Describe the population you work with; how old are they, where are they from (if you know), what are some of the defining characteristics about the people you encounter at your site, both supervisors and students?
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Week Two: Where and Who
Describe what it is like going to your placement site, and the environment you encounter while you're there. Where is your placement site, what do you have to do to get there, are there any special things you have to do to get into the site itself, how does the environment you're influence your time at the site?
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My placement site is Ferguson Elementary School, which is located on 7th street between Norris and Diamond.
ReplyDeleteGetting to my placement site is rather easy. I live on 12th and Susquehanna, so it is a really quick car ride and now that the weather is getting nicer I'm sure riding my bike will be a pleasant experience. So, though the neighborhood is seemingly intimidating, I haven't felt uncomfortable on my commute thus far.
Getting into the actual building was a little more strange experience. What would normally be the front main entrance [on 7th street] is actually locked with directions to use the back door. While walking around the block to get onto the other side of the school building I could hear kids playing inside however I couldn't see them because all of the ground level windows were blocked and barred off. I didn't notice the exterior environment of the school affecting me, it seems to fit the setting of the location.
The students in my AVID class are 7th and 8th grade. I learned some of the kids live in walking distance of the school, which was interesting to me because I drive through their neighbor almost everyday [going to various places] however I have never had a personal connection with the neighborhood. Previously I have only had a perspective of the neighborhood through the inside of my car.
Both the supervisor/teacher and students were very energetic. I noticed that their interactions were a lot different than what I remember from when I was in middle school. The children seemed to respect their teacher, however they had a very sarcastic relationship with one another. I think that this method that the teacher used, trying to use the type of humor/mindset of a middle schooler, worked and made the students interact with her more.
Hopefully I will be able to reach a level of comfortability with the kids that we can tease each other in a friendly manner that can be used as a break from the serious-ness of the tutoring.
My placement site is Ben Franklin High School which is located at the Spring Garden Broad Street Line subway stop. The Philadelphia School District building and about three other schools, including Community College of Philadelphia are also in the area. The environment is beautiful, considering that all of the schools in the area are painted with murals. Also, it is located on Broad Street so the streets are never empty. I do not have to feel worried about anything dangerous like the more quieter parts of Philadelphia.
ReplyDeleteIn order to get to my placement site, I have to take a bus to Olney Terminal and take a 20 minute ride on the subway to get off at Spring Garden. The commute is only half an hour and it does not bother me because the subways run quite often. Spring Garden is also an express stop, unlike Cecil B. Moore at Temple's campus; meaning I can take either local or express trains to my placement site. When travelling to my placement site, I see all sorts of people: other college students, Philadelphia residents and sometimes even students that are tardy.
When I enter Benjamin Franklin High School, I have to sign in with a security guard. I have been there three times so far and each time, there has been a different security guard. This was different from my high school because we always had the same security guard at the entrance so they could be familiar with the students and be able to tell if there are trespassers.
My placement time is normally 11:30 - 1:30 so I do not have to travel when all of the students are going into school in the morning or leaving school, which I am thankful for because high school students are very obnoxious on public transportation.
The population that I work with at the Student Success Center are mainly freshman and sophomores that are between the ages of 13-15. Most of them are from the same area of the high school but some of them do travel. For example, the two speakers that came on our first day of class (Rahmir and Kyree) were on the subway travelling the same direction as I was to get home.
The staff in the Success Center are amazing and easy to talk to. For example, Sarah Hill and Mrs. Hasko are great with communication and they always have input for our activities. The other staff are very friendly and the atmosphere is always positive. I observed that even when the kids have smart remarks, they always know what to say and the kids respond with respect. They are firm and friendly and I wish to make that same impact within the next few weeks. I believe that I need more time with the students in order for them to really take notice of who I am. I only worked with three students so far and it seems like they remember me. I just hope to make the same impact on more kids, which is my main goal.
