not make them bad people.

What hit me on an emotional level was my fourth time at service learning, and I was assigned to work in the hallway with Micheal* on his writing activity. Micheal was writing a story on his father’s death, which I could tell was a sensitive topic for him. He told me step by step on how he watched his father abuse his mother one night, and then shortly after his father died from a heart attack. When he looked at me I was stunned and lost for words, but what was so overwhelming was when he told me, “Miss Ashley you are the first person I have ever told this to, and I am happy I did,” with a huge smile on his face. I will never forget Micheal’s* story, and in that moment I actually felt like a teacher.

This reminds me of Lisa Delpit’s The Silenced Dialogue: Power and Pedagogy in Educating Other People’s Children. It reminds me of her article because I built a strong connection with the students, which allowed them to feel comfortable around me. Also, I was willing to learn about their culture and backgrounds, which made it easier for them to express their feelings with me.

"The Advantages and Disadvantages"

Being a teacher in the third grade classroom that I do my service learning in, would be far from a “piece of cake.” One of the major setbacks would be collaborating with the parents of the students. Most of the students in the classroom have poor home lives, where either both or one parent is not around, or the parents let them have a care-free lifestyle with no discipline. This makes it difficult as a teacher because the parents need to be around to help the students with their homework, take home test, and to sign permission slips for field trips or activities at the school.

As a teacher i would have to address this problem by making phone calls to the students’ homes asking parents to sign their child’s homework, when they have checked that it is all done. Also, I will ask the parents to work with their children on weekly spelling bees that will be sent home to do. As a teacher in this classroom it is difficult to attend to every student daily since the class size is so big. This classroom reminds me of one of the classrooms that Jonathan Kozol spoke about during his speech at Rhode Island College. He spoke about classroom sizes being too large in urban areas such as the school I do my service learning in. Jonathan Kozol talked about how these large class sizes make it difficult for the students to learn and receive the proper education. By being in Ms. Amy’s* class, I help her work one on one with the students that need it most, and I think by her having a teacher’s aid at all times would take the relief off of her, and also allow the students to get a proper education.

I would show respect for the concerns and contributions of the parents, by sending thank you cards home to them because their child is making a noticeable improvement. Also, I would have the students take home their excellent work they did in class, and have them write a note to their parents thanking them for their help.

"My New Beginning"

“My New Beginning”

Growing up in a white, successful middle-class, suburban neighborhood, where almost everyone I live near and went to high-school with also lives in a white, successful middle-class home; you can say I am not too familiar with diversity. When I got assigned to Laurel Hill Elementary School, I knew this was going to be a huge step out of my normal “boundaries,” but I was thrilled to finally be exposed to diversity and more ready than I’d ever be. On my first day of service learning to say I was nervous would be an understatement, I was so overwhelmed that I drove on one of the coldest days of the year so far with all my windows down, because otherwise I would have passed out. I was mainly concerned with how the students would react towards me and vice versa. I did not want to be judged in the wrong way, on my first day, because I felt that would have ruined my whole experience during service learning.

As I pulled up to Laurel Hill Elementary, I noticed the school is directly across from a project complex and a run down convience store, where a lot of people seemed to be lingering around. The school itself is the size of most high schools, and is very run down and old. The hallways are very old with colors of musty yellow and dark brown floors. The school is also setup differently from most because when you enter you need to walk up stairs to the office, then back downstairs where the classrooms are located.

The third grade classroom where I do my service learning in looks exactly like my third grade classroom from elementary school. The students have their desks in organized rows and are seated in alphabetical order by last name. The teacher has decorated the room with all sorts of math equations and letters from the alphabet, but what I found strange is that everything was in English, even though most of the students speak Spanish at home with their relatives.

The school values giving very much because they have a lot of food drives. All the students are encouraged to bring in at least one can good a week to go towards the food drives. I found this extremely interesting that all the students do participate in this activity, since they come from very low incomes, but are still willing to give to those that are in more need than them. In the classroom the teacher Ms. Amy* values respect towards others and is strict towards the students using the words “please” and “thank you.” This is such a positive step towards the right direction for these students because it will follow stick with them as they grow to be adults.

* means name has been changed

Introduction to Myself

 Hi my name is Ashley, and I am a Secondary Education major with a concentration in English.  I am a junior at RIC, and I can't wait for it to end because I have a busy life style.  I am a bartender at two bars in Warwick, and I just moved into an apartment, so life has been really stressful lately. 

 I have done a little bit of Service Learning before at Robert L. Bailey Elementary in Providence, and I loved it; so I am really excited to start again.  This experience is a wake-up call to whether or not I am in teaching for the long run.