First Avenue School visit

Wow, I hadn't realized that NONE of my previous posts have been saved. That stinks. Sorry about that. =(

Well today was our visit to the new First Avenue School in Newark. I have to admit... It was completely opposite of everything I thought it would be. I went to school in Clifton, which until recently was classified as suburban (I'm not even sure now why they say it's urban, but nevertheless I was brought up in a suburban environment). I feel like the most ignorant person saying I thought the school was not going to be "up to standards" based on what I've heard about schools in urban cities. But I was completely blown away.

That school was so high-tech, more-so than any school I've ever seen. I was impressed with their library, although I noticed that a lot of the bookshelves were only half-full. I'm guessing the classrooms also had books available to the students. On our tour given by the very curtious eigth grade students, we saw a lot of the school. The art room really surprised me because they had equipment that many students aren't introduced to until maybe even high school. Their auditorium was incredible...more than just a large room with chairs like many elementary schools have. I mean it was carpeted and there were cushioned seats, and a stage with a grand drape, and I've only seen one other school (a regional high school) with accomodations that nice. When we walked past the cafeteria I noticed that panels that one of the students pointed out were energy savers for the school. The science labs were more than what I could have imagined in any elementary school. Basically what I'm trying to say is that this school is what every student needs. It seems to me like there's nothing they don't have. When it comes to technology and an enviroment fit for learning, they have it made. I could definitly see myself working in that school (even though I'm working on secondary ed, I've been working with little kids since I was 13 and could definitly see myself with the younger grades).

The staff at the school were extremely welcoming and I could tell they definitly love what they do. Quite a few people emphasized that they teach because they loved it. Many of the people we talked to today told us that they switched out of other professions to teach, so you know that their hearts are really in education and changing the lives of these kids. However, when we talked to the bilingual teacher, I was surprised by what she had to say. Amanda and I actually discussed this in our Educational Psychology class, that this teacher pretty much admitted that she's teaching her students enough English to pass the state test. Although she had good intentions, I feel like she was only doing it for the sake of this test, and not to help these non-English speaking students used to learning the language. I understand that the U.S. has many Spanish speaking people, but I still think that students should have to learn English. Someone I was talking to used this example, they said, "If I moved to China, I wouldn't expect everyone to know English just for me, I would make an effort to learn their language." I don't doubt that this teacher was doing a good job, but I think the fact that she emphasized the test rather than speaking English outside of the classroom just didn't sound right to me.

Overall, I think this visit helped me a lot. I honestly can't wait to start my community service hours. I'm looking into the after-school tutoring. I used to tutor and work at a summer camp every year and being their for the kids is really very rewarding.