I.LOVE.KIDS!
Not only is playing kickball or dolls with them exciting, so is assisting them in understanding a concept and catering to their curiosity. Their curiosity is what attracts me to becoming a teacher, and this is why I am an education major at Saint Norbert College. Additionally, interacting with children in Mexico attracted me to minor in Spanish as well as English as a Second Language. When I graduate, my certifications will qualify me to begin my work within school districts with a variety of students. However, experience is just as important as an education when desiring to become a teacher.
At the end of fall semester 2019, a gentleman came into my Educational Psychology class and shared with us the program he works through that allows students pursuing education to gain urban teaching experience. This program is the Center for Urban Teaching (Cfut) based out of Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Before his presentation, my professor had us view a video of how a teacher participating in the Cfut program conducted her classroom, and I was fascinated by the attentiveness of the students because of their desire to learn. They were consistently engaged in the lesson, and the teacher maintained their attention by utilizing several different clapping exercises at random times throughout the lesson the children copied as well as call-and-responses to break up the lesson. Upon viewing the video, I concluded that was the type of classroom dynamic I want to create someday. But, how would I do that? What were my next steps?
My classmates and I did not know the gentleman was going to be coming into our Educational Psychology course to speak to us about his program, but I am so glad that he did! The Center for Urban Teaching is doing some amazing work within Milwaukee schools! I am going to share the insight I gained about the Cfut program from his presentation and handouts because if you are an education major too, you may be interested in an experience such as this!
The Center for Urban Teaching was established to identify the growing needs of students and teachers within urban classrooms, prepare teachers for the classroom setting in which they will engage in, and support those teachers in their beginning steps. The Center for Urban Teaching has five core values. These I found to be unique and non-traditional to what other programs identify and base their foundations from. The Cfut program is first and foremost Christ-centered. They believe faith in Christ allows teachers to demonstrate unconditional love to students and guide our work in the classroom. I agree with this 100%! The program’s second value is to be relational, and its third is to be joyful. With relational and joyful attitudes, teachers will create positive learning environments, be willing to embrace educational risks and face adversity for the sake of themselves and their students, and demonstrate hope, passion, and energy. The fourth value is to be courageous. Teaching is not simple. We are amidst an educational crisis, and as teachers, we are expected to not only meet our students’ educational needs but also mental, emotional, social, and some physical needs. More simply, our students are like our kids, and we are responsible for their wellbeing. Obstacles in each of these areas within urban students’ lives are negatively impacting their academic performance, and teachers need to be willing to do whatever it takes to see their students succeed. Lastly, their fifth value is to be dedicated to high performance. Teacher quality is an essential aspect of student performance. So we need to professionally develop to continue to build our leadership abilities and understand how to best reach students.
The Center for Urban Teaching has experienced great achievement in the schools they work within, and learning of this as well as understanding their core values, I became very intrigued with the program. After the gentleman presented to my class, I met with him afterward to receive more information, and a few days later I had a conversation with him on the phone. My conversation with him turned into a phone interview, and at the end of our phone call, I was accepted into the program! My next step: to tour a Milwaukee school in which the Cfut program is working within.
On January 13, 2020, I took a trip down to Milwaukee to tour Shining Star School Christian School, and the experience was amazing! The tour began when the school day started, but the way Shining Star began their school week was very different from how mine began when I was in elementary school. All the students filed into the hallway for an assembly and took a seat up against the walls with their class. The students did this in a very organized and efficient manner. Very little joking matter took place, and they appeared to be eager for what was to come next. When everyone was present, one of the teachers stepped into the hall and led a ‘good morning’ chant in which all the students engaged. I loved this chant because all the students were excited to partake in it, and it taught them how to spell good morning as well as what it meant in Spanish. The chant was the following:
“G-O-O-D-M-O-R-N-I-N-G good morning (3 claps) good morning (3 claps). G-O-O-D-M-O-R-N-I-N-G good morning (3 claps) good morning (3 claps). Morning, morning, morning, morning, good. Buenos días! (jazz hands)”
After the chant, the teacher shared announcements with the students about their academic week. By doing this, students understood what was going to be expected of them for the week and other fun events that were taking place. When the assembly concluded, the students and teachers returned to their classrooms, and instructional time began. From here, I was led through each classroom (PreK-8th grade) to observe class dynamics. I cannot express how fascinating it was to observe the teachers at Shining Star School by how they engaged their students and excited them to learn. Here are some key observations I made:
- Student-led review sessions: Kids will embrace the opportunity to lead class review sessions, so select a student to facilitate a call-and-response activity for the rest of the class and content will be reviewed in an engaging way (example: site word review). Doing this, leadership is practiced. I witnessed this in a kindergarten classroom; therefore, all ages can do so.
- Begin the day lightly: Allow students to share what has been taking place within their lives if they would like to. This encourages a positive classroom environment and helps establish relationships. Students will also be in a better mindset to begin “growing their brains” that day.
- Create learning stations in lessons: In the 3rd and 4th-grade classroom, the teacher broke the students up into three groups for math and assigned them each to a different station. These stations included a computer activity, teacher instruction, and paper practice with extra problems. Doing this, students received variety, and the time was broken up for more effective learning because students were engaged in the instructional differentiation.
- Require students to answer in complete sentences: In one of the classrooms, the teacher would not allow her students to answer a question in an incomplete sentence. She claims students will write how they speak; therefore, it is important to require them to speak more sophisticatedly so that they write in that way.
- Communicate time in transitions: When transitioning from one activity to the next, only allow students a certain amount of time so that they do not become off task. For example, when transitioning from their desks to the carpet, tell the students they have 30 seconds to put their materials away and join you at the carpet. Additionally, verbally counting down will cause students to be more efficient in the transition process.
- Enforce the POWER OF YET!: Remind students that they may not understand a concept “yet”, but they will, and you are going to help them. This is better than a student hearing that they are failing to meet a standard or understand a concept or viewing an F on their report card. Overall, it is less degrading. For more explanation of the foundation of this idea, see my post on Carol Dweck’s Yet and Not Yet theory.
- Call on students whose hands are not raised: Calling on students who do not have their hands encourages the entire class to be engaged. You already know which students are active in your lesson because they want to answer questions. Their hands are raised. So, call on those who may be “checked out”. You are not being mean, you want to see everyone learn. So, make it happen by being inclusive of everyone.
- Give “wait times” after asking a question: Do not expect your students to have an answer to a question you ask immediately after you ask it. Allow the students to gather their thoughts and consider how they would like to respond. This will allow the class to discuss topics in greater depth and less tense. Students will not feel the pressure to share something that is not entirely thought through, and their response may also then be incorrect. Silence often makes us uncomfortable; however, it encourages reflection.
There are so many other points I noted from my tour at Shining Star in Milwaukee, but this post is getting long. I do want to make note that some take-aways I made may seem to be something obvious to implement within the classroom, but when one is put in the position to teach a group of students it is not as obvious. Shining Star Christian School has become a gem from the work the Center for Urban Teaching is doing within it! And, their work is inspiring me to become the best teacher possible. Go check them out!
Photo Credit to: https://www.antiochfoundation.org/grant-highlights
