SL Blog 6 Prompt #7

As Kahne and Westheimer wrote in In The Service Of What? "...such service learning activities seek to promote students' self-esteem, to develop higher-order thinking skills, to make use of multiple abilities, and to provide authentic learning experiences" (2). My Service Learning Project experience has not only taught me intensive teaching skills and abilities, but has also shaped my teacher identity in many ways. After each visit to Edmund W. Flynn, I wrote in a journal to record important moments that occurred throughout my visit. In this post, I will take one moment out of each visit and explain how it has shaped my teacher identity.

On my 1st visit I observed the different physical, socioeconomic, sociocultural, ethnic, and linguistic characteristics that make up Edmund W. Flynn. When the kids went outside for recess, they were brought to an empty lot with a wire fence around it. This made me realize that all sociocultural characteristics effect how children learn. These students appreciate going out for recess, even if it is an empty lot with no playground equipment. This is something that White, upper-class, children would not stand for, because they take recess for granted. Delpit writes, "Children from middle-class homes tend to do better in school than those from non-middle-class homes because the culture of the school is based on the culture of the upper and middle classes-of those in power" (25). This experience has shaped my teacher identity because I now know that most textbooks and curriculum's are made for upper-class White students. As a teacher, I will have to make and teach lessons according to my student's cultural characteristics.

On my 2nd and 5th visit, I was confronted with a lesson that I was unsure how to explain to the struggling students. It seemed that every time I went to explain the directions of how to do fractions, I just confused the students more. I needed the teacher's help and this shaped my teacher identity because I realized that I won't always have the answer to everything. I also won't be able to always explain something, so there is always room for learning. If I ever get into a situation like this in my classroom, I will use resources such as textbooks and other, more experienced teachers to help me. I will always want to learn more skills that will help me teach my students.

On my 3rd visit, I listened to the way the teacher spoke to her students. Since I have always worked with younger kids than 4th grade, I seem to shorten big words to simplify what I am saying. The teacher used the word "paraphrase" and I found it interesting that the 4th graders knew what that word meant. This is similar to Delpit's theory in, The Silenced Dialogue. She writes that working-class children, and children of color, misinterpret what their teacher is saying because he/she is uneducated on how to speak to these kids. Therefore, not only was it interesting to listen to my teacher's vocabulary and tone of voice, but I also realized that my linguistic skills are a huge part of the classroom. I will have to know how to talk to all of my students in a way that they can understand, which will usually be a direct command.

On my 4th visit, I walked into the classroom and found that the desks were being moved into rows. The reason for this was to make the classroom more strict, and decrease the amount of unnecessary talking between the students. In Peterson's piece, Getting Your Classroom Together, he writes that the placement of desks determines the feeling of the entire classroom's environment. From this experience, I learned that I will have to create a classroom environment that is friendly, safe, and pleasurable to the students.

On my 6th, 7th, and 8th visit, I learned that personal experience will help shape your teacher identity. I saw one of the teachers telling a student that she didn't like him and that he was a bad kid. In this situation, I learned what not to do, because I would never say that to a student. I know what is appropriate to say to a student, and what is not. I also learned not to make assumptions about students, because every student has a personal history that will effect their learning.

In the end, I feel like this SL Project has really benefited me and helped shape my teacher identity. I want to be a culturally competent teacher and I hope that the skills and experiences I have gained from this SL project will help me do that. I still have to visit one more time at Edmund W. Flynn, but I know that whatever I encounter will help shape me teacher identity.