#5: History of American Education

Obvious evidence of the Brown v. Board of Education case would include the differences in ethnicity among the students. The classroom is not exclusively white, and that is a direct result of this case.
I do not see any support for English learners, only because all of the students in my service learning placement speak English. However, there is a student who has moved from another country (as he told the class), and he has been supported through his learning about the American culture. The students and teacher treat him the same as they treat all of the other students.
I have not seen any science-related results of Sputnik. However, I have definitely noticed that the importance of learning material instead of merely memorizing it is greatly emphasized. Following Sputnik, the United States realized that we were failing to educate students about science. They figured that this was the reason that Russia was able to launch Sputnik into space before we had been able to do anything. As a result, they strengthened the science curriculum. I have noticed that my service learning teacher understands the importance that actually learning the subject matter holds, just like the government did following Sputnik.

#3: Creating Productive Learning Environments

My cooperative teacher has offered choice to students multiple times. This last Thursday, we were reviewing the three times table. My teacher noticed that one student was having a difficult time competing against two of her classmates in a game. She offered the student the choice to take a minute to study on her own for a few minutes before joining the game, or continue to play. She has also offered her class the opportunity to choose their own rewards for good behavior, which promotes the behavior because they specifically wanted it.

The cooperative teacher encourages a positive classroom community by often having her students work in teams to complete in-class assignments. In their reading center, they have the opportunity to discuss insights that they may have about the book they are reading, and they learn together as a group. She also scolds unkind behavior from student to student, and never tolerates it (as doing so would create the impression that such behavior was acceptable).

When it comes time to do Centers- which is around 2:50 every day- the schedule is the same. The same groups go to the same centers first, and then they rotate in the same order as well. Students know exactly where they should be, and when they should be there. This supports a productive learning environment because no time is wasted with the question "What do we do next? Where do we go?" I've looked at her class schedule on the whiteboard, and it is the same every day. This makes the most use of her time with the class as it prevents the need to ask what they are doing that day. Additionally, students are less distracted by daydreams of what they might do that day, because they already know. Through this consistent schedule, a lot is accomplished throughout each day.

#2: How People Learn

My teacher for my service learning placement seems to use the learning theory of constructivism most often. She was going over spelling one day, and she would have the students give her examples of words that they knew made the sounds she was discussing (i.e. "Do you know any words with an 'oa' that makes the long 'o' sound?") Still discussing the long 'o' sound, she asked, "Would you guys say, 'Look at the coo?" Referring to the word cow, if following the 'ow' makes the long 'o' rule. She uses real-life experiences in order to teach the students, and they are able to make connections and better learn the material that she is teaching.

Regarding the different developmental levels of her students, my teacher works with groups that are on the same level specifically. I was working with her in the Reading Center and she has three groups of students, each group having different levels of reading ability. For example, one group of three students reads a very basic children's book with simple words and a simpler plot. Then, she has a larger group which is reading a longer book with larger words. She works with each group on their level, and understands what they each need. We were discussing the differences of the groups and she said that she knows the higher group needs to develop better reading comprehension, while the lower group needs to focus on being able to read the words. She works with different learning preferences quite fluently- meaning that there isn't necessarily a distinct "And this is for the visual learners" moment. While she was going over spelling she drew a diagram of the 'oa' vowel pair in which they are both walking but 'o' is talking, in order to demonstrate the saying "When two vowels go walking, the first one does the talking." Then, she gave some auditory examples, such as 'boat', 'load', and other words, making sure to carefully emphasize the sounds such that they could be picked up on by the auditory learners.

#1: The School

The school that I intend to complete my service learning for this course is Bluffdale Elementary, in Bluffdale, Utah. It is just down the street from where I currently live, and my a few of my siblings have been attending Bluffdale for two years. Bluffdale Elementary was built in 1995, and served 914 students in the 2015-2016 school year. In this post, I'll include a picture of the boundaries as well as the school itself. The surrounding neighborhoods include families of all economic backgrounds- upper-class, middle-class, and families living in poverty. Parent involvement includes the same 5-10 parents per class taking care of each event (parties, PTA, assisting teachers, etc).

Some enrollment statistics include: 17.2 percent of students being in an ethnic minority. Of the 914 students enrolled in the last school year, 757 were Caucasian; 4 were Asian; 6 were Black; 93 were Hispanic; 41 were Multi Race; 12 were Pacific Islanders; and 1 student was American Indian. 2.5% of students were learning English as a second language, and 22.9% were economically disadvantaged. Bluffdale Elementary also offers a Portuguese Immersion program for students beginning in first grade in order to offer them a bilingual experience.  13.2% of students required special education (which Bluffdale has a Resource program for). Additionally, students with difficulties reading or learning math can attend Resource for extra help. The program also offers speech therapy as needed. By gender, there were 409 female students and 505 male students as of last year's records.

My understanding of the purpose of the service learning placement is that my discipline-based knowledge will be exercised and therefore enhanced, and that I will acquire a full understanding of the content that I learn throughout the course. I will be immersed in the subject and its application in the classroom as I observe teacher-student interactions. I will have the opportunity to strengthen the community, especially with the diversity at Bluffdale Elementary. I will gain a sense of responsibility to and engagement in the community of the school.

I look forward to the opportunity to appreciate the occupation of elementary school teacher, and to be able to decide if it is a job that I actually want to pursue. And so begins my adventure in education!

Front of Bluffdale Elementary