Today I had my first day at a new school for my observational practicum and I am blown away at how different all of my experiences have been between schools. My first placement was at a venturing school, then I moved to a rural school, and am now located in a higher-economic-standing school tightly knit into its surrounding community. I have learned a lot from each placement, yet I find that most of my learning has come from comparing the different schools and their respective communities.
The biggest difference between schools that surprised me the most was that of the venturing school and my current placement. This is because while the communities and socio-economic standings are much different I had not expected to see such a difference in the students. What stood out most to me right away this morning was that the students did not seem to need attention or validation from the teacher or any other adult in the room, they simply came in and sat at their desks, silently reading until class started. At the venturing school it was apparent from the moment the students walked into the school that they were eager for the attention from the faculty and staff members and were excited to share.
The students in my class today had amazing discipline, they did not once speak out of turn or argue with the teacher, much different than the venturing school. I think this is because the students at this new school do not have as much to be angry or anxious about compared to the students from the venturing school. Something else that struck a cord with me is that the students in class that I was in today used money and dollar value to count how many days they have been in school so far this year, I could not help but ask myself: “Could this be done at a venturing school?”. The concept of money to students at a venturing school would have a varied effect than that of other students because most times students at venturing schools have been subject to financial strain already in their young lives. Yet, for the students who come from more financially secure households may find that using money in their learning will make this idea more relatable to their own lives.
In my new placement I was able to see how a better socio-economic standing changes a students mindset when it comes to their education, it is almost like they attend school like one would attend a job instead of seeing it as something that they must do. The teacher was able to teach them various life skills in the classroom where venturing school teachers often struggle to get through the basic lesson plans. Today, the teacher had the students include in their planner to “Teach a parent how to add 9” and it struck me. This is not an option for a lot of venturing school students, whether it be that they do not live with their parents or that their parents are not always fully engaged in their child’s learning, and it occurred to me… venturing schools have my heart, and I believe I could be an asset to such students because of my experiences throughout this observational practicum.
A big thank you to everybody who coordinated our practicums, because without you I could not have gathered this insight!