One Step Closer to Teaching
Ever since I began the Teacher Education Program, teaching is all I ever think about. It has become a big part of my life and everything reminds me of the fact that I will one day be a teacher. Every time I set foot in a classroom, I can not help but envision my own classroom. I have had the opportunity to do service learning in several classrooms now, and every individual experience brings me closer to my ambition. One of the best experiences I have had with teaching was in a fourth grade class at Gila Crossing Community School, a Native American school on the Gila reservation. This experience has opened my eyes to the importance of acknowledging diversity and allowed me to learn about a culture I otherwise wouldn’t have known anything about.
When I first learned I would be doing service learning at the reservation, I was a bit nervous. I had never really been around Native Americans much, and I really didn’t know what to expect. Every time I heard the word Native American, I thought of teepees, feathers, headdresses, rituals, nature, and chants. Those same thoughts continued to dance in my head even as I walked into Gila Crossing Community School for the first time. When I got there however, there were no headdresses or teepees in sight. Instead there was a classroom full of students waiting to welcome me into their class.
The students I met at Gila Crossing Community School were very friendly and open with me. They accepted me into their classroom and treated me with the utmost respect. When it was lunch time the girls always saved me a seat. If we played a game in class, they were always certain to explain the rules to me, since I had never played before. They held my hand and wanted me to read to them. I felt like I belonged in that classroom the very first day I was there.
The students also had a great relationship with their teacher. One of the things I noticed straight away was that Ms. G* knew exactly how to capture the children’s attention. When she clapped her hands they all focused their attention on her. Depending on the noise level, she would use different little tricks to help settle down the children. The children knew her so well that they responded quickly every single time. Staying on task, and transitioning from subject to subject was not difficult at all due to the mutual communication and understanding of each other.
Another thing I really liked about Ms. G was that she knew a lot about her students’ cultures, even though she was not Native American. She was also very passionate about relating her curriculum to their cultures in every possible way. For example, one student in her class was half Hopi Indian and half African American. One day Ms. G* brought in a book on Hopi art and gave it to Austin*. She knew he was interested in art and she related it to his culture. When the class wrote their essays on heroes, Ms. G compiled an awesome number of resources on her students’ Native American heroes. Ms. G taught me that no matter what the backgrounds of my students, I need to learn about them in order to better connect with them.
One of the most significant experiences I had while I was there was when the class was having a discussion on drinking and driving. The students had so many sad experiences with this issue and it was extremely sad to listen to. Throughout the whole discussion, Ms. G was very sympathetic and willing to listen. She told me she thought it was important to discuss those types of things in her class because that was a subject her children needed to vent about and also to learn more about. I really loved that Ms. G really cared enough about her students, to make time in her day to discuss these issues with them.
I learned a lot while I was service learning at Gila Crossing. Exposure to the Native American culture taught me the importance of appreciating the different values of different cultures. It also taught me that as a teacher I need to learn as much about my students’ cultures and become actively involved in the issues that surround their backgrounds. By learning about my students I have a better shot at helping them succeed. If they can relate to me and know that I relate to them, chances are they will not hesitate to come to me for help. By helping my students in every possible way, they will be more likely to succeed. By becoming more aware of the diversity in the world, I will become not only a well-rounded human being, I will be a better teacher. The experience I had at Gila Crossing taught me a lot about diversity and acceptance. It has become one more of the many extraordinary experiences that are shaping me into a teacher.
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