Week 2 Readings

As I did the readings for this week one really got me thinking and that was the Fleming article on teachers in the urban schools. Instantly I thought back to someones definition of literacy. One detail they included was about the relationships children had as well as their home life being a big influence over their literacy. This is so true and tiring it into the reading they talk about the low income families of the urban schools. This most likely means less at home involvement of the parents in progressing their children. This in return has shown low scoring in areas such as literacy in urban schools. What does this mean? It means the responsibility of the teacher is greatly increased. It means that teachers are not just teachers but their responsibilities become so much more. The problem then comes with the expedience of these teachers. This then lead me to think of another problem that connects to this. I realized the importance of students feeling the confidence of their teachers. The article talks about the overturning of teachers in urban schools. As teachers leave and new ones constituency coming in what message does that show to the students? They may feel unimportant or not as important. They will then lack a confidence in themselves that teachers are their to provide for them. So not only are we going to be teachers we are going to be motivators, supporters, and so much more. You realize everyday more and more how important we are in the students lives. I see it in my classroom this year every week. They come in and seek your approval, they confide in you, and their home lives are brought to school everyday. One student comes in every morning normally pretty upset. Every morning she wants a hug and tells me about her night and how hard it is for her to do her homework because of her little sister and mom yelling at her. She has been struggling in school and lacks the confidence that what she is doing is right and not to give up. This was one of those moments when you realize how many different roles you have as a teacher.