Student Wellness: Artifact: Candidates will evaluate their classroom to identify factors that are contributing to positive student well-being and those that are potentially negative especially regarding factors that might result in accidents.
Recently my students had an opportunity to interact with students from another school located in one of the beach towns. The students from this other school came to our school, located in Watts, for a day of Mass, service projects, and games. While the students played and interacted together in the afternoon, the teachers all sat together chatting and making an attempt to discuss curriculum and how our schools could work together as partners on both social and academic levels. Our discussion on curriculum was cut very short as the other teachers spent all our time asking about what it is like to work in Watts. “Are you scared to come to work?” “Where are the projects?” “Do you see a lot of gang activity?” “Are your students in gangs?” “Are you and the students safe here?” While safety was no doubt a legitimate concern, these other teachers were so caught up in their fears that they couldn’t fathom the fact that our “poor” students were well behaved students who modeled our SLE’s and in almost all cases were better dressed and behaved than the “rich” kids. Teaching in Watts has opened my eyes to the many prejudices that exist in our world today. The visiting school was very nice and very glad to have come to our school, and yet they clearly felt that they were above my students simply because of where they lived. As teachers it is important that make sure our student well-being is of the upmost importance. As a teacher in Watts, students’ well-being depends on many factors, many of which cannot be controlled for in the classroom. That said, although we cannot prevent certain things from happening to our students while they are not at school, we can insure that while they are at school they are safe, feel loved and important, and that they are being given the tools to handle situations that arise away from school. To insure students’ wellbeing, teachers must consider not only the physical health and safety of our students, but their mental and emotional health as well. Currently within my own classroom there are many things being done to create a positive learning atmosphere. I believe that a positive classroom environment starts with the teacher. I make a solid effort to speak with every child individually during the day. Whether that conversation is a simple hello or a detailed explanation of a misunderstood academic topic, that conversation tells the child they are special enough to get my attention. Additionally, I have several positive reward systems in place in my classroom that promote kind, caring, helpful, and efficient behavior. I have learned that the students both crave and thrive on structure. As a result, I have very clear classroom rules and procedures that are fairly enforced and that have been well explained as to why they exist to begin with. I believe that students should know why they are being asked to do certain tasks and that once they know why a rule exists they are more likely to follow it. Room décor also plays a role in students’ safety and well being. I feel that a colorful classroom filled with resources, especially those created by students, and displays of student work helps to motivate the students and show them that their work is important to the teacher. While the teacher can do a lot to promote a general positive climate, the teacher spends most of the day focusing on academics (that’s not to say that the two cannot go together—they should). In a day in age where test scores and standards are being pushed, pushed, pushed, teachers must not forget that their job is not to just tell the students the information, but to teach them how to learn and how to use the information that they are storing. As an educator, I feel that it is especially important to make the curriculum available and relevant to the students. This can be especially difficult within the 6th grade curriculum that I teach, especially with Ancient Civilizations, our social studies theme for the year. To make the curriculum available to the students, I go to great lengths to create power points, worksheets, graphic organizers, thinking maps, outlines, projects, and lab demonstrations, to bring the material to life. For example, when we study Ancient Egypt we don’t just study mummies, but we make real mummified chickens and we make movies with pictures, music, and narration to illustrate all that we have learned. In science we make model volcanoes and do earthquake simulations. In reading we do novel studies using many diverse reading strategies and projects that make the characters and themes come alive. In addition to making the curriculum come alive, I also encourage the students to make connections to all content on a minute to minute to basis. When learning about English Language Learners, teachers are taught that all students come to the classroom with something called an “effective filter.” This filter, which determines how much information students absorb, can be raised or lowered like a wall depending on how safe and comfortable the student feels in the classroom. Students who struggle with language barriers often have a higher effective filter, or a greater barrier, because they are nervous due to language struggles. As teachers, it is our job to lower all students’ effective filters and to provide them with a safe and comfortable learning environment regardless of their background coming into our classrooms. My classroom environment and my treatment of students is currently designed in such a way that my students do feel safe and loved and their filters are down, increasing their learning capacity. While no one can be perfect all the time and I can occasionally get upset or impatient, I think that the only real factors currently affecting my students well-beings are the physical constraints of our classroom. This year I have 33 students (with two more to be joining soon) and in the years past I have had as many as 38 students in the classroom. As a result of such a large class, the desks can only be arranged in a limited number of ways and the classroom always seems very crowded. While I am glad that my school is helping out so many children in need, I