Community building must become the heart of any school improvement effort.
~Thomas Sergiovanni
~Thomas Sergiovanni
Standard 10
Partnerships - The teacher interacts in a professional, effective manner with colleagues, parents, and other members of the community to support students’ learning and well-being.
Reflection
Teaching is a community effort. No teacher can hope to possibly isolate his/her students within the walls of their classroom and hope that the world will not interfere. Instead, teachers should be taking active roles within the community to form good working relationships with parents and colleagues, to form connections within the community in which they inhabit, and to enrich themselves by experiencing and serving in communities that desperately need volunteers. All of my artifacts are demonstrations of ways in which I have served in an effective manner with members of my community in order to support the overall well-being of the community.
The first artifact is a planning worksheet and pictures from my mission trip for Ensenada, Mexico. This area is exceptionally stricken by poverty, with many children who do not ever experience a true school environment and many times go hungry at meal times. Into this environment, our team was asked to provide Vacation Bible School lessons that taught and encouraged the children and to provide snacks so neighboring children might be able to eat something. This trip was profoundly eye-opening for me. I had never realized the extent of poverty within Mexico. It is heart wrenching to see children who grow extremely excited at the prospect of simply having their face painted or given a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This has helped me to see that many times we can be unaware of the world around us. We need to consider that poverty is occurring in other countries, but also within our own country in order to understand our students more fully.
The second artifact is a mentoring handbook from my time as a College For Every Student mentor. This was a rewarding experience because I was able to talk to students within the school and actually get an idea of what their daily life is like. In return, I hoped to serve as a positive role model, encouraging the students that I mentored that college was not only possible, but also necessary. This helped me to see firsthand why students may not attend college because frequently older siblings and parents may not have or they have no interest. If we can encourage students though, at an early age, then studies show they have a far greater chance of not dropping out of high school and going on to college.
My last artifact is a copy of the handout given when we went to participate and read for Dr. Seuss Night at Van Buren Elementary School. This experience was helpful because it gave me a new perspective on community events. The school really worked to involve parents and other family members by providing an easy, fun event. It was helpful to be pushed beyond my comfort zone by reading because it helped me to see far more about the environment of the school than if I had been only observing, as I had originally planned to do. This helps me as a teacher to explore creative ideas and ways of integrating fun and reading into both students' and parents' lives.
The first artifact is a planning worksheet and pictures from my mission trip for Ensenada, Mexico. This area is exceptionally stricken by poverty, with many children who do not ever experience a true school environment and many times go hungry at meal times. Into this environment, our team was asked to provide Vacation Bible School lessons that taught and encouraged the children and to provide snacks so neighboring children might be able to eat something. This trip was profoundly eye-opening for me. I had never realized the extent of poverty within Mexico. It is heart wrenching to see children who grow extremely excited at the prospect of simply having their face painted or given a peanut butter and jelly sandwich. This has helped me to see that many times we can be unaware of the world around us. We need to consider that poverty is occurring in other countries, but also within our own country in order to understand our students more fully.
The second artifact is a mentoring handbook from my time as a College For Every Student mentor. This was a rewarding experience because I was able to talk to students within the school and actually get an idea of what their daily life is like. In return, I hoped to serve as a positive role model, encouraging the students that I mentored that college was not only possible, but also necessary. This helped me to see firsthand why students may not attend college because frequently older siblings and parents may not have or they have no interest. If we can encourage students though, at an early age, then studies show they have a far greater chance of not dropping out of high school and going on to college.
My last artifact is a copy of the handout given when we went to participate and read for Dr. Seuss Night at Van Buren Elementary School. This experience was helpful because it gave me a new perspective on community events. The school really worked to involve parents and other family members by providing an easy, fun event. It was helpful to be pushed beyond my comfort zone by reading because it helped me to see far more about the environment of the school than if I had been only observing, as I had originally planned to do. This helps me as a teacher to explore creative ideas and ways of integrating fun and reading into both students' and parents' lives.
Prep for Vacation Bible School for Ensenada Missions Trip
mexico_new1.pdf | |
File Size: | 1039 kb |
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mexico_new2.pdf | |
File Size: | 9896 kb |
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College for Every Student Expectations and Handout
cfes_handbook-brochure.pdf | |
File Size: | 1751 kb |
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Dr. Seuss Night Reading, Expectations, and Observation Notes
van_buren_night.pdf | |
File Size: | 5279 kb |
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