Prompt #1 Dewey Shor
They say that first impressions are the most important ones. When I first showed up to my service learning project school this was certainly true. Although the neighborhood seemed to be filled with well kept homes, and I was able to find a parking spot which is very important to me, the building itself looked old and was not in the best of shape. This conclusion was later confirmed by observation when I walked in. As I drove up, the sheer size of this elementary school amazed me. It seemed bigger than the High School of my town. I wasn't in Kansas any more, but rather in the big city. This was the first of many culture shocks for me.
The classroom was way down in the basement. As one of the students led to it my earlier suspicions were confirmed. There were missing ceiling tiles, and some sections of the hallways were colder than others, while the classroom itself was so warm the teacher commented on how hot it was. This, in combination with the ancient radiators, led me to believe that the heating system was antiquated. In order to reach the classroom we had to go up and back down several sets of stairs. This school was not exactly handicap accessible or even user friendly. Of course the students were much younger and in better shape than I was. As we went down into the basement, I had the distinct feeling of going down into a dungeon. Finally, we arrived at the classroom, which appeared to be tucked into the basement corner of the school.
As I entered the room at the designated time, the class was already in progress. The students were seated in rows of desks and the teacher was at the front board discussing areas of triangles. Yes, this was a sixth grade math class. The rows of desks were finally something I could relate to. It was explained to me that prior to school vacation that we were the first day back from, there were tables instead of desks. The change was made, I was told by the teacher, to facilitate learning, because it was felt that the students weren't able to pay as close attention. I speculated that, at tables, the students were all facing different directions, which would facilitate communication between them (meaning side conversations), and that some of them would have their backs to the front of the room. Of course, Dewey would like the tables, because this would, according to him, facilitate interactive learning. So would Shor, with his emphasis on participatory learning.
Around the walls of the room were all kinds of math aids. These included geometric shapes with perimeter and area formulas, a chart with basic math rules, a digits chart, a multiplication chart and multiplication flash cards on a side table, and a map of the USA with state populations and other information. There was a computer on the teachers' small back corner desk, as well a second computer in the diagonally opposite front corner of the room. In addition, there was an overhead projector that the teacher used in addition to the front almost full wall length chalk board.
The students were more unruly that I thought they would be, but this might be explained by the fact that they were just returning from vacation. As I moved around the room helping tutor the students I was amazed at how many struggled with simple division and even multiplication. Remember, this was sixth grade, and those basic math skills should have been learned in the third grade.
In spite of these limitations, both physical plant and academic, most of the students seemed to want to learn and in fact were learning. There did seem to be a gender bias, however, the girls seemed to be more in tune than the boys. At least math education was being valued by the majority.
They say that first impressions are the most important ones. When I first showed up to my service learning project school this was certainly true. Although the neighborhood seemed to be filled with well kept homes, and I was able to find a parking spot which is very important to me, the building itself looked old and was not in the best of shape. This conclusion was later confirmed by observation when I walked in. As I drove up, the sheer size of this elementary school amazed me. It seemed bigger than the High School of my town. I wasn't in Kansas any more, but rather in the big city. This was the first of many culture shocks for me.
The classroom was way down in the basement. As one of the students led to it my earlier suspicions were confirmed. There were missing ceiling tiles, and some sections of the hallways were colder than others, while the classroom itself was so warm the teacher commented on how hot it was. This, in combination with the ancient radiators, led me to believe that the heating system was antiquated. In order to reach the classroom we had to go up and back down several sets of stairs. This school was not exactly handicap accessible or even user friendly. Of course the students were much younger and in better shape than I was. As we went down into the basement, I had the distinct feeling of going down into a dungeon. Finally, we arrived at the classroom, which appeared to be tucked into the basement corner of the school.
As I entered the room at the designated time, the class was already in progress. The students were seated in rows of desks and the teacher was at the front board discussing areas of triangles. Yes, this was a sixth grade math class. The rows of desks were finally something I could relate to. It was explained to me that prior to school vacation that we were the first day back from, there were tables instead of desks. The change was made, I was told by the teacher, to facilitate learning, because it was felt that the students weren't able to pay as close attention. I speculated that, at tables, the students were all facing different directions, which would facilitate communication between them (meaning side conversations), and that some of them would have their backs to the front of the room. Of course, Dewey would like the tables, because this would, according to him, facilitate interactive learning. So would Shor, with his emphasis on participatory learning.
Around the walls of the room were all kinds of math aids. These included geometric shapes with perimeter and area formulas, a chart with basic math rules, a digits chart, a multiplication chart and multiplication flash cards on a side table, and a map of the USA with state populations and other information. There was a computer on the teachers' small back corner desk, as well a second computer in the diagonally opposite front corner of the room. In addition, there was an overhead projector that the teacher used in addition to the front almost full wall length chalk board.
The students were more unruly that I thought they would be, but this might be explained by the fact that they were just returning from vacation. As I moved around the room helping tutor the students I was amazed at how many struggled with simple division and even multiplication. Remember, this was sixth grade, and those basic math skills should have been learned in the third grade.
In spite of these limitations, both physical plant and academic, most of the students seemed to want to learn and in fact were learning. There did seem to be a gender bias, however, the girls seemed to be more in tune than the boys. At least math education was being valued by the majority.
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