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I came to Lockhart because I moved from St. Augustine and I always worked in a Title 1 school and enjoyed it. I never worked at a Magnet school so I was interested to try it out.

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I decided to teach at Lockhart because I internship at a magnet school and really enjoyed that atmosphere. I also loved how inviting everyone was when I was interviewing.

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I took a long-term substitute position here and have stayed ever since, being officially hired on last year. I chose to stay because of the staff and the supportive community they've built here.

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I came to Lockhart to work with a principal. I also missed working at a magnet school. When that principal was moved, I stayed because the students.

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I came to Lockhart because I was leaving an administrative team that was not flexible to meeting the needs of a high poverty school and believed in teaching IN the box.  To know me is to know I am not much for IN the box:)  I fell into an environment where I felt the community and that is why I have stayed.  I enjoy the challenge of engaging students who tend to be more difficult to engage:)  Angie Snow

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I initially came to Lockhart because my principal was transferred there. I also thought it would be a good opportunity to grow as a teacher since I was at my current school for 5+ years.

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I came to Lockhart to work with the principal, which worked before. Still working as a math and science teacher.

But I did stayed because I love the students and the people I work with. There is a huge support system here. All you have to do is ask.
Wendy Lopez

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Originally I came to Lockhart, for the Media Specialist position and to work for a principal (Ms. Roberts) that I worked for before.

I stayed at Lockhart because I love our school community. I love our students, parents, and teachers/staff.

-Rachel May

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I would like to know more about my student's home life. I would also like to know more about their culture. I think if I knew more about those I could better understand them.

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I would like to know about my student’s home life and more about their cultural background so I can better understand the student.

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I would like to know more about students home lives and culture. Additionally, I would like to know more about their interests to incorporate them into the learning.

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I would like to know more about their homes, how they like to learn, what they enjoy about school and what they don't enjoy about school.

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I would like to know and understand my student's home-life and realities a little more. I would like to know more about their cultures so I can embrace them and teach them in our classroom.

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I have worked with Title 1 students for many  years here in Florida and New York City. At times it has become disheartening to  work with in a community where education is NOT  a priority  and where there is so much negativity, chaos  and upheaval in the lives of the students.
I grew up in the projects in Brooklyn. Although they didn't have much of an education, my parents made sure that we excelled in school. My sisters and I spent hours in the library and travelled around NYC to the various museums, historical sites and cultural events that the city had to offer.

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I hope to learn more about my student's' realities. My students have been open to sharing their backgrounds with me, but I would like to learn more about their culture and how I can best respect that as an educator in the classroom.

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I have worked for title one students. I worked where I had half my students in shelters home with nothing to lose. I understand I lot of their struggles because I saw my own mom struggle as a single mom who immigrated from Dominican Republic.
But I want to learn to keep their cultures and their beliefs strong in the classroom with respect and understanding. To build a community where they can come and share without judgement because hello they are kids not the adult.
But to see or read from their perspective is always good because you learn more about the students.

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I hope I learn how to better connect with my students. Also be able to engage them more in my lessons.

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I think I will learn about  how I can connect better with my students and understand their realities and how this can help me to be a better teacher for them

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I think this book will help me understand how to better connect with my students and give me a better understanding of what their background might be like.

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I think I will learn how to connect with students better and how to engage them in lessons.

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I think I will learn more about students/families in urban areas and the hardships they encounter. I hope this book gives me perspective of what my students go through, so I can better instruct and relate to them.

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I want to look at the community/students through "opened" eyes. The students are facing so many challenges in their lives on a daily basis, I want them to know that their lives are important..as a matter of fact I want them be passionate about learning and about who they are
because they are loved and they belong.

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I think I will gain a deeper insight to my student's backgrounds and how that can translate to my teaching instruction.

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I think the community is great. The staff/teachers are always willing to help if needed.

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I love the community thats been built. There are great teachers and staff who are supportive and helpful.

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The community we teach in is great. There are many teachers/staff and organizations available willing to help our students/families out.

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We have a great community. Some parents are more involved than others. Many teachers/staff do a lot for the students.

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I love the community we teach in. Our parents/families fight hard for our  children. There are many organizations and community groups to help our families and the community that Lockhart is in.

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I agree with Ms. Worsley with the amount of community involvement and the programs we have at Lockhart make it unique to many other schools.

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There are a varied number of  community organizations that  organize events for the people who live within. There are also Mentors who partner with schools in order to show our students what a positive role model should be. I wish that we could partner with more organizations this year. If we do, I hope that the grateful would outweigh the ungratefulness that was shown in the past.

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Many wrote about teacher's expectations vs. students expectations regarding behavior and academics. Should we consider other expectations? (i.e., social, cultural, family norms?) Those areas can define how a student acts, interacts and reacts to what is happening at school. Thank you all for responding!
Flowers

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C. I hope my students see me as caring, helpful, someone that they could come to me about anything. Also that I believe in them and they can do anything and be anyone they chose.
D. Next year, I would like to get more student input with expectations so they feel like they have more of a voice as well.

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A. As I read, the problem identified in the introduction is the lack of understanding or mutuality between students and teachers, which can lead to issues in the classroom. The teacher can have expectations for how a student should behave and perform in the classroom based on their realities, that vary greatly from the realities of their students. Therefore the interpretation and execution of these expectations will differ.

