Today was my first day in Mrs. G's fifth grade classroom at Muldoon Elementary in Anchorage Alaska. This morning I arrived to be greeted by the principal herself in the office. The office staff of Muldoon consists of two ladies, which is a stark contrast to CVHS where I student teach, with five secretaries, not counting the administrative staff and their aides, student workers and volunteers. I got a quick tour of the K-6 school. Muldoon is a Title 1 school with 100% of the students getting free lunch. It is amazingly diverse, though Anchorage is more diverse than I ever would have thought. The school is about 1/3 white/Caucasian, 1/3 African American and 1/3 Native and Hmong. There are a few other nationalities strung through; a few Hungarians many many Pacific Islanders.
Mrs. G's classroom has 5 African American students, 5 Hmong students, 4 Caucasian students, a Samoan girl and about 4 Native Alaskans. It is a good mix of boys and girls, with slightly more ladies than gentlemen.
My first impressions of the school were that it was tidy, small, and very beautiful inside. Walking down the hall and into the entryway, there are two tall trees growing up to a skylight in the ceiling. The floor has permanent leaf impressions, filled in with colored material to look like fall leaves interspersed with the tiles. In the hall there is an amazing mix of artwork from the students, from “My little book of Kwanzaa” to a large paper mural of Raven stating “Share your treasures like Raven”.
According to yesterday's newspaper, the state of Alaska is second only to the state of Hawaii in diversity in the United States. It is easy to see this from the mix of students in the classroom. I was surprised to see that there were barely any Russian or Ukrainian students in the school, having grown up in Spokane where there was always a Russian-speaking student in class! One of our girls is from a Russian family, but does not speak the language in the home.
Today our students received the first letters back from their pen pals in New Mexico. 99.5% of the students in that school are bilingual, and our students were interested to find out that these students do not speak Spanish at school. The were also confused why the New Mexican students asked about Igloos and Eskimos and snow. Mrs. G (being from Texas and New Mexico herself and experiencing her first Alaskan winter) let them in on the fact that the “lower 48” does not know anything, in fact, about Alaska in most cases.
Today I spent most of the day observing student behavior and teaching style. Today was filled with much direct instruction. I, having never been in the 5th grade before, was amazed at the brevity with which they spend time on each activity, subject per day. Today was their first day back after break, so the energy level was low. Mrs. G uses mostly desist strategies when it comes to classroom management. Her students are mostly good, with the exception of one boy and one girl who have serious behavior issues that interfere with day-to-day learning for most students. Also, Mrs. G (who is an excellent teacher) has rooted out several gifted students, with which I will have the pleasure of training during my stay to work independently in literature groups. We are going to read Sounder, and I am a little bit nervous how to approach issues of slavery and oppression (not to mention frequent use of the “f-word”) with this age group.
After my first day with the kids, I can see how I will be challenged to love each and every one. Most students at Muldoon are suffering in some way or another, but the school seems to be a nurturing and safe place to learn. One of the students has already broken my heart. She is in foster care and struggles to get through the day without breaking down. With little stability at home, one wonders how she can be so resiliant and strong-I as an adult don't know how I would handle the same conditions.
My goal for tomorrow is to remember everyone's name. It is SO MUCH easier when you get to look at the same 21 kids all day, instead of trying to memorize 120. I also would like to re-learn some of my math facts along with the kids, since I am lacking elementary division skills. Who knew that my remedial math help would come in my 20's!!!!
I am so excited for the brand new day tomorrow. The weather is so cold here that the kids have to stay inside all day. People tend to get a little sick when the weather is 11 below in the middle of the “day”. The lack of light is strange, but doesn't seem to effect the kids. It just looks like dawn or dusk all day long, from about 9 am to 4 pm, when it begins to get dark.
Student names I know so far: Dallas, River, Anna, Elizabeth, DeCoursey, William, Peter, Ka, Merry, Ma (I don't know how to spell it), Damon, Carslile, Frank, Cody
Mrs. G's classroom has 5 African American students, 5 Hmong students, 4 Caucasian students, a Samoan girl and about 4 Native Alaskans. It is a good mix of boys and girls, with slightly more ladies than gentlemen.
My first impressions of the school were that it was tidy, small, and very beautiful inside. Walking down the hall and into the entryway, there are two tall trees growing up to a skylight in the ceiling. The floor has permanent leaf impressions, filled in with colored material to look like fall leaves interspersed with the tiles. In the hall there is an amazing mix of artwork from the students, from “My little book of Kwanzaa” to a large paper mural of Raven stating “Share your treasures like Raven”.
According to yesterday's newspaper, the state of Alaska is second only to the state of Hawaii in diversity in the United States. It is easy to see this from the mix of students in the classroom. I was surprised to see that there were barely any Russian or Ukrainian students in the school, having grown up in Spokane where there was always a Russian-speaking student in class! One of our girls is from a Russian family, but does not speak the language in the home.
Today our students received the first letters back from their pen pals in New Mexico. 99.5% of the students in that school are bilingual, and our students were interested to find out that these students do not speak Spanish at school. The were also confused why the New Mexican students asked about Igloos and Eskimos and snow. Mrs. G (being from Texas and New Mexico herself and experiencing her first Alaskan winter) let them in on the fact that the “lower 48” does not know anything, in fact, about Alaska in most cases.
Today I spent most of the day observing student behavior and teaching style. Today was filled with much direct instruction. I, having never been in the 5th grade before, was amazed at the brevity with which they spend time on each activity, subject per day. Today was their first day back after break, so the energy level was low. Mrs. G uses mostly desist strategies when it comes to classroom management. Her students are mostly good, with the exception of one boy and one girl who have serious behavior issues that interfere with day-to-day learning for most students. Also, Mrs. G (who is an excellent teacher) has rooted out several gifted students, with which I will have the pleasure of training during my stay to work independently in literature groups. We are going to read Sounder, and I am a little bit nervous how to approach issues of slavery and oppression (not to mention frequent use of the “f-word”) with this age group.
After my first day with the kids, I can see how I will be challenged to love each and every one. Most students at Muldoon are suffering in some way or another, but the school seems to be a nurturing and safe place to learn. One of the students has already broken my heart. She is in foster care and struggles to get through the day without breaking down. With little stability at home, one wonders how she can be so resiliant and strong-I as an adult don't know how I would handle the same conditions.
My goal for tomorrow is to remember everyone's name. It is SO MUCH easier when you get to look at the same 21 kids all day, instead of trying to memorize 120. I also would like to re-learn some of my math facts along with the kids, since I am lacking elementary division skills. Who knew that my remedial math help would come in my 20's!!!!
I am so excited for the brand new day tomorrow. The weather is so cold here that the kids have to stay inside all day. People tend to get a little sick when the weather is 11 below in the middle of the “day”. The lack of light is strange, but doesn't seem to effect the kids. It just looks like dawn or dusk all day long, from about 9 am to 4 pm, when it begins to get dark.
Student names I know so far: Dallas, River, Anna, Elizabeth, DeCoursey, William, Peter, Ka, Merry, Ma (I don't know how to spell it), Damon, Carslile, Frank, Cody
1 comment:
great to hear you are going well. I'm reading!
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