Thirty-two computers, 26 students, one teacher: I was blind to everything besides these three elements as I first entered the technology lab at Simonton Elementary School. Knowing that I was going to be working in a technology classroom for my service learning site over the next semester frightened me. I kept thinking to myself, "Am I technologically savvy enough to assist these students?" I knew that I could guide them through most software and Internet searches, but computer technical difficulties were foreign to me. The children were going to expect me to know everything, and that rattled my confidence. The butterflies inside my stomach flew wildly as Mrs. Popcorn*, my mentor teacher, introduced me to her students. I looked at the students and was confused to see that they varied in all ages and grade levels. I had no idea that I was in for a giant dose of learning and a scientific experience unlike any I have participated in before. Graphic: http://www.desoto.k12.ms.us
After further communication, I discovered that my first day at Simonton was a school-wide special science day called Jacques Costeau Day. I had the interesting opportunity to assist students of all ages and grade levels through an experiment on buoyancy. One special needs student that I assisted, Lucia, was an English Language Learner. Lucia was struggling with the assignment because she could barely speak English. It was upsetting for me to see the learned helplessness that she had acquired through her academic experience. Because she was so lost, I declared it my job to try to lift her spirits from the academic woes she encountered. This was extremely difficult, being that we spoke different languages. From trying to communicate with Lucia, however, I was able to better understand the challenges that English Language Learners face as they enter a world of foreign communication every day. Trying to communicate with Lucia was frustrating, challenging, and exhausting. After working with Lucia, I can not imagine what it would be like to have to encounter the language struggles that Lucia and I faced all day every day. It would be extremely discouraging and tiring, explaining why Lucia had developed learned helplessness. Graphic: http://www.thirteen.org/
Unlike Lucia, the other students in her third grade classroom, as well as many other students throughout the day, were very fluent with the Internet and Paint. As I walked around the computer lab and answered individual questions, I was impressed by how quickly the children were able to find the information on an animal to study. A great contributor to the efficiency of this project was Mrs. Popcorn’s lesson planning. The children were given a variety of educational web sites to use from Mrs. Popcorn. She taught me an extremely effective manner of conducting Internet searches in my future classroom. Though it took greater planning by Mrs. Popcorn, having the students use specific web sites made the search less time consuming for her students. It also prevented the students from wandering to insignificant web sites. When I use the Internet in my future classroom, I will use this same method for web searches.
My third visit to Simonton was very similar to my second, for the students were continuing projects in Paint. This time, however, I had the opportunity to work with a different special needs student. This student, Jake*, was in the fifth grade technology class and would not complete the assignment of creating a storybook. It was extremely hard to work with him because he would not communicate with me. I was unsure of his reasoning behind this behavior because he would not talk to me, which was very frustrating. I wondered if he might have had an emotional or behavioral disorder. After the fifth grade students left the lab, I talked to Mrs. Popcorn about the Jake, and she informed me that child abuse was being questioned in Jake’s family and that his mother died a short time ago. Knowing this helped me understand how traumatic life experiences change children’s behaviors. I wondered what could be done to help Jake and began brainstorming ideas for my future classroom. It was obvious to me that he needed an Individualized Education Plan, but he did not have one. When I am a teacher, I will take action on getting my students an Individualized Education Plan if I see them struggling like Jake. It bothered me that Mrs. Popcorn had given up on Jake. When she saw him struggling, she did not even try to help him. After working with Jake, I promised myself that I would never give up on one of my students, regardless of the challenges that they create for me or their peers.
Graphic: news.bbc.co.uk/.../newsid_59000/59711.stm
My final visit to Simonton Elementary School was the most rewarding visit of all, for I had the unique opportunity of presenting a WebQuest that I created to a third grade class in the technology lab. While teaching my WebQuest, various challenges erupted. First, Mrs. Popcorn had not created an effective method of classroom management in her classroom. The students often talked while she was talking and showed her little respect. I was worried about this same dilemma occurring during my presentation. As I suspected, the students got noisy at one point, but I discovered an extremely successful classroom management technique. When it got too noisy, I told the students to first put their hands on their head, then on their knees, then on their shoulders, and then to clap twice. Unlike Mrs. Popcorn’s technique of raising her voice when students became disruptive, my technique worked. I gained the student’s attention through this simple exercise.Another challenge that erupted involved the various academic levels of the students. When guiding the third grade classroom through my WebQuest, many students were often limited by those who had difficulty finding the WebQuest on the Internet. Once I let the students work individually, however, the more advanced and gifted students flourished. In addition, I was able to individually assist those who were struggling. Teaching my WebQuest was a challenging task, but I learned a great deal from the assignment.
Through my experience at Simonton Elementary School, I have discovered many interesting facts about my future career as a teacher. I realized that I enjoyed working individually with special needs children, but I do not want to work solely with these types of students. It was a challenge that I am not yet prepared for, but may be as I continue my education. I have discovered that I would like to conduct my service learning in a special needs classroom at some point in my journey to teaching so that I will really get a feel for what these children are going through. Never the less, while at Simonton I gained a better understanding of how special needs students’ struggle and the challenges they face. Working in the technology lab was an extremely rewarding opportunity as well, but I would prefer to teach in a regular classroom setting when I am a teacher because the working in the technology lab became quite redundant. I will, however, incorporate technology into my curriculum where appropriate, for I know that the future is a technological world. Today’s children are extremely technologically proficient! Each time that I visited Simonton, the students continued to amaze me with their intelligence and technological skills. I was able to witness the mind of student’s twist and unwind through technology. After visiting Simonton, I am confident that our technological future is safe in our youth. 
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