For these are all of our children: Deerwood Elementary School

A few words from the late James Baldwin can sum up my experience at Deerwood elementary "for these are all of our children. We either 'profit by' or 'pay for' whatever they become" . I was afforded a good opportunity to partner with Deerwood elementary school's principal in order to prepare aspiring teachers to work in diverse settings. By all rights, Deerwood is considered a title one school. The students represented are from culturally diverse backgrounds, but the majority population is hispanic. The good thing about this experience is I get to volunteer with my students. The day was spent in a 3rd grade and 5th grade classroom working on math and reading skills. i also got to observe some of my university students in action. I have a class of 80 students. In the past, my students would volunteer at various sites in multiple school districts, so it was difficult to manage the quality of their service learning experiences. this partnership is an intentional strategy to monitor and assess students' preparedness to work in diverse settings. It is amazing to see how much the students at Deerwood enjoy working with UCF teacher candidates, and vice versa. Many of my students indicated that they would not have selected a school like Deerwood. Now, they get to see that parents send the best they have to our teachers and trust that the teachers will return their best. One of the most profound statements I heard today was "I don't know what I was thinking about a title one school, but kids are just kids. When I graduate, I want to work at a school like Deerwood, a school where I know they kids truly need me". I do not doubt that some schools are more challenging than others but I am a firm believer that if a teacher is ineffective with a certain population it's because he/she (1) does NOT want to work with that population or (2) can NOT work with that population. In most instances, the former statement is true.

STAR Teachers: Our Hope for Tomorrow

Wow! I have never encountered a more profound piece of literature than Haberman’s (2004) description of a Star teacher.  Every teacher should read this article and ask the question - Am I a STAR Teacher? And if the answer is no, then why am I choosing to not be? 

The article has so many nuggets but three particular attributes stood out to me, so much so that I held back tears as I reread the description of each. The first attribute of a Star teacher that I found particularly interesting were (1) Star teachers are nonjudgmental. Too often are students are victimized by their teachers own ethnocentric approaches to learning. As a guidance counselor, I often had teachers discuss aspects of a child’s home life that appeared to be judgmental and/or critical. I can recall one day we were giving out thanksgiving baskets and I wanted to decorate them in pretty baskets with colorful paper. One teacher asked why I put so much effort in the baskets rather than using the standard boxes left over from our copy paper. She further explained that the parents only wanted the gift card anyway. I wish she could have seen the gratitude expressed by the parents or read some of the thank you cards. Too often, teachers tend to ‘major in the minor’ and focus on things that are totally unrelated to learning and teaching. (2) Star Teachers respond as professionals and are not easily shocked- I really appreciate this attribute for sure. Teachers often respond in shock when they encounter aspects of their students’ home life that differ from their own or when they cannot relate to certain scenarios. Many students, for example, could encounter violence and/or crime on a regular basis. Teachers need to seek to broaden their world view and understand that life happens to all of us, in one form or another. My reality may not be my students’ reality, but I am wise enough to know that we all experience adversity in life. I am not too shocked when students share various experiences in their lives, families or neighborhoods.  (3) Teachers see themselves as teachers of children as well as teacher s of content. This attribute is most profound to me.  I am a firm believer that if you truly understand your role as a teacher, then you can teach any kid from any background. Haberman provides an effective strategy for doing so- taking charge of your own professional growth and development to ensure you have the skill set to work with the students you serve. 

All I can say is WOW! I wish every education major would begin their coursework with the heart and mind of a Star teacher- with the intent to enter this profession to truly serve All children well. I pray the day will come when teachers no longer prefer one type of classroom over another- a day when they understand the enormity of their responsibility enough to find a way to reach any kid who shows up to school.