feel that having a smaller class would allow me to better teach, connect with, and spend individual time with each of my students. Additionally the desks we have in our classroom have very small storage space under their desks and the kids’ books are constantly falling on the floor or laying in the aisles which not only looks messy but it is a fire hazard. In addition to the special limitations of the classroom, our school is currently under construction and the noise during school sometimes hinders the quality of instruction and absorption of information. As a student I grew up in a fairly nice area and went to public schools most of my life. During my career as a student (living in various states) I have been through many fire drills and lock down drills and even earthquake and tornado drills. Going to work at a school I assumed that fire drills would be frequent, and working in Watts, I expected lock down drills and actual lock downs. That being said, while we have had several fire drills during my 2.5 years (not as many as I think we should have), we have never had a lock down drill or an earthquake drill. Given that there have been several earthquakes in recent years and that we hear sirens and helicopters frequently, I think that not practicing is putting our students and teachers at risk and is not a positive influence on any of our well-beings. Reflection: A plan to increase the positive factors and minimize the negative factors... To improve the overall well being of the students in my classroom, there are several things need to be accomplished. To begin with, I can take on a leadership role within my school and help to plan and orchestrate fire, earthquake, and lock down drills. These drills should be practiced in conjunction with lessons explaining why we are practicing and how to act during these drills and or in the event of an actual problem. With regards to overcrowded classrooms, I have no control currently nor would I dream of kicking any students out during the year. What I can do is provide my administration and the parish priests with information regarding both the academic benefits of smaller class sizes as well as the physical and emotional safety that smaller class sizes would provide. Concerning the small storage space under the students’ desks, I am planning on purchasing tubs that the students can keep at their desks during the day to hold their notebooks and school supplies. This will limit the things on the floor and keep them in a contained space and out of the way. On a more personal note, as a teacher I often feel like I have all of the answers if the students would only listen. I get frustrated when the students don’t complete their homework, talk too much during class, or don’t pay attention. My frustration grows when I realize that the students’ parents are just as bad at following directions and following through. To help me understand the population of students and parents that I am working with, my principal suggested that I read the book, A Framework for Understanding Poverty, by Ruby K Payne. Though I learned a lot about the “culture of poverty” and I feel like I have a much better understanding of why my students and their parents often act in a particular manner, the book did not offer many direct suggestions at finding ways to merge their culture with my own. That said, so that I can be my best self as a teacher, I want to learn more about my students lives and find ways to better deal with their behaviors that I find offensive or distracting while they think of them as normal. I also need to realize that I am not a miracle worker and that I cannot and will not ever be able to “fix” everyone. All I can hope to do is to make their lives better while they are in my classroom and hope that they remember that someone loves and cares for them in the future.
School Crisis Response Plan EDUC 6080: Resource Artifact Our school has been in a state of transition for the last few years, as old administration and ineffective teachers were replaced by new teachers and administrators. While the overall quality of our school has increased dramatically, we still have several kinks to work out. Unfortunately our disaster plan is one of those kinks. When I asked my principal what the plan was in the event of a disaster, she said “Pray!” Of course she said this with an edge of sarcasm, but yet we have all realized that this is a very important aspect of our school that must be developed. As such, creating a top-notch disaster plan is one of our goals for our summer meetings in just a few months. That being said, there is a crisis plan outlined in the administrator’s handbook, some of which we have practiced and some of which are foreign concepts. The principal’s handbook suggests that we have fire drills held once a month, that all students and staff exit the building, and that roll call is taken and all students are accounted for. Earthquake drills are supposed to occur once a semester in order to train each student and staff member. When an earthquake occurs, staff must remain calm, but take proper precautions. Teachers shall direct students to follow the appropriate procedures. If the teacher and students are inside of the building at the time of the earthquake, all persons are to drop to their knees under a desk, table, etc. All persons are to stay away from windows, mirrors, lights, or objects that may fall. All students and staff should clasp one hand tightly behind their head, cover the neck, bury the face in arms to protect the head, close eyes tightly, and hold onto a table/desk leg. Finally, all individuals are to stay in place until the earthquake is over, or when students are instructed to leave. If damage to the building is minor, building evacuation need not occur and teachers may return to normal procedures. If damage is major, an orderly evacuation of the building is conducted. In the event that teachers and students are outside during the earthquake, everyone must get clear of all buildings, walls, power poles, and any other object that could fall. In cases where students are evacuated, teachers will follow procedures similar to a fire drill in that all students will be lined up by class, the teacher will take roll, and all students will be accounted for. In the event of a bomb threat the police will be called immediately, students will evacuate the