My placement site is Benjamin Franklin High School. In order to get there I drive from work which is the Northeast section of Philadelpia. I take Roosevelt Boulevard and then I make a left onto Broad Street and i take it all the way down to Green St. and Broad Street. The enviroment is quite at first in the Student Success Center because the students are not allowed there until school has ended. However when students are there you can hear all different sort of conversation happening and the center gets busy. The Student Success Center is much like a safe haven of sort.
ReplyDeleteBenjamin Franklin is on Broad Street and I drive in order to get there.Upon my arrival at my site there is a security guard sitting behind a desk at the front. The security guard ask who am I here to see and after he/she has confirmed with the individual I receive a visitor pass and sign in. The enviroment at the Student Success Center influences me to be productive while I am there. I try to anticipate questions any student may ask while I am there so that i can be prepared to answer.
The population I work with are freshmen and sophomores. I am not sure of there ages, but if I had to guess i would say between the ages of 13-15. I am not sure where the student are from neighborhood wise but would think that most are from the surrounding communities. Some of the defining characteristic of students and teachers that i have noticed is the relationship between the students and the staff.They respect the teachers and counselors. They seemed to have a well established boundary between. However, the students are able to have fun with them at the same time.vEveryone there is respectful, warm and welcoming. The students are not afriad to ask question especially to our unfamiliar faces.
My placement site is Treehouse Books. I leave my art class at 3 oclock and carry my big portfolio, art box and backpack up Norris, past a few not-so-nice streets. It's a little scary because the people I pass are intimidating and definitely not Temple students. I feel kind of unsafe seeing as I couldn't defend myself if anything were to happen because I have my hands so full. I just keep a brisk pace until I get there.
ReplyDeleteThe environment once I get there is quiet... a sort of calm before the storm. As elementary school lets out, kids from kindergarten through fifth grade, and a few middle school kids, come running in. Most are singing or talking loudly and are excited to be done with school. They are eager to have some unregulated time to themselves, but they know they have to get out their homework and get to work for the next couple of hours. I try to be the task manager to keep them focused.
There are two main instructors at Treehouse, Leigh and Dan. They kind of float around and oversee the activites. The kids know that they may be able to push me and the other tutors, but Dan and Leigh are in charge. Dan is a definite disciplinarian and Leigh is the peacekeeper. The kids know that what Leigh and Dan says goes; that they are the ultimate authority figures. I think I play a role a step below them as the actual practicing tutor. I look at it like they're the principles, I'm a teacher, and the kids are the students.
The don't exactly see us as teachers. I think this is because we dress casually and are closer to them in age. Also, the fact that we're new is license for them to break us in. Hopefully we can reach a happy medium where we remain relateable, yet still an authority figure.
-Rebecca Tokar
My placement site is Debergos Elementary school. It is bilingual school and is very clean and new looking. It is interesting, the kids are great and they are willing to learn. You can take broad street line to Lehigh and then the bus to the school. The students I work with are of Latino-American descent. They are eighth graders and the teacher is Latino as well.
ReplyDelete@ Rebecca Tokar, in time you will meet a medium with kids. They just need time to grow on you and the work that you do. If you stand your ground with kids they will respect you after a while.
ReplyDeleteMy placement site is Bache-Martin Elementary school, located at 22nd and Brown Streets. i have to transfer from the Broad Street subway to the rail to get there. The geographic location of the school is a bit confusing with two school buildings facing each other. One was the main building with the main office there and has a security guard sitting right next to the entrance. When we fist identify ourselves as AVID tutors, the security guard was looking at us as if we were speaking in foreign language. She was not expecting us or even know what AVID was. Even when we went to the main office, the staffs took a while to find the name of the AVID coordinator of the school.
ReplyDeleteThe classroom that i went to tutor is at the other building, there was no sign or anything to identify it. But we were able to tell that it is a school because of the loud noises that the students make. Our teacher, the AVID coordinator for this school is Ms. Asman. She is very nice and is always ready to answer any of our questions. Since our class time is right after lunch, the kids have problem with getting to class on time. They also have more energy than usual time of the day, Ms. Asman had to snap at the disrespectful students in the class many time before they settle in.
