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I think that I deserve an A in this class. I feel kind of weird saying that,, but I honestly have never been more engaged in a class in my four years at college (not kidding). This has been the one single class that I look forward to attending. I took the homework assignments seriously and I really tried to be introspective/self aware during my time shadowing Megan. I am usually not one to participate in classes but I found myself wanting to speak my mind on almost every topic we discussed in class. I took this class very seriously because I could tell that it would benefit me in the long-term, especially when I begin my student teaching. I believe that DirecTrack was the best thing I did during my undergrad because it showed me what I was meant to do with my life.

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If I had to select one aspect of teaching that stuck with me the most during my time at Roosevelt I'd have to pick the importance of diversity. I expected to have awkward encounters with students, but Roosevelt is home to a flourishing and growing group of individuals who all value their upbringings as well as others.

The focus on importance of differences and non-judgment really left no room for intolerance towards others. Diversity within students is essential because it makes them whole-rounded human beings. Growing up, the majority of my high school's population was not progressive in their cultural thinking by any means. Being a part of communities like that of Roosevelt's makes me even more excited to become a teacher.

I also learned that as a white teacher, it is your number one job to shut up and listen when a student of color chooses to speak out about race. Megan did a great job at this in her classes. It's inspiring to see someone teaching who is a truly talented listener. As Rademacher says,

“White teachers: I know a few things for sure, and when conversations about race are happening, specifically when one of your students of color is talking to you about their experience, it is your job to stop teaching and listen. Don’t rationalize, don’t defend. Just shut up a minute and hear what they are telling you.” (Rademacher, 124)

Roosevelt showed me the value of valuing yourself and others. I will carry what I learned about inclusion, diversity, and self awareness into my classroom in as an educator. Maybe I'll be lucky enough to carry what I learned into a classroom at a school as great as Roosevelt High.

(pictured below is a student teaching the class about her home country and life before coming to the U.S.)

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Co-Teaching is something that I had never experienced before my time at Roosevelt. After seeing Ms. Luken and Mrs. Schmitz work together I realized that I hope to have the opportunity to co-teach a class in the future. Watching the two educators bounce ideas and energy off of each other really inspired me. Their fun banter and teamwork in front of the class engaged the students and kept the atmosphere positive and exciting.

Megan warned me that co-teaching can be an amazing experience but that it can also go south fast if you don't mesh together well with the other teacher. Lesson planning and classroom conduct can be some of the topics that need to be worked through by the teachers leading class. I know it wouldn't always be easy but I know I would enjoy the experience of co-teaching a class.

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Before I started my tutoring at Roosevelt, I worried that I wasn't going to be able to connect with students easily due to the language barrier. I've always been able to make strong connections with students at work (at Lucy Laney) but I work with elementary students who speak English as a first language, not high schoolers who are beginning to learn English.

I was also worried about my Spanish speaking abilities, I even wrote about this in my field notes:

"I really want to become more confident in my speaking abilities. Hopefully I can get past this within the year. I feel that in order to not be nervous I need to improve my speaking abilities. Maybe teaching abroad after grad school will help out with this. I definitely don’t want to feel nervous around my own students as a teacher."

Luckily I was able to get over my fear and begin to connect with students. Although I finally began to become really comfortable with the students just as my time at Roosevelt came to a close. I was able to realize though that I have the ability to speak Spanish well enough to teach and connect to my students.

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First off, I'd like to say that I feel incredibly lucky to have had the opportunity to follow Ms. Luken around during this semester. We shared a lot of similarities. We both studied Spanish at UMN and she went through the ESL/TESOL ILP at UMN which I will be starting this summer. We also both love traveling and are interested in teaching abroad. She was very helpful with any questions I had and took her lunch times to explain what it's like to be in the ILP and what it's like to be a new teacher in Minnesota.

Megan teaches a few of her own ESL classes and also co-teaches a geometry class with Mrs. Schmitz. Megan's room is open in the middle and has tables arranged in a semicircle. Seating arrangements change almost every week. I mentioned this before in my field notes but from what I can tell, there isn’t any backlash from seating arrangements by the students. There are definitely people who prefer each other but it seems that each individual class is a whole group rather than a combination of separated subgroups. I did not witness any cocooning in the room as we learned about in our readings, I was very impressed by how the students carried themselves in the rooms and how they worked well with everyone.

There are grammar posters around her room reminding students of what they always need to include in their writing. There are also encouraging posters hung up which include some of my favorite sayings like, "It's okay to not know but it's not okay to not try".

Her ESL classes were very eye-opening for me. I was able to see so many aspects of teaching that you can only experience if you're in the actual classroom. I witnessed the struggles of working with level 1 ESL students and how fast they can progress into level 2 students. I saw Megan implement numerous amazing and engaging activities in class that involved current events, students' backgrounds, and interests. Megan's upbeat attitude (regardless of how her day is going) reiterated to me how important it is to come to work each day with a positive outlook. Students pick up on your mood and if you stay positive, it's easier for the students to stay positive as well.

It also seemed to me that Megan truly knew her students and they knew her. Some even liked her so much that they would eat lunch in her room with her. Megan really showed me how important it is to know your students if you want to engage them in your class. It also makes your job much more enjoyable once you get to know your students. A Milner quote fits this:

“…Mr. Hall not only knew his subject matter well but was also smart enough – and perhaps more important, open enough – to realize that knowing his students well was equally important.” (Milner, 48)

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The first thing that I noticed at Roosevelt was that the student body is incredibly diverse. You can hear all types of languages in the hallway including English, Spanish, Somalian, and more. This is why Roosevelt has so many ESL programs. Coming from a small, mostly white town in rural Wisconsin, I was nothing short of excited to be a part of such a diversified group of scholars.
Below I've attached Roosevelt's Mission and Vision from their website.

Roosevelt's Mission:

Roosevelt High School motivates students to engage in rigorous academic experiences and ensures educational justice for all.

Roosevelt's Vision:

Students will leave Roosevelt High School driven to serve, equipped to lead, and determined to positively impact the world.

The school's diversity allows the opportunity for students to see themselves in "mirrors" as well as frame other students' lives in "windows" as we learned about from Style's literature. This is something that is easy to see in the classroom, particularly the ESL classrooms. Projects focused on talking about where students were born, what experiences they had before arriving to the U.S. (if they immigrated from other countries), what languages they speak, etc.

It was really incredible to see students from all backgrounds learn from and teach each other about their own lives outside of school. This is where engagement in the classroom can start strongly. I could tell when students were interested in topics during class. Usually, if they can see themselves reflected in the classwork, their eyes will spark up and they become immersed in learning about others as well.

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Roosevelt High School was built in 1921 and you can tell its age when you arrive. Although the building has been updated and modernized, the original layout of the building resembles how it looked in the 20's. When you enter the school, you are greeted by a front desk worker. He/she is in charge of getting kids hallway passes to class or tardy passes when students are late. There are many floors in the building and the hallways are very wide and inviting. Teachers are always leaning out of their rooms greeting students and offering friendly smiles. Although I wasn't able to tour the entirety of the school, Roosevelt felt very comforting and welcoming.

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Roosevelt High School is about 20-25 minutes away from my house depending on traffic. Roosevelt is located in a quiet part of Minneapolis with residential homes surrounding it. It is nearby Sanford Middle School which is where I shadowed during CI 3901. It seems as if Roosevelt is positioned in a very safe area and everyone I met was overly kind and inviting.