Classroom Standards

The majority of the time that I have spent in the classroom has been during reading center times. I see that a lot of the of the core standards for reading are being taught during reading time.  The students have different tasks to accomplish during this time.  The teacher has supplied each student with a workbook that has different kinds of reading assignments in the book that they can do as part of the center time.

I think that in general, most of the classes that I have helped in over the years, reading seems to be the big subject that is given more emphasis.  I imagine this is because it is a such a critical skill for students to develop.  If they can read, they can learn anything.  The classroom setting makes it apparent that other subjects are taught as well in the classroom, but I mostly have just seen reading.

The teacher seems to be indifferent about the standards.  It is nice to have a basis of what to teach, but she really hasn't said much about it.

Diversity

In the classroom that I am in, there is a lot of diversity in the class.  I have observed that there are children of different ethnic backgrounds in the classroom, there is a little girl with a prosthetic leg, and there is a child that is an ESL student.  For the most part, the teacher treats each student the same and only makes minor adjustments as necessary for the students.  The children are still expected to do their work and participate at the same level as the other students.

 The teacher does tend to work with those with the language barriers a little more than the others. They seem to get a little extra one on one time.  The girl with the prosthetic leg has some physical modifications for her. She is allowed to sit on a chair during certain activities where all the other children are sitting down or when they are expected to stand for a longer period of time.

History of American Education

There are a lot of ways that history has affected education and what takes place in our schools today.
The school that I have been working in is a Title I school.  It has a large diversity compared to some Utah county schools. I am sure that for sure that Brown vs. Board has a lot to do with the diversity in the school.  There is an English as a second language teacher that helps the ESL students with their assignments. There is also a ESL technician that comes and works with the ESL students individually once a week.

In the classroom is a girl with a prosthetic leg.  The Disability Act enables her to be able to come to school on the bus everyday and have her needs taken care of.  The accommodations that are made for her are pretty simple, but they make a large impact to her.

There is also a special needs unit in the school where those students with more severe needs are able to come to school and get an education.

There are techs who come in a work with students who are struggling in their school work because of the no child left behind act.  Each student is evaluated and given the support that they need.