Reflection 1: Inventory

This is the first time I have ever been surrounded by children in a classroom environment. I am doing my observations in the school I attended as a child, xxxxx in xxxxx. I have fond memories of this school. As a child I enjoyed the wide open space this school offered, with its large playgrounds and spacious sports fields. But xxxxx along with other schools in the town of xxxxx has gone through a rebuilding phase. Gone are the large baseball diamonds and playgrounds. They have been replaced with portable classrooms and a new kindergarten wing. This is due to the growing population xxxxxxx has seen in recent years as housing prices have risen in Silicon Valley.
xxxxx is located on xxxxxx Westside. I grew up in this area and I can speak from experience that it is not the best area in this town. This school has 567 students enrolled. Of these students 48% (270) are English learners and 64% are low income students. Most of the 270 speak only Spanish at home. These factors may affect a student’s ability to learn. 67% of xxxxxx students rank at basic or below in English/Langue Arts (reading and writing); they far better in mathematics with 50% at basic or below California Standards Tests.
My first day of observation started in Mrs. xxxxxx kindergarten class. This class is team taught with Mrs. xxxxxx. One teacher is the main teacher for the morning class while the second takes charge of the afternoon class. On my first morning I was a little nervous. I seemed to be a bigger distraction than anything. But once Mrs. xxxxxx introduced me the kids they all settled down. Of the twenty or so students about 90% were Hispanic, with about 40% speaking little to no English. This makes teaching very difficult especially since they have to teach only in English.
The most interesting event that happened on my first day was seeing how ability grouping works. After reading “The Balanced View: Ability Grouping” I knew the pros and cons associated with ability grouping. I understood why it was such a big controversy among parents and educators. The students were broken up into three groups: birds, bunnies, and fish. The fish were the children who needed the most help, while the bunnies were in the middle, and the birds were above the rest. I worked one on one with all three groups and saw the advantages ability grouping has for all students. At first I thought ability grouping was a bad thing for children because it would keep them from learning from their peers. But after seeing it in action I believe ability grouping can help children. It makes it easier for the teacher to give extra attention to the students who need it without taking time away from the other students.
I was given a project that involved following directions, coloring, cutting and pasting. When I worked with the fish group I saw them helping each other. Most of the students in this group were English learners and lacked the basic language skills to fully understand what was being asked of them. They were not scared to ask for help from me. I was more involved with this group because most of them needed help. The bunnies and the birds on the other hand did not need as much direction from me.
All in all, my first day was pretty fun. I learned a lot of things and gained some experience. But most importantly my first day changed my view on how ability grouping can help students. I saw the advantages ability grouping has in a classroom with English learners and how I might use it one day in my own class.