Course Feedback - Final Reflection II

Overall, I feel like the course was setup and executed in a very thought out, methodical manner. The readings which we discussed helped to provide a scholarly look at the happenings in urban schools and districts. The discussions based on these same readings helped to clarify some of the points that either were not clear or I just did not understand as a result of my inexperience with the subject matter. The school visits played a major part in learning about urban schools because it made a real connection. We were not seeing pictures, we were not reading what other people have seen, we were able to actually see – to experience. Seeing and experiencing the schools, interacting with the students and the faculty played a vital role in the effectiveness of the course. The website project was also extremely helpful. Working in groups helped me, and I am sure my group mates in looking at the same situations from different perspectives. We all had different thoughts and ideas, but we had to analyze each idea and come up with the best viable option for our theme. In doing so, I learned a great deal about urban schools and communities and also my teammates.

I feel that the course was organized very well. I still think back to the first day when we had to get into pairs (in my group's case, three students) and come up with uncommon commonalities. We had the opportunity to learn about one another, which helped us make a connection – a bond that made what could have been a very cold, academic environment feel like a family. I know the word family may sound a bit mushy, but I mean that there was an openness – not just to express ideas, but to joke around. Unfortunately, this is the exception rather than the norm in many classrooms. Within the 15 days that the course covered, we accomplished a great deal. I feel that the length of the course was appropriate, however I do have a suggestion about the Urban Educators Institute. The school visits felt very rushed. We went Monday through Wednesday and then came back to class and discussed our experiences on Thursday. I wonder if it would have been better to spread it out a bit. For example, have one school visit on Monday – come back and discuss the visit on Tuesday. In class, discuss what happened, what we saw and experienced, and what we should look for during our next visit. Those debriefs after each visit would have benefited me at least, rather than waiting several days later to discuss all of the schools.

The use of technology in the classroom was very fun and extremely helpful. I feel that the blogging was a good exercise – an interactive journal of sorts. It was interesting to read through other people’s posts and see how they view certain topics and compare their views to my own. In addition, we had the chance to comment on these posts so that the exercise was very interactive.

The readings were, for the most part, helpful. I feel that we could have discussed some of the later articles a little more in-depth. The articles which I feel were the most informative include: the Bulman article on Hollywood, the Pedagogy of Poverty article, as well as Preparing Teachers for Monday Morning. The other articles were interesting to read, but did not have the same impact on me as these three articles. I do not think any of the articles should have been replaced per se, but rather discussed a little more - the Halpin article on Utopia comes to mind. I was confused on some of the points made, but at that point I was a little more interested in completing the website project. I would have liked to read more about what types of experiences teachers had as they worked in urban schools.

Honestly, there is not one thing that comes to mind that could have made the experience more valuable in terms of the actual teaching. We engaged in a variety of teaching styles which were all effective. Personally, I enjoyed the group work much more than the lecture style; but there was a nice balance between both. I truly enjoyed the cultural collage and will be using that lesson in my art classroom at some point in the future. It will serve as a great teacher’s aid when getting to know the students, but also as an ice-breaker to help students get to know one another on a more intimate level. Again, without being too mushy, Rebecca, you as a teacher were very helpful. You truly showed a passion for the subject and us as the students. What could have been just another meaningless course requirement turned into a valuable and memorable learning experience. I leave the class knowing that I will be a better teacher.