D. When I started out, I found that some of my expectations for the classroom were very different than that of the students. As I got to know my students more I was able to identify some of the ways that these expectations could be altered, to allow for more clarification and to include student input. Next year, I will allow for this input in the beginning of the year, and have the students create the expectations with me.

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C. I think my students would describe me as loving, patient and encouraging. My hopes are that my students know I fully believe in them and I think they are capable of anything they put their mind to.

D. My expectations for the classroom connect with the students because we discuss and create expectations together. This allows us to be on the same page and gives us all an understanding of what is expected within the classroom.

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B. Julie Cook's books with the character RJ.

C. They probably say that I am strict. I am there for them and know that I care for them.

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B. One of my favorite picture books is "The Last Stop on Market Street" by Matt de La Pena. This book reminds me of some of our Lockhart students and families. Like the characters of the book, many of our students are living in poverty and being raised by grandparents and great grandparents.

C. I would like to think my students describe me as: kind and caring. I strive to make our classroom a safe place for them to express themselves and learn.

D. In our classroom, we come up with most of the expectations as a class at the beginning of the year. The students have input on what they think the expectations should be. The students pull from prior knowledge of rules; from home and prior classes.

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A. One of the problems identified in the introduction was even with the best intent, educators can expect students to conform to their norms and/or expectations without an understanding of diverse backgrounds

D. I thought it was interesting when it stated the Carlisle teachers saw themselves as caring, but students described many as overly strict and mean-spirited disciplinarians. This is an example of how there may be a disconnect between our expectations vs. a student.

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The part that resonated with me is on pg. 27 "Reality pedagogy is an approach to teaching and learning that has a primary goal of meeting each student on his or her own cultural and emotional turf. It focuses on making the local experiences of the student visible and creating contexts where there is a role reversal of sorts that positions the student as the expert in his or her teaching and learning, and the teacher as a learner.''
As teachers, we need to listen and learn how to shape our lessons that would best suit our students with teaching the content.

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"Reality pedagogy focuses on privileging the ways that students make sense of the classroom while acknowledging that the teacher often has very different expectations about the classroom." pg. 29-30

This pedagogy encourages educators to focus on the community and their students outside of the school and not limit their focus on just in the classroom.

I am interested to read more about this pedagogy and how it can help my students and my teaching.

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A part of this section that resonated with me was the poem on page 25 in which the student describes students who were invisible. As the author states, "He shows us that what educators and the world at large see when looking at students is often a distortion of their authentic selves". I want to ensure I create a classroom that is a safe space for students where they can be their true selves.

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A part that resonated with me from chapter 1 when the author said " If we are truly interested in transforming schools and meeting the needs of urban youth of color who are the most disenfranchised within them, educators must create safe and trusting environments that are respectful of the students' culture." This part really reminded me how important it is to build and understanding of each student and their cultural beliefs. If there is not respect for each student and who they are, the student will most likely struggle to prosper within your classroom.

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The sentence in the poem on page 25, "To understand that if we have to learn with each other we should also learn about each other so we can bring each other up" stood out to me. As we get to know our students during the year, we know how they will react during lessons. When students know about each other, they can help each other.

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Something that resonated with me was in Chapter 1 when the author was discussing how PTSD can affect children and can many times go unnoticed. When it described the student, who heard a loud noise from the hallway and connected it to a gunshot and followed the direction of his sister to drop to the floor it made me analyze the teacher's reaction. The teacher sent the student to the principal because of the distraction it caused to the class, with no knowledge that the student heard a gunshot previously near their home.

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I have not visited churches or worship centers in neighborhoods that I have taught in, but I have though had experiences that helped me understand my student's realities. I have attended my student's sports events, concerts, and birthday parties. By attending these events, I was able to connect better with the families of my students.

Also last year during quarantine, the kindergarten team made many home visits to our families to let them know we are here for them and show we care about them. The families and students really appreciated this and it helped us see the environment that our students were living in.

Chapter 4

I like the idea of doing cogen's in my classroom. This reminded me of morning meetings that we already do. It would be hard to fully implement on in a kindergarten classroom, but having students participate and contribute to class discussions in a non-academic way makes them more comfortable and willing to work and share. When students are able to facilitate and run the meetings/cogens themselves they will be more accountable and willing to talk. y

-Rachel May

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For many years , I taught in a school in the Bronx where the majority of the teachers didn't live in the school  community but in the suburbs. They would come in early and leave  in a mad dash after they dismissed their students. Some of the teachers actually had a heart for the students while others didn't. About once a week we would have grade level meetings to discuss student progress and data. It never failed that at every meeting, there was  that one teacher- Mrs. H who never had anything positive to say about  her class especially the students who were academically below level in her class which were quite a few. Now the students who were academically  on or above level... ohh! she adored  and rewarded them. My  colleagues and myself  would encourage the other students in her class when we worked with them during   workshop times.

CHAPTER  3
Over the years, I have had the honor of attending 1-2 churches where my students were either in the choir or performing. I have been to dance recitals, poetry competitions, track meets, birthday parties , barbeques, and yes funerals. One year while on vacation in Virginia, I saw one of my students at Kings Dominion amusement park ! The students were shocked and surprised and were overjoyed to see their teacher. This is how you establish and build bonded relationships with students and their families, to know that their teacher cares and does have a life outside of school!!! As Mrs. May stated, last year during the pandemic, we ( THE KGN TEAM) drove to and gave out awards and gifts to the students who were very engaged during virtual learning. To see the communities where our students lived was an eye opening experience. The families were overjoyed.