Reflection
Although I was only at Western International High School for a relatively short amount of time, I was able to observe and analyze Christina on a variety of different levels. By simply talking to her and having her fill out a literacy survey, I was able to learn many things about Christina, and what I could do as a teacher to help her improve academically. Through my observations, I learned that Christina is a very outgoing, talkative student, who would benefit from more group activities and discussion; I learned that she prefers texts that really make her think, and that she is willing to put in extra time and effort researching a topic she finds interesting and thought-provoking; I learned that despite her high literacy skills, Christina has difficulty learning new vocabulary words and placing them within the larger context of concepts and ideas. I learned that she is a good reader, a good thinker, a good analyzer; but then, I also learned that she often has difficulty making connections between ideas. I learned that she reads the newspaper every day and that she reads historical fiction novels outside of school. I learned that her family is very important to her, and that she will be the first person in her family to go to college. I learned that she is a hard-working, responsible, and dedicated seventeen-year-old young woman, who has very high expectations of herself.
While it is not reasonable to expect teachers to get to know their students on such a personal level as I was able to (through my observations, survey, and interview), it is important for teachers to make an effort to learn about their students. For example, passing out a survey at the beginning of the school year—where students answer basic questions about their home life, their strengths and weaknesses as a student, and their interests—would be an effective and efficient way for a teacher to gain knowledge and understanding of the students.
Ultimately, this experience has taught me the value of knowing your students. By recognizing their strengths and weaknesses, and more specifically, what accounts for those strengths and weaknesses, I will be able to teach my students more effectively. Often, and especially in a school like Western International High School where there are many struggling students, exceptional students like Christina are often overlooked. For example, it would be very easy for a teacher to give Christina a high score on her essay and move on to the next student’s essay without investigating what specific things Christina could improve upon; it would also be very easy for a teacher to recognize Christina’s high reading comprehension, but not realize her difficulty in learning new vocabulary words. Thus, it is important for me as a future teacher to respond to the needs of all students and help all students improve and grow academically.
While it is not reasonable to expect teachers to get to know their students on such a personal level as I was able to (through my observations, survey, and interview), it is important for teachers to make an effort to learn about their students. For example, passing out a survey at the beginning of the school year—where students answer basic questions about their home life, their strengths and weaknesses as a student, and their interests—would be an effective and efficient way for a teacher to gain knowledge and understanding of the students.
Ultimately, this experience has taught me the value of knowing your students. By recognizing their strengths and weaknesses, and more specifically, what accounts for those strengths and weaknesses, I will be able to teach my students more effectively. Often, and especially in a school like Western International High School where there are many struggling students, exceptional students like Christina are often overlooked. For example, it would be very easy for a teacher to give Christina a high score on her essay and move on to the next student’s essay without investigating what specific things Christina could improve upon; it would also be very easy for a teacher to recognize Christina’s high reading comprehension, but not realize her difficulty in learning new vocabulary words. Thus, it is important for me as a future teacher to respond to the needs of all students and help all students improve and grow academically.