…in which I become “Miss Kim”…seriously?

Posted by: semmiekim | January 11, 2009

…in which I become “Miss Kim”…seriously?

Hello all, from your very own “Miss Kim.” Yep. I felt rather old and frumpy being introduced and called that name by the students (real students! how exciting!) but I think I’m sort of used to it now…

I’ve finished my first full week at school, and I’ve seen the whole system in action. Being a part of the “staff” is nice, all in all, but I never realized just how much work goes into being a teacher – that’s the main thought that kept running through my head this week. I don’t think it even matters if you’re a bad teacher or a good teacher – you still have to prepare. It’s just that bad teachers are probably the ones who don’t plan thoroughly, or their plans go awry, or something between the plans and the presentation to the class goes wrong. Also, being a teacher means that you’re expected to be a positive role model to all students 100% of the time – and that’s hard, particularly knowing what I know now. Teachers are not that old, and they’re real people, too! And it’s been very strange to be on the “other” side of the fence – not as the student, which I’m so used to, but as a teacher…sort of.

My first day at school, I met most everyone on the faculty at the copy machine (an awesome central location for early morning chats, by the way.) They were all so very warm and welcoming, extending invitations for me to come and observe their classes or even help out, and I felt reassured until I saw the kids pouring through hallways. I don’t know quite why I was so nervous/excited. The school is small enough that I obviously stood out, and I received some curious glances from the kids the first time I stepped out into the hall. Saying the Pledge of Allegiance and hearing morning announcements about “students who throw snowballs will receive lunch detention” brought back memories, and everything felt kind of surreal at that point. I was still trying to get over the fact that people who are only a few years older than I am were here, employed and trusted as individuals to help children learn and become better people.

I think I’m going to end up having some sort of spiel on what improvements could be made here in every post. There is no money. The facilities are okay, but the technological support is seriously lacking. There are rows of computers in each classroom, but maybe half of them are functional, and half of that number shut off randomly, or don’t read flash drives, or don’t print… On the other hand, a lot of money is simply thrown at problems. A number of individual PSPs (handheld electronic games) with reading/math games were given to our classroom. Pros: the students get really excited (like, amazingly hyper and happy) when they hear that they’ll be allowed to play games (albeit, learning games) and stay quiet for surprisingly long periods of time. Cons: the gap between new technology and teachers seems to widen every year (the teachers first need to learn how to work the games, what’s the best way to implement them, go through all the manuals, all while dealing with support teams from the tech side that are sometimes less than helpful), and when I asked the students how helpful the games were, they were a little ambivalent. It’s interesting because students lack basic skills in reading and math, and they’re offered all these technological advances – but do they really help, when the fundamentals don’t exist? I know that some of the Media Lab groups work on educational technology, and what they’ve produced (Legos, building toys) are wonderful – but it would seem to me that they only really benefit students with the basics under their belt, who can build on those skills. The level of learning here – in middle school – is almost inconceivable. In our classroom, we’re learning how to use a ruler, how to multiply and divide, how to add and subtract negative numbers, how to write improper fractions, how to convert decimals to fractions, how to read basic books…it’s atrocious. It really is. And it shouldn’t happen. I sometimes wonder how the students in eighth grade math got this far without learning how to subtract or multiply, and I thought I was too disappointed. However, when I talked to my host teacher, she agreed that proficiency levels were way, way behind other regions…and ultimately, that disparity is what TfA is trying to abolish.

It also seems that going to college is not a major motivator for students, for all the reasons cited in my last post. But then I met E, a fabulously bright young woman in the ninth grade, who excels in math and is interested in engineering. I was in our room, cutting out laminated flashcards, when another Corps teacher asked me to come and speak to a high school student who wanted to know more about college. I got really excited and happy, and when I met this girl, another teacher told me that she had done exceptionally on the math portion of a standardized test, and was interested in going to a large, well-known college – like MIT, in fact. She was interested in civil and mechanical engineering, and wanted to go far away for college, which is unusual, as most students who do go to university tend to stay in New Mexico or go to Arizona. I was so glad to talk to E about classes and how she should take charge of her education, regardless of what the administration thought. I’d really like to see her walking down the Infinite in a few years! A day later, another student who I’d met briefly (he was so cute, saying “Hi Miss Kim!” in the hallway) came in to the room during our prep period, which he also had free. This eighth grader, B, was interested in college as well, particularly law school – a great goal! So my host teacher sat him down and signed him up to be on the mailing list for a specific university (we had to make an e-mail account first.) These small events were so uplifting for me. I asked if the school had any sort of support team for college prep, and I think there are a few guidance counselors, and some staff who help with the college process. However, it appears that most of them are alumni of local schools (New Mexico and Arizona, mostly) and the option to go far away is not even really brought up – is this fair to the kids? I don’t think so. They should at the very least know that other choices and opportunities exist.

The most exciting and rewarding part of my week was watching the kids learn and retain new information, and seeing them open up to me, day by day. It’s also really nice to see the kids smile (and remember my name!) when I’m talking or reading to them; they asked me questions about where I was from, where I go to school, my family, and I learned a lot about the kids’ families, too. I just want to see them do well, and learn, and be happy. And feel proud of themselves.

It’s interesting to be a part of a very small town. We met two teachers, one of them from the elementary school, at a random stop at the post office, and everyone seems to know each other. (This may be a weird comparison, but it’s slightly reminiscent of the Little House on the Prairie – maybe it’s the landscape here.) It’s also interesting to listen to comparisons between really rural areas like this, and urban areas, like New Mexico. Educational policy and standards and practices should be different between different regions. Although schools in both settings have many discipline issues, it seems the causes are different according to where the schools are located. From my discussions with other teachers here, most altercations and behavior issues appear to stem from family or domestic violence/issues (though I think the age of the students is also a factor,) while in inner cities, teachers and students would most likely be in the direct line of fire. Both scary situations. There were apparently one or two fights a week in the middle school (where I am) at the beginning of the school year – and the only reason these don’t happen anymore is because those kids have been expelled. The high school apparently has security guards – I haven’t been there yet, but will be shadowing in a high school in another town for the last two weeks of January.

I’ve also had time to upload some of the many photos I’ve been snapping here. My backyard is a view of the lovely red rock that is all around, and most days, it’s perfectly clear (not a cloud in the sky) and about forty degrees here. Much of the snow hasn’t melted because we’re at high altitude, and most of the photos were taken when I went on a walk around the area on Friday. The last few photos are from a rug auction – held once a month at another elementary school – where artists display their crafts and many beautiful rugs are sold. It was my first time attending/participating in an auction, and it was really interesting – but I also made a fool of myself when bidding on a rug and I didn’t know how to use my number to indicate whether I was bidding or not…my host teacher and another Corps member we met up with had to help me, and I heard definite giggles from behind me (from the Navajo families who were there, I think) – I just hope it was good-natured laughter. I’m sorry that I can’t include any of the kids (for liability reasons) but enjoy the scenery! Be safe, and have a good week!