Does School Culture Affect Student Learning?

As I reflect upon school culture, I think about the way that things are done in any given school.  A school’s climate is all the positive and negative interactions among all people at the school in a given day.  It is the values, traditions, beliefs, rituals and norms that have been introduced and practiced over time. By "all the people at the school" I mean the principal, academic coordinators, teachers, students, and families. I feel that the principal is the leader who creates procedures and communicates the vision for the school, sets high standards for student learning, and makes expectations clear to teachers for meeting academic achievement goals, the school is more likely to be high achieving.  According to Wong & Wong school that are effective have a culture that is based on their beliefs and practices. (2009, pg. 328)  I believe that it is important for teachers to create a learner-centered environment.  An environment in which learning is personalized, collaborative, relevant, and flexible.   Teachers should know their students as individuals, understand their strengths, needs, and learning styles, and be able to differentiate the ways they learn grade level content.

The school I am currently teaching at in Watsonville, CA is committed, passionate, collaborative, responsive, and  has a wonderful mix of culturally and linguistically diverse educators with great intellectual capacity.  I feel that all of these attributes positively affect student learning. Personally, I aim to motivate my students to use their skills in order to make a difference in their community and the world.  "It is not money, class size, or a new textbook that determines the success of a group of teachers or the esteem in which they are held.  It is culture."  (Wong & Wong, pg. 315) 

 

Chinese New Year Parade

This past week, all 5 Kinder classes joined together for a Chinese New Year dragon parade. This was a wonderful opportunity to teach the students about the Chinese zodiac, culture and symbolism of this celebration. I recommend reading "Dragon Dance" - A Chinese New Year Lift-the-Flap Book by Joan Holub, Benrei Huang. This book was a great resource to share with the students about the beauty and tradition behind the dragon dance. We also shared some Chinese food and listened to dragon dance music. The children really enjoyed this unit. I even heard one student say, "this was the best day ever!" as he was leaving to go home with his father. We had a great time celebrating the lunar calendar in Watsonville, CA.

A Way to Show Thanks on Valentines Day

Every year I'm showered in gifts and Valentine's cards from my sweet students. This year I decided to display all the cards I received on a big heart which will be displayed in my classroom. I will be creating a math lesson out of this too. I think this is a wonderful way to show my students that I'm thankful for all that they give me. Valentine's Day has become a holiday to commercialize LOVE. I personally like the homemade Valentines the best, and try to remind my students that we should be kind, friendly, thoughtful, and helpful everyday!

Reflection On How To Be An Effective Teacher?

I believe that there are many traits that an effective teacher possesses.  Teaching is one of the most complicated jobs today.  It requires a solid and broad knowledge of subject matter, curriculum and standards; enthusiasm, patience, a love of learning, management techniques, a desire to make a difference in the lives of young and old people, a caring attitude, and a passion to share knowledge.  Harry and Rosemary Wong describe three characteristics of an effective teacher in their book, "The First Days of School":

1)  Has positive expectations for student success.
2)  Is an extremely good classroom manager.
3)  Knows how to design lessons for student mastery. 

I agree with the points that they have summarized.  I feel that great teachers set high expectations for all students.  They expect that all students can and will achieve in their classroom and an effective teacher does not give up on the students that are "underachievers".  Often times, it is these students that are having difficulty that need the most attention and guidance.  I also feel that an effective teacher knows how to organize students, space, time and materials so that optimal student leaning can occur.  This is the heart and soul of classroom management.  Great teachers are prepared and organized.  They are in their classrooms early and ready to teach.  They present lessons in a clear and structured way.  Their classroom are organized in such a way as to minimize distractions.  Effective teachers have clear, written-out objectives that give students a clear idea of what they will be learning, what the assignments are and what the grading policy is.  Lessons should be engaging, lively, fun, and interesting.  I feel that effective teachers us facts as a starting point, they ask "why" questions, help the students view all sides and urge students to predict what will happen next.  Lessons should engage the whole class, and should not be dominated by just a few students.  Effective teachers are warm, enthusiastic and caring.  They reach out to parents and communicate frequently.  To grow as a teacher I hope to spend time continuing to gain new knowledge to share with my students. 

Currently, I am in a full time contract teaching Kindergarten at Starlight Elementary in Watsonville, CA.  I am having so much fun with this position.  My students are amazing.  I have been with them since the beginning of the year and it is really wonderful to see that they are starting to understand what the purpose of the alphabet is and how their letter sounds can be used to blend and read words.  My students are READING!  It is so amazing!  This is the just the beginning of their little school careers.  They are learning how to be friends with one another, how to be kind, express their feelings, and how to behave appropriately.  I love my current position.  As I reflect about my classroom, I feel that I could use more support from parents or a teacher aide.  With all the budget cuts, I currently don't have any extra help.  Kindergartners needs a great deal of one-on-one support and attention.  Sometimes I feel that if I have one extra hand in my classroom, I could give the students the attention they need.  Just recently, I had volunteer Grandpa join my classroom.  He has been really helpful and is so sweet with the students.  My kiddos love having their own "Grandpa" in the class too.  He just started this week so hopefully this will be the support that I need.  I will keep you posted. 

A lot to do in a little bit of time

I've been looking over my calendar and am feeling a bit overwhelmed about the next four months. Teaching full time, completing my student teaching requirements, finishing up my Masters capstone final project, continuing to train in capoeira, and launching my new photo booth business. Phhheeewwww......that was a mouthful. But hey, at least I know my life is mot boring and filled with lots of excitement and achievements! It's time to grab the bull by the horns and enjoy the ride.