Journal #2-Domain #2 and #5 -Teaching and Students / Teaching and the Profession

What is the student body diversity and how is cultural diversity recognized in the school?

At Lincoln Prairie, you will find mostly caucasian students roaming the halls, after that, the most noticeable race is Indian. But there are students of other races too. A true diversifying aspect of the children are their age group. The classes that I am observing have six, seventh, and eighth graders all together in the same class.

To be quite honest, diversity is not really recognized that much in this school. The school's biggest mission is to recognize and meet different learning styles. The teachers in the teacher lounge said that they do have a multicultural club which meets after school that children are welcomed to join if they want.

How are children involved in the classroom; how do they relate to one another?

During my first observation, I noticed that Mrs. Jones uses many labs in her science class. This allows the students to get involved and learn through experience. She also asks questions frequently to involve specific students and help the class teach each other. 

At this age, the only thing students are interesting in are themselves, and other students. Mrs. Jones directs this intrigue into something useful by having the children sit in groups. This allows them to work together and help each other out. I think that sometimes it is hard for the older kids to relate to the younger ones, but they really do work together well. For example; during a lab a sixth grader asked how they were going to find the iron in their lab experiment, so the eight graders explained the process before they proceeded. 

How are the needs of students with exceptionalities met in the classroom and at the school?

Almost every period has a child with special needs. Most of these children are autistic. Each of these children have a personal aid that travels with them from class to class. 

There have not been any other exceptionalities that I have observed.

How do teachers and other school personnel work together? Well as I said before, there are aids that help out in almost every class. Even though these aids are specifically there for their students, they also help out around the classroom when needed.

A great way that the teachers work together in this school is through their weekly staff meetings. Every wednesday the teachers meet in small groups for staff development. This allows the teachers to offer advice and ideas when needed and also to discuss students.

How are families and other community members involved in the school Lincoln Prairie is a very small school compared to the rest of the schools in the district. Parents need to apply in order for their children to get in. I feel that because of this, the school has created a small, close-knit-community in which the parents play a large role.

Parents are in charge of the different bulletin boards found around the school, they set up committees and clubs for the students, they help with the eight grade fund raiser, and they also volunteer to bring in hot lunches once a week (there is no cafeteria in the school).

How does the teacher keep track of student progress? Keeping track of student progress and assessment is very important for Mrs. Jones. She has over one hundred students; all at a different learning level. A big way that she tracks her students progress is with science starters and exit slips. She starts the class with a science starter to see what the children already know, what they learned, and what they still need help on. Exit slips are also important to see if the students grasped what was taught.

Mrs. Jones also asks questions frequently to gauge were children are at. She then rights her notes on a spreadsheet containing the children's names and little notes.

What extra duty tasks does the teacher perform? (meetings, bus duty, etc.)

Every other week, Mrs. Jones has bus duty. Along with this, she also attends weekly meetings and IEPs when needed.

what you learned about Teaching and the Student and Teaching and the Profession

I don't think the school does a very good job meeting every cultural need, but the teacher does help involve every child. This school is very interested in diversifying their teaching based on levels and learning abilities. They put more importance on different learning styles than on difference in culture. For example, Mrs. Jones has a science buddy program which is like the idea mentioned on page 47 of our text book. Like the book states, this strategy promotes respect across grade levels. Another strategy that is mentioned in the book that is also done in the school is the "warm fuzzy". Children throughout the school are being taught "authentic kindness". I really like this idea, because the kids can pretend to be kind or pass out warm fuzzies for giggles, but the teachers were emphasizing being authentic.