"Champion teachers know their students as much as they know the community they teach in." - Anonymous
The quote above has come to light for me this year now more than ever. The community I grew up in and the community that I began my teaching career is worlds apart from where I taught this past school year. Due to this inarguable fact, I learned the importance of the time and effort I must put in, in order to learn about the community I will be teaching in. Walking the sidewalks, visiting businesses, speaking with community leaders and parents, as well as inviting the community into the school for sporting activities have been a few ideas I have experienced or thought I could implement next year so that I can learn about our students through the community.
Back to school Bar-B-Q at Howe. The first opportunity residents and I had to interact and begin to understand the people in Austin, and our students.  COMMUNITY WALK 1 |  A team-building challenge that is aiming towards creating a respectful and safe community in physical education class for effective teaching and learning to take place. |
The power point below was created by a fellow resident and myself of the community of Austin. In this power point you will find pictures of the community that helped paint a picture of what the community looks like. This small presentation will also give you a brief look into the history of Austin, community resources, crime rates, as well as housing and businesses around the school. All this information is vital to the educator at Howe School of Excellence because having a stronger understanding of the culture around the school will give us a strong understanding of our students, where they live, and any challenges they may face. Using this information will help guide lesson planning, student interest in curriculum, and help build relationships with students to create a positive teaching and learning climate. |
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COMMUNITY WALK 2 The video below is a community walk presentation that was put together by the MED residents at Howe SOE. Our intent with this second community walk was to show an average school day of an excellent student at Howe, while making connections to readings from our Politics and Policy of Urban Education class. One connection that was brought to light after working on this project was the effort that is put in by the staff and faculty at Howe SOE to spark parent involvement and create community backing the the school's efforts of reform. During year 1 of the Howe turnaround there was a lot of push back from the community because of the politics that goes into turning around a school, but the efforts of the collective group at Howe has turn pushback into parent and community support. |
NLU COURSEWORK - CULTURALLY RESPONSIVE CLASSROOM REFLECTION The reflection paper below was an effort to show our takeaways from our culturally responsive classroom course during the summer of 2012. We were to share our major points that we took away from discussions and readings and make a connection to our personal experiences and how we will create a culturally responsive classroom. One main point that I took away is to being honest with our own cultural and views we have on other cultures. Being honest in this way gives a sense of realism and openness that we must have so we can find connections we can make with our students. Another main point that I made was from a book that I read that followed two 5th grade African-American boys through their daily lives of living on the South Side of Chicago. The book was titled "Our America: Life and Death on the South Side of Chicago". Included in my reflection were ways that I would create a culturally responsive classroom. Creating lessons that focused on teambuilding at the beginning of the year, as well as dance lessons that incorporate music and dances that would spark student interest. Posting quotes, posters of athletes, and sports that the student can relate to are other ways that I will create a culturally responsive classroom. |
 Churches seemed to be everywhere we turned as we did our school community walk. Later I learned that religion is a value they hold high in our community, something I really relate to. | Work days were longer but staying after for sporting events made the work days more valuable. I interacted with community members and students in ways that I would not have if it weren't for after school sports. A fun time and educational time to learn even more about my community.  |