Once they did settled in, it becomes a lot easier to talk to them. The class is divided into 7th and 8th grade groups. I'm responsible for the 7th graders. They are much more respectful than the 8th graders when talking to me and Ms. Asman, but they have a bigger problem when it comes to concentrate with the work.
@ Rebecca Toker
ReplyDeleteI like how you put the different authority figures at Tree House in a hierarchical order. I think its interesting to talk about why the kids react to you [and the other tutors] differently than the two "principal" leaders you were talking about. I wonder if it has a lot to do with outward appearances, like clothing, as you mentioned. I wonder if you were able to dress differently, would the kids act differently? Do outward appearances make a large difference in the way kids interact with older figures? Hm.
I feel that I am also going to try to become more of an authoritative figure as we continue tutoring too. I think eventually you will find an equilibrium like I hope to too!
@Rebecca Tokar
ReplyDeleteI think that it's nice to have people you can turn to to be the authoritative figure for the children. We have that working at Ben Franklin too. I feel the same way you do as trying to reach a "happy medium" but still being able to lay down the rules. It's just a little different because high school kids are a little more rebellious. Hopefully soon, after the kids become more familiar with our faces they will gain a level of respect for you.
And as for the neighborhood situation, it does tend to get a little scary walking around that area but that's when you should worry the least because all of the children are traveling with you too!
@Ari Jones
ReplyDeleteI find its interesting that your school is a bilingual school. Have you encounter the situation where the kids stop focusing on the work and start talking to themselves in the other language? I have tutored in the past in my high school and have encountered this situation many times, it made me felt a little uncomfortable. What would you do to bring them back to focus on their work if you encounter something like this?
@ Ari Jones
ReplyDeleteDo you know any Spanish? I wonder what kind of implications may arise in a bi-lingual school if you are only fluent in Spanish. What qualifies a school as bi-lingual? -Are lessons taught in both English and Spanish?
I will be going to my site for the first time on Thursday and I cannot wait!
ReplyDeleteMy placement is at Benjamin Franklin High School in their student success center. My trip there is fairly simple. It consists of a short walk and a short subway ride. Thankfully, this placement site is located only a very short walk from the Spring Garden subway stop. In order to get into Benjamin Franklin High School, I have to sign in at a log. I am not sure what else we are supposed to do because between week one and week two it changed. The first week we didn't need a sticker, but this past week we did. The environment around and inside of Benjamin Franklin makes my time and trip there very enjoyable. This past week I walked in as a guard was escorting a student who started a fight out of the building. Personally, I thought it was cool to witness how smoothly the security guards handled the situation. It made me feel very safe to be in that school.
ReplyDeleteThe students I work with will be changing from week to week. They all will be in either 9th or 10th grade. Since Benjamin Franklin is a neighborhood high school, I would assume that all the students come from a the local area. The students who helped create our program and the supervisors of our program are all extremely nice and enjoyable to work with. We have only encountered one class from the school so I have no real opinion about them.
@Elizabeth Schaeffer
ReplyDeleteIt's really interesting that even though you do not personally know the students you're working with you know their neighborhood. I really hope that you can develop the kind of relationship the teacher has with the class with the students you'll be working with! Good luck!
My placement site is Bache Martin at Brown and 22nd, next to the state penitentiary. Linh and I took a subway, a trolley, and then walked a few blocks to finally arrive at the school. The penitentiary next to the school was at first intimidating, but it seems like an ok neighborhood. There are two buildings; the one our class is in is separate from the office. The first time we went, we signed in at the office, but we shouldn't need to do that every time.
ReplyDeleteI have a group of about 7 eighth graders. They are talkative and not always focused on the work, but when I gave them specific problems to work on, they all at least attempted to complete them. The teacher seems nice and willing to answer questions, but she has not given much guidance as to how we should organize the group. We have more freedom than I thought would be given.
@Jill
ReplyDeleteI hope the kids you work with will not need to be escorted out of the building. That is one possible challenge that I may too encounter. The kids I work with seem well behaved in that sense though, and so far have not caused any major problems.