Art's High School: After Orientation

I really enjoyed Arts High School. Like I said in my previous blog i was very nervous to go. I did not know what to expect or how it would go. Once i got there I did end up relaxing. I was really surprised by the school. I do not want to sound ignorant or anything, but when i heard we had to go to a school in Newark I did not expect the school to be as nice as Arts was. The building was very nice and the artwork that was all over the school was very good. I never felt bored walking through the school because everywhere you went there was something colorful and beautiful to look at. I think the way the school tries to incorporate all of the arts into every subject like math and history is amazing. I think the kids in this school are incredibly talented to be able to do the stuff they do. The performance the girl gave in the beginning of the day was very good too. She did it with passion and not just to get it over with. You can tell that the kids there take what they do very seriously and have the potential to do great things.

Even though I really enjoyed the school i am still nervous about the shadowing and the service we have to do there. Going to the school really put into perspective what it is I am about to get in to. As of right now all i have ever done in life was attend school as a student. This is going to be the first time i am going to get a taste of what it actually is to be a teacher. I know we wont really be teaching and rather doing more observing, but its still a little scary for me to be on the opposite side of things. Despite all that, I am looking forward to observing and taking part in things at Art's High School for the semester.

Art's High School

I am extremely nervous about attending Art's High School tomorrow. I have never done anything like this before in my life. I have always been unsure about what it is I really want to do with my life. I took the time and thought about it and decided that working with kids as a physical education teacher, but up until this point all i have really done is take some education courses and sit in a desk as a student. Now that I have to turn around and actually have to start seeing what teachers do I am very scared and nervous. I honestly sometimes am scared that I might not be able to do it.

As for my assumptions about visiting Newark, I have a few. I have never really spent a lot of time in Newark, so most of what I know about it is from the news. I do feel that it is a dangerous place, but i do not think that every part of it is dangerous. I really think that even though I am nervous about the trip, I really do think that at the end of it i am going to leave there feeling differently. From the website I can tell that this school is a great school. The kids seem like they are going to be very welcoming and easy to get a long with, and i feel that once i get in there I will loose my nervousness and become pretty comfortable. I feel that this will be a good experience for me and everyone else in the class, and I am looking forward to seeing what Art's High School can teach me.

How can understanding demographics help us better understand teaching and learning?

Before taking this class I never really thought demographics were important for teachers. You go to school, you teach what you have to teach, and the kids learn it. After reading the Hodgkinson article and listening to our in class discussion I realized I was completely and totally wrong. Demographics helps a person know who the kids are you will be teaching. They let a person know where these kids are coming from, what language is their main language, what is their family's income, and maybe what their family background is like. Demographics help a teacher prepare for the classes they will be teaching. A teacher has to be prepared based on the area they will be teaching in. Demographics can help a teacher develop lesson plans and activities that can benefit the types of kids they will be teaching. Certain kids from a certain area might not learn or relate to things the way kids from a different area relate to them.

Even though Demographics can help tremendously, they cannot prepare a teacher completely. When it comes down to it, demographics can help a person understand the area they will be teaching in, but they cannot let a teacher experience the exact kids they will be teaching before they actually start teaching them. A teacher can have an idea of what might be a good way to teach something, but I feel that they never really know for sure until they get into the classroom with the actual class. It is not exactly easy to teach in today's world, especially where we live. There are many places where the classroom will be filled with 20-30 kids, all from a different background and with different needs. To me there is no real easy way of teaching. Things like demographics though can help a teacher prepare as well as they possibly can for the school they will be teaching in, but until they actually step foot into the classroom they will not have a completely clear picture of what it will be like.