azacarias's blog

Allison Zacarias

Education 200

Alice Lesnick

March 25, 2013

I am at an after school program in a city on the outskirts of Philadelphia which is not a conventional praxis because I do not observe a classroom/teacher. Instead I work as a tutor with first and second graders. Our schedule and routine is very consistent every week. First there is circle time, then the students do their homework, they work on a vocabulary/reading on-line program (Lexia), read for about 20 minutes, and then they can do whatever activity they would like.

Recently I have been working with a new student. Her name is Silvia and she is a 6-year-old Mexican-American first grader. Immediately I felt gravitated towards her because I saw a little bit of myself in her. I saw a very young Latina student that has mastered (as much as a 6-year-old can) the Spanish language and is now mastering the English language. When I introduced myself to her the coordinator (Mirtle) of the after school program (GEER) told Silvia, “Silvia, did you know that Allison speaks Spanish.” Silvia turned to me with a big smile and said, “Say something in Spanish.” When I did she looked over to Mirtle with a surprised/excited look. I have been trying to build a relationship with Silvia in which she feels comfortable telling me and showing me what she knows, does not know, and what she may need help with.

Allison Zacarias

Education 200

Professor Lesnick

February 20, 2013

Paper 2

The relationship between teaching and learning

 There needs to be a relationship between students and teachers in order for there to exist a correct form of teaching and learning. A person can be labeled as a teacher simply because they have received the training for it but it does not mean that they know or are able to teach and have their students learn. Teaching is a learning experience where different skills are gained through the formation of relationships with students and the ability to learn from them. Freire says the following, “Whoever teaches learns in the act of teaching, and whoever learns teaches in the act of learning” (31). The way that relationships between students and teachers should form is through the acknowledgement that each person is an individual and should not be seen as a whole or as a generalized group. When teachers learn about and from their students they are able to realize that in order for the students to learn they need to teach their teachers about the way in which they learn.

Table of contents

1. First grade: Special Education class- separated but equal
2. Second to fourth grade: You’re on your own
3. Fifth to eighth grade: I think I get it
4. High school: Graduate and go to college- that’s what I have to do, thanks for telling me

Chapter 4

High School Freshman English class: Uncontrollable

We were “that class” to her: the class that was loud, annoying, a pain, uneducated, ill mannered, and overwhelmingly tiring. And she was “that teacher” to us. She was angry, annoyed, and exhausted. Most importantly she didn’t like us. She looked like she hated her life, her job, and us. She was my 9th grade English teacher and although I was quiet, reserved, and studious to her I was part of “that class.” I was ignored because she had to control the bad students. Which weren’t bad students at all. They were just tired of being enclosed in a building for so many hours of the day, they were tired of being yelled at, they were tired of having teachers that didn’t believe they were smart or capable of doing anything, and they were tired of not getting what they deserved our of the Lynn public school system.