When you go to college...

The school that I am working at has about eighty students with 10-15 per class (at least in the two I work with). I rarely hear voices raised (by the teachers or the students) which is a change from other schools I have been at. In fact, this school is just kind of relaxed and quiet. Sometimes I feel very out of place – I don’t know where I am supposed to be or what they would like me to do. The teachers do not delegate responsibilities to me and don’t seem to find it odd if I roam from class to class without explanation. I am sure that I will start figuring it out eventually. I guess a lot of that will be me getting used to the routine and classroom/school norms.

I think one of the funniest experience that I've had involves expectations of how things are to run in the classrooms. After lunch one day the teacher decided to read a book out-loud. The expectations I have in this situations include the reader sitting in front of those being read to and those being read to sitting quietly, hands in laps, with their attention focused forward. Well, as the teacher began reading the students were wandering around, reading their own books, working on the computer or their own homework. As this was happening every fiber of my being was stressing out. I think the thing about this situation that was the most surprising was the fact that the teacher was reading one of my favorite books - Maniac McGee. I have since realized that read out-loud times are intended for students to have some free time during the school day and that students are not being disrespectful by working on their own work during this time.

The students seem to still be aware of the presence of guests in the school. The three of us are treated somewhat as a novelty by the students and the staff, though more so the students. Sitting by me seems to be a special thing. Something else I noticed today, during silent reading, was the fact that certain students watched me out of the corner of their eyes, whispering to one another when they noticed me looking their way. “She is looking at us,” I heard one of them say as they all turned a little red and giggled silently. At lunch time one student waited until all of the people sitting around me had left, then sat himself down and starting talking about whatever came to his mind. Another student (younger) walked up to him and teased him saying that I was his girlfriend. I cleared up the apparent misunderstanding quickly, of course. ☺ I have to admit that it’s kind of nice being a novelty and receiving special attention. I know it will wear off eventually and it will be interesting to see how things develop over the course of my time here.

The three of us were able to spend some time talking with the school counselor about the students: our observations and his thoughts. One of the things he said (which I have heard multiple times in the past three days) is that this school is a haven for most of these kids. Teachers who raise their voice, or are “not kind”, do not have a place here. It made me think of a student who said, “I get yelled at enough at home, I don’t need it here.” Another thing the counselor mentioned was setting expectations high for the students. Really simple things like saying, "When you go to college..." can be extremely encouraging for these students who probably don't even think about college. I want to show love to these kids. I want to give them everything that I can for them to… succeed. No, that’s not the right term… for them to be able to live life to the fullest – with joy, knowing that they are worth-while, and having encouragement to keep working/honing their skills. Do you know what I mean? I know that I cannot be everything to everyone and that I’m certainly not the answer to all of the problems these kids might have but… I do want to make the most of the opportunities I have.