New Teacher Inspiration

Guest Dragon Dropper Laura Agosto, an undergraduate student at the University of Pennsylvania, has been interning at Freire this year. The Dragon Drop caught up with her recently about how her time at Freire has influenced her. Here's what she had to say:

Before working at Freire Charter School, I was unsure if teaching was something that I wanted to pursue. After only a few short weeks here, however, I became confident that teaching in a classroom is where I want to be. Over the past nine months, I have learned and grown under the mentorship of many of Freire's teachers and staff members. The care and dedication that they have for their work is inspiring. Perhaps one of the most important things I have learned while at Freire is the value of building relationships of mutual trust and respect. Every time I've seen a Freire teacher or staff member work with a student, they are patient and supportive, regardless of the task. As a result, there is an emphasis on success and growth that allows the student to feel valued. Through their positive reinforcement and commitment to applauding growth (instead of fixating on struggles) the students of Freire believe in themselves and their capabilities.

As a tutor in the Writing Center, I have tried to build these same kinds of relationships with the students I conference with. Being their tutor does not automatically mean I am someone they will listen to or feel comfortable with. I start every session hoping to foster an environment in which the student feels comfortable asking questions and working with me. This can be as simple as asking them a bit about themselves or their day, and in turn, sharing a bit about myself. Even if a student enters the Center with a negative or defeated attitude, I continue to try to connect and motivate. I have noticed that often, their initially sour attitude or reluctance to open up is really a front for their frustration with or confusion over an assignment. I have learned that if I focus on rebuilding their confidence in their ability to formulate and express their thoughts through writhing, their attitude--and their essay!--will improve greatly.

One particular instance in which I have felt the payoff of this effort was with a student who came into the Writing Center with a pessimistic and disinterested attitude. She had been struggling in her class and was told by her teacher she had to come to the Writing Center. She did not want to be there or work with me. As hard as she pushed back, I pushed her to make the session a valuable use of her