ELL Tutoring Partnership Case Study

Through my partnership tutoring at a local high school, I've learned an abundance on how students develop and grow in a variety of ways, which has allowed me to understand how to design learning experiences which are both developmentally appropriate and challenging. In meeting with my student all semester I've observed where he stands cognitively, linguistically, socially, and emotionally, which has helped me to better connect with him academically and personally. Through having both academic and social conversations with him and having him read aloud to me, I was able to observe his linguistic skills. By understanding his linguistic development, I was able to adjust how I spoke to him in order to assure he will understand me, yet continue to challenge him to learn new words. From observing his interactions with peers and his interactions with myself and my placement partner, I was able to see where he stands in social development. Through helping support him in a time when he experienced such a hardship, I was able to reflect upon his emotional development. I am incredibly proud of how he dealt with the loss of his friend in such a mature manner, how he felt comfortable opening up to myself and my placement partner about his feelings, and how he prioritized academics even while dealing with such a hardship. My student has blown me away this semester and it has been a pleasure watching him grow.

Case Study

Teachers Change Lives

     Many people in my life have asked the million-dollar question: Why do you want to become a teacher? Some people may have to stop and think about their answer, and some may answer this question in a variety of ways, but for me it is quite simple. I want to teach because teaching is a profession that has the greatest impact on youth of our society. Being a teacher means being somebody who is a mentor and role model to young adolescents. Interacting with students all day and everyday allows for great opportunity to inspire and to guide students to finding who they are and what they are passionate about.
      In my experience, my high school teachers were very influential, as they helped me to overcome challenges, showed me how to work harder than I ever have before, and guided me toward the realization that I wanted to become a teacher. My math teachers were my role models, and that motivated me to make good choices so I would never disappoint them. They were the people who truly believed in me, and encouraged me to follow my dreams of teaching math, even when other people around doubted me. They mentored me through some of my very first teaching experiences during high school. In my math courses they challenged me to apply concepts to real world problems and think in more depth on the material. Because of the math department at Lamoille Union High School, I have found my passion, and I am eternally grateful for their presence in my life.
       As a future educator I want to provide students with the same support that my high school's math department did for me. Links below are to some articles on the impact that teachers make. I find these articles inspiring and on my worst of days I will read them to remind me of my passion for teaching and the teachers who have been so influential in my life.

Teachers Change Lives
Why Teaching is the Most Important Profession
What Students Really Need to Hear

What will I make?

Today in class we watched Taylor Mali's "What Teachers Make," an inspiring video on how teachers have an impact on youth in our society. This video has me thinking about the impact that I, as a future teacher, will make on my future students.
Here's my list:
I will make students work hard.
I will foster a community within  the classroom environment in which students will feel comfortable expressing themselves.
I will make students explain mathematical concepts back to me so I know they understand.
I will encourage students take great pride in who they are.
I will emphasize the importance of problem solving skills.
I will show students that it is admirable to ask for help.
I will help students recognize how talented they are.
I will teach students how to apply mathematics to real world problems.
I will help students discover who they are.

Final Tutoring Experience

As the end of the semester approaches, our ELL tutoring placements are coming to an end as well. I am extremely grateful for the opportunity to work with such a talented young student and it has been such a pleasure watching him grow this semester. My placement partner and I decided that for our final visit with W, we would take him outside to have fun with us and celebrate his academic achievements over the past few months. Given how much W enjoyed when we brought the HAPI drum about a month ago, we thought we would bring it again for him to explore his connection with music. In addition, I brought my ukulele and taught him how to play some chords on it. We also brought a frisbee, cupcakes that we made him, and a few other gifts we had for him. This was such a delightful time to reflect upon everything we have learned from W, and to enjoy our time together while celebrating his academic growth over the semester. 

The Importance of Mental Health

This past Thursday in Adolescent Development we spent most of our class outside eating cookies, blowing bubbles, making balloon hats, and learning to double dutch. This hour was dedicated to maintaining a healthy mind by taking a break to relax and have some fun. Professor Doyle has been emphasizing to our class that as teachers we must care for our students and provide them with unconditional support when they need us. The mental health of our students should be the most important thing to us as teachers, as we have have the ability to make such a huge impact on youth of our society. Emotions are unsteady in adolescence, as several aspect of students' lives are changing during this time, and above all else, students need support and someone who they can go to for help.

During class it became evident to me that it is crucial to be aware of the mental health of our students. I was on the student end of this during class, and my professor recognized that our class needed a break, so she got us outside having fun and bonding with one another. This was not only a wonderful way to help us reset ourselves at such a busy time of the year, but also a great way to create a stronger community of students within our class. 

After class, I realized that this is something we needed to pass this along to W, especially after he dealt with such a hardship from home. My fellow tutor brought his HAPI drum, we spoke with W's teacher to gain permission to bring him outside, and we had some fun with our student. W has previously indicated to us that he’s fascinated that my fellow tutor plays the drums, and he wanted to learn how to play. So this past Thursday during tutoring we brought W outside, sat in the grass, played the drums, and blew bubbles. This was not only relaxing for our student who had such a tough time recently, but it was also a learning opportunity, as my fellow tutor taught W how to play the HAPI drum. It was so wonderful to spend some time with our student in a context free from traditional academics and get to see him enjoying learning the drums. We strongly emphasized to him that we recognize he has been through such hardship recently, and that we are so proud of how well he is doing in school. We felt that it was so important for W to understand that we are always there for him and that we care for him. Overall, we had such a wonderful time spent relaxing and learning something new with W. It truly showed us the true importance of caring for the mental health of our students.

My  Adolescent Development Class                       My placement partner and ELL student 

How can we provide students with emotional support?

Last week during tutoring with our ELL student, myself and my fellow tutor were saddened to learn some devastating news from our student, W. Toward the end of our session, W opened his Facebook to find a video of his fiend in critical condition in the hospital. This was his very best friend from back home, who was admitted to a hospital from self-immolation protesting in his home country. As W watched this video, I could see in his face that he was not okay. He showed us this video and explained to us that people set themselves on fire to draw attention to the huge political issue of his country's lack of freedom, which is commonly overlooked. He told us he was feeling very depressed and isolated in America and that he doesn't have any friends here. My fellow tutor and I were concerned about this previously because when he is not after school in the library doing homework, he is always at his job, and because we never see him interact with other students. His feeling of alienation is making it much harder for him to deal with such a tragedy, as he does not feel the support of having peers to talk to. My fellow tutor and I told W that we are so proud of him for all the hard work he has put into learning English and all his schoolwork here, and that we will be there for him if there is anything he needs. We encouraged him to talk to the guidance counselors at his school whenever he is upset during school or when he needs somebody to talk to. It is clear that W needs emotional support more than anything else right now, so my fellow tutor and I have been brainstorming about how we can deal with this situation and to figure out if there is anything that we can do for W.

We are very concerned about his well being, and will continue to check in with W to make sure he is getting the support he needs. This might be a good time to do a fun activity with him, as we know he wants to go on a tour of our campus and he wants to learn how to play the drums from my fellow tutor who is a drummer. This would be a good way to show him that we care for him, and it may help to cheer him up when he is having such a rough time. It has become evident to us that our role is not only to provide academic support, but must also include emotional support for our student.