school, and no one will re-enter the school building until the police have declared it safe to do so. In the event of a lock down due to an intruder/crisis, police will again be called, but this time teachers will lock all classroom doors and all students will remain in the classrooms until told that they can safely exit the premises. In the event of emergency health situations, the policy become a little bit unclear. If the injury is minor, very basic first aid may be administered (give the child an ice pack or a band aid). If there is blood involved, the adult administering first aid is required to wear gloves. Disposable gloves and a first aid kit can be found in every classroom and also in the front office. In the event of a student suffering a severe injury 911 will be contacted. If the teacher/administrator/staff member on the scene is certified in CPR and/or First Aid, then they are legally bound to be a first responder and aid the situation to the best (but not surpassing) their ability and training. If there is any serious injury the parents are immediately notified. In all health referrals, a referral slip is filled out to document the aid provided. School Crisis Response Journal Reflection EDUC 6080: Spring Health
Having now read through the state guidelines, there are a lot of things I have noticed that we need to work on as a school. For instance, while we have certainly practiced fire drills (but not quite on a monthly basis due to bells not being able to be turned off, a fault of the construction that had been going on), we do not have a system in place for finding any students that are unaccounted for. Which teachers will be required to go back into the building? Which teachers will be responsible for covering the other teacher’s class? In a perfect world, and a perfect fire drill, all students are always accounted for, but what happens when it’s the real thing and someone was on an errand to the office or in the bathroom? Will those students know where to go? Since construction recently finished on our campus, the layout of the school has changed. Will all classes still exit the building in the same way or stand in the same places they had been before? These are all very important issues that must be discussed over the summer so that in the event of an emergency, our school is prepared to act in an appropriate manner. Despite the fact that our fire drill system has a few kinks to work out, at least teachers and students have practiced it enough to have a general idea of what to do and where to go. As it stands right now, I would take my students out down the left staircase and we’d line up on the basketball courts just like we have in the past. In the event that a student of mine was unaccounted for, after grabbing another teacher to supervise my class, I would not hesitate to go back into the building (if it was humanly possibly) to look for the missing student. That said, in the event that we had had an earthquake during school during the past 3 years, I am relatively certain that I would have said something to the effect of “Hey this is great! Kids we are experiencing an earthquake, just like the ones we studied in science!” Having been raised in areas not known for earthquakes, I was only vaguely familiar with the “duck under the desk” concept. I feel very strongly that this is one area of our disaster plan that we cannot ignore. Not only do the teachers and students need to be educated in the proper procedures, but we also need to be trained on what to do once the quake is over. I am grateful for having read the administrator’s handbook, because at least now I have a much better idea of how to handle the situation in the event of an earthquake (which of late seems to be more and more likely). Hopefully over the summer we will also plan out when and how we are going to do earthquake drills, including what each teacher’s responsibilities are. Skipping ahead, the one area of our health and safety plan that I feel we are following must closely and on a school wide scale is that of emergency and non-emergency health situations. Teachers, coaches, staff, etc are very good about monitoring student safety and all incidents are documented and appropriately treated. The final area of the disaster plan is the area that worries me the most. My school is located in the heart of Watts. The sirens and noise of the circling helicopters is so common place that most of the time no one notices they are there until someone else casually points them out. Our school is bordered by three of LA’s major housing projects and some of LA’s most dangerous schools are right across the street. In the three years that I have been here there have been two drive by shootings (one of which occurred across the playground at the end of recess, and the other occurred across the street while students were at PE), multiple occurrences of SWAT and Undercover Agents sitting on our balcony watching the house across the street for a drug bust, and most recently the arrest of a man, by six cops with guns drawn, during my PE time. In all of these cases, not once has our school gone on lockdown. It terrifies me to think about what might have happened if the cops had fired or if the man had shot at the cops, and a stray bullet had stuck one of the children still running around on the yard. While our school definitely takes a portion of the blame, I feel strongly that the LAPD also shares a burden of the blame. While the local public schools are alerted regularly of gang and other violent activity, the local private schools are often left to fend for themselves. Without a phone call, we are left up to our own guessing skills as to whether or not we should be on lockdown, and as I mentioned earlier, the abundance of police activity might just keep us on lockdown all day long, every day. That said, this is the most pressing issue for me. Based on our location and our history, we are more likely to have another police action before we have any natural disaster. As such, creating an effective lockdown system should be the number one safety concern on our summer agenda. Until a school-wide plan is put into effect, I will continue to try and keep my students as safe as possible by keeping the doors locked when I can and by bringing them inside/not letting them go outside in the event of what appears to be a dangerous situatio |