Going to Colegio Roosevelt for the first time, I honestly didn’t know what the day would entail. However, I was excited and anxious to meet the students and teachers and see what the school has to offer.
As we pulled into the school’s gates, and saw the security and guards as well as the gorgeous campus, I was immediately impressed. I was continuously impressed throughout the day, from the gigantic slide on the playground, to the students’ abilities and knowledge, to the delicious falafel I had at lunch.
While the teachers I have cooperated with in Milwaukee have been excellent teachers, Mr. Riley, the fourth grade teacher here at Colegio Roosevelt really goes above and beyond with understanding his students’ interests and abilities and from what I have seen on only the first day, he has the most effective classroom I have been in.
When I joined Mr. Riley’s class, the students seemed as eager to meet me as I was them. Mr. Riley gave me a run-down of how the classroom is structured and their day-to-day schedule and explained to me that he tries to make every experience a learning experience and his curriculum is very integrative. I was then introduced to the students and we had a brief Q & A session where they asked me some pretty deep, thought-provoking questions (and what my favorite color is and if I like milk).
We then transitioned into silent reading time when they read a book of their choice on their own while Mr. Riley worked one-on-one with a student at a time, assessing their reading abilities and skill level. He explained that all the fourth grade students have a skill level that they should be at by the end of the school year, which is quickly approaching. The students are assessed on components such as fluency and comprehension as they read aloud to the teacher who assigns a certain number of points. Mr. Riley explained to me the importance of giving students feedback and having an in-depth conversation about what they are doing well and also what they need to do to improve. Assessment should be a way for students to grow and learn, not simply assess.
Listening is passive. Learning is active.
In our seminar today, which we have at the end of each school day, we discussed Dewey’s “School and Society” and how learning is an interactive process that is so much more than simply listening. Being a successful teacher entails so much more than simply having students memorize information for assessment and test scores. We also talked about the natural interests of children, specifically the four Dewey exemplified: communication, construction, inquiry, and artistic expression. Our class discussion seemed to correlate directly to some of the conversation I had with Mr. Riley earlier in the day and also with what I was seeing in the class amongst the students.
I look forward to getting to know Mr. Riley’s students and the rest of the Colegio Roosevelt community over the next two weeks.