Teaching in Urban Environment

Before I began to teach I always had a high revere for educators. Teaching is definitely a highly respected job where they do not get compensated their worth considering what other professionals get paid. Since I was at a crossroad in my career I considered my options. I had a Bachelor degree which is the foundation for most careers. I trained (educated) most of the employees from my department. I have always liked children and young adults so going into the teaching field was an easy transition from corporate America. I thought teaching was going to be a breeze. I was sadly mistaken.

I began substituting at an elementary school in a low income area where there was a high need for teachers. I thought since I am a person of color I would have something in common with these students in order to have some sense of stability in the class. At first this thought mode worked for a class or two but if a teacher does not have academic work readily available for these students, things can go hay wire in a blink of an eye. These children were not disciplined and teachers usually did not leave work when they were absent. Since I was just starting, at times I was stressed out trying to figure what these students could do besides "free time". Free time in this day and age is totally unacceptable. So I spoke with the other teachers in the school to give me pointers and did research on my own. I did not realize how much work is put into a class lesson or the fundamentals behind discipline. After substitute teaching and taking educational courses in a Masters program, I became conscious of the psychological aspects of teaching since some students are at times disrespectful or vulgar. Usually there is something behind these students' actions but if they are busy with interesting academic work more than likely a student will not lash out.

If I could turn back the hands of time I would definitely do some things differently. Instead of vying for so much assistance on lesson plans I should have done more research. After taking courses and doing the research I believe there are a number of different practices that work in educating and assessing general and disabled school students that I never considered before. Over the years researchers and educators have tried a number of ways to facilitate learning. I found a number of these tactics to work with my previous and present students. In addition there is definitely a difference in a substitute teacher than a placed teacher with an ongoing class. With a substitute the students know it is temporary and do not usually have a high regard for those trying to get into the profession. Being a teacher with a class from the start of the school year gives not only the student but also the teacher a sense of stability.

For starters an educational profile is essential in getting to know students for proper placement. This is fundamental for an educator to know students' academic standing, and what type of instruction this particular student may need. Starting as a substitute I knew nothing about the Individual Educational Profiles which are located in the classroom or in the dean's office of every special education student. This would have been very helpful when conducting special education class on long term assignments. If this is a general education class this may be a bit difficult if this is not your schools policy to have student portfolios but you could easily have a very brief meeting with the students' parents or guardians to get a background on the student other than their grades. Instead of having boring lesson plans where the students would act out I now know that hands on learning which uses all kinetic forms of learning is a fun, innovative way to facilitate learning objectives and outcomes. This allows the student and educators the same to discover and appreciate the task at hand, whether it's a fossil dig or computer instruction. Instead of grading papers and handing them back, portfolios are also a grand way for students to see their progress of learning. This allows the student to take responsibility in their learning development. Upon assessing the portfolio the student will have an exchange of ideas on how they can improve in that particular subject. A portfolio also gives the student some power in what should go into the file of work. Portfolios can be used in any grade level, any subject, general education or special education. It is just a great assessment tool. This I found to be a great assessment tool considering once you give the student back their work you may never see it again and they may never see it again.

As far as grading I found that rubrics created by students and teachers empower the student instead of telling the student what you expect and what they are going to do and how they are going to do it. This form of assessment involves the students fully into the assessment process. This also gives the student an opportunity to reclaim their regard for learning. Jointly created rubrics are flexible enough to accommodate all forms