Central Falls Scavenger Hunt:

The scavenger hunt around Central Falls was not something that I was really looking forward to; if I am being completely honest. It had nothing to do with the city at all but it seemed like a pointless assignment. However, after do the research about the city online and then exploring on foot, I realized that there is a lot to learn about a place just by exploring. As a teacher it is my responsibility to know my students and part of that is understanding where they live. The environment a child grows up in makes a huge difference in their academic life. The fact that in many cases the students may live with multiple families in one small apartment could affect their ability to do homework. The poverty level of a town influences the resources a student has outside of school as well as inside. If a student is hungry in class they will not be able to learn what you want them to because all that is on their mind is how hungry they are. These facts all play a major role inside the classroom and without the scavenger hunt I would not have truly understood the city of Central Falls. Overall, it was a lot of fun to explore and see exactly what is in the city and how small it really is.

 

We were not able to enter the library this day because due to weather it was closed. However, there were signs on the door about all the activities that were going on that week. February Vacation activities…. Game Day and Super Hero Party. As well as, knitting classes being available to the public.

After taking the pictures outside the police and fire station we entered and spoke to a lieutenant. This was the most informative visit of the day because he was extremely helpful. We asked about how a fire emergency was handle but learned so much more. The bankruptcy has been hard on the fire department because the city cut them down to one station. There is only 3 old trucks and one ambulance for all of Central Falls. Making fire fighters jobs much more difficult because now it is not about putting out the fire but just getting everyone they can out of the house. As the poverty in the town effecting their job because people are using alternative heating methods that are very dangerous. In many homes the people are heating with toaster oven after removing the doors. The lieutenant stated that there is really no way to stop them because all that they are concerned about is staying warm.

This looks like a normal house on the street but in fact it is a market.

I found this extremely interesting while we were out on the scavenger hunt. There was a question about markets and food stores around Central Falls but this was different. The town is so small that businesses are setting up shop in the houses too.

UBD:
The three readings for this week built off one another so much that the first reading was referenced in the second. After reading all three it really stuck in my mind because they each enforced the same concepts. The idea of the backward teaching and starting with the end result first. After reading the chapters it is obvious why research shows that it works. When you teach a topic and then end with coming up with the assessment, it is harder to make sure the student understood everything. Whereas starting with the goal it is easier to fit the instruction with the end results. When teaching about the Civil War, a major part of American history there are a lot of details so having an end goal to start focuses the topic more. In History dates and events maybe important but it is more important for the students to see the larger picture in the end. If they cannot remember the date of a certain battle but they understand it happened during the Civil War they can put it into context and explore the details. On the other hand if they remember the date of the certain battle, there is no saying that they understand that it happened during the Civil War and the significance. The second two readings built off of the idea of the backward teaching, it explored the significance of asking the right questions. It is easy to ask yes or no questions or close ended as a teacher because the assessment is simple. The problem is are the students truly learning or just recalling facts. Open ended questions are harder to asses but allow the students to really dig deep for the information and explore many different views on one topic. In my opinion, some close ended questions are necessary for learning some topics and should not be completely disregarded. However, it is more important to let the students really explore a topic because the conclusion they draw themselves have a way of sticking with them for the long term.

Chapter 1 and 2:


As I was reading through the first two chapters, I found myself entertained. It was a very easy and simple reading about reading. In the first chapter, the second story about the students not reading the textbook was very familiar. As a student I have never been great on keeping up with the reading for my classes. Some nights it would take me over an hour to read one page because I cannot stay forced. The second chapter helped me to understand why it always seemed hard to read the textbooks. The problem is the reading of the textbook is a comfort zone and familiar to almost everyone. Which means even with the knowledge of what they went through as a student; many teachers still assign reading after reading from the textbook.

Another aspect of the reading that stuck out to me was the tools for reading that I unconsciously do while reading. Different techniques to understand what is in front of me. In the case of the Columbus reading it was not as difficult as the cricket because even without the background something clicked in my head. The cricket passage that we read first was almost impossible to understand the first time. These chapters reminded me that as a teacher I must not forget what it is like to be a student.

Literacy Profile

Literacy Profile

 

            There are many thing in this world that I would consider myself literate in and to just pick one is extremely hard. Over my twenty-five years of life I have learned and practiced many things. The one thing that I have always been good at is school and that would be really easy to write about. However, there is one thing that I have become more and more literate with over the past few years. When I was younger baking was my escape, it was a way to get out the stress that I was feeling. Recently, I have been baking for different reasons and in a very different way. In the past, I would take a box of cake mix, add water and eggs then place it in the oven. Now I bake from scratch, with recipes that I have changed to fit the taste of the people who consume the junk food.

            The change from box to scratch and from stress relief to fun, occurred because of my older sister. My sister and I have always been close growing up and she is my best friend. We both came across a hard time when she was fired from her job for no real reason at all and I walked out of that same job. There is one thing in my life people cannot mess with and that is my family. I stood behind my sister the day I walked out of work and never looked back. It only took a few weeks for us to realize that without work we were going crazy. That is when we came up with the idea to start baking more and from scratch in order to work toward opening a bakery.

            The first step was to find recipes that tasted great so we had a bake off contest. That was the day that we knew we made a great team and would continue to bake together no matter what. After finding the right recipes we opened a booth at the local flea market to see if we could sell what we baked. It was a great experience and we did do very well but life took over. My sister got a new job and her time was cut in half for the baking. Then I got a job a month later and plans for a bakery have come to a halt. However, we have not stopped baking and I do not think we ever will.

            All this happened with in the last two years and we are still baking almost every weekend. The best part of the experience is learning a new recipe and our taste testers really enjoying it. I am now literate in how to bake cakes, cupcakes, cookies, and many other sweets. Over the last year I have even learned techniques on how to decorate cakes. The best part is that my sister has taught me a lot of what I know now. We make an amazing team and it is that time with her that I enjoy the most. No matter where life takes me, I will continue to bake with my sister. Even the days that everything goes wrong in the kitchen we make it through because we bring out the best in each other.

            As the years goes by, I will continue to bake and learn more with her by my side. Baking will help me to be a better teacher because when I started I knew very little and now I feel very confident with my skills. This experience makes it easier to keep in mind that my students may not know everything but they do know how to learn if I know how to teach them. Another aspect of working with my sister is that I have always done better at school than she did. I was in the same math class in eight grade that she was taking as a junior in high school. This experience has taught me that I do not know everything and can learn something from anyone. I may have been smarter than my sister when it came to school but she will always have something new to teach me when it comes to baking. That translates into I am not going to know everything that my students know and I must be open to learning from them as they are learning from me.