Phillip
Massa
March
20, 2012
Uy
Blog 7
For the second time I was able to
work with the Teen Coalition. Unlike, last time I didn’t feel as out of place.
Instead of trying to relate to African American culture in a program entitled “AfroNation”
I instead was able to help a particular student with her US History homework.
When I entered the Teen Coalition office I could see this young students eyes
light up as if she knew I was a “helper” from the University. All I could think
about however, was the drive over to the coalition headquarters and my thoughts
while doing it. I honestly had no desire to go and on the way over I kept reiterating
the reasons why I didn’t want to be there today. I had worked all morning at my
first job, and then attended to some recruiting work at my coaching job. When it
came to working with the teens I was mentally drained and wanted nothing else
but my own personal time.
However, when I began to interact
with this eager student, any negative thought regarding being with the Lowell
coalition for an hour was completely gone. It was refreshing to do something so
rewarding for both myself and the student. We went over her homework and I gave
her a couple potential techniques to simplify her home work and readings. As I was
aiding the student I couldn’t help but think about the article we read about
regarding care. Rosalie Rolon-Dow’s article discusses
the importance of critical care and its effects in student’s successes and
failures in an academic setting. One particular statement that stood out to me
regarding my experience today was, “[that] the care or rejection experienced by
Puerto Rican students in U.S. schools can have a significant impact on their
academic success or failure.” I couldn’t help but think of what a
teacher goes through every day and how exhausting our work is going to be. As
educators no matter how tired we are or worn down we feel, if we don’t give it
our best for our students they will suffer. They could suffer both academically
and emotionally. Rolon-Dow’s article point out that, many diverse students felt
as if their teachers didn’t care. As I mention in nearly every blog, we as
educators can’t have a positive learning environment unless we establish that
connection. For many students that connection will make or break their academic
careers.
It isn’t to say that we can’t have a
bad day, because surely we will all have our days of chaos. However, we must
understand that we set the tone and atmosphere for our classrooms. If we can
come in out room’s everyday with a smile on our face and project positivity into
our classrooms, then we are truly aren’t caring for our students. I truly am grateful
that I was able to work with this special student today, who forced me to have
this realization. I feel regenerated!
Phil, I had a similar experience when I went in last week. The day I was scheduled to go, I had been working all day and could barely keep my eyes open. But those kids really do make you want to be there. They're going through a period of their life where they're experiencing a lot of new things (college applications and visits, entering the work force, etc.) but they seem as though they're not phased by any of it. When I was going through that process, I felt completely overwhelmed. These kids embrace it and realize that it's a privilege that many people don't get to have. It's incredibly rare to find kids like that in schools, and we're lucky to be able to interact with them.
ReplyDeleteHi Phil,
ReplyDeleteI particularly liked the point you made regarding creating the "positive environment in the classrooms." I've found this to be very true.
There are teachers, you will find, who seem miserable (almost) every day you go to school; and, you'll find teachers who are inspired and energetic every day you go to school. Or, at least, that has become my experience.
It IS amazing what a joke can do. When we, as teachers, "break down" and laugh or smile, it energizes the whole class. It's great! It not only allows the students to see that we're human, but also that we're approachable.
It's these types of "regenerative" experiences like the one you mentioned that motivate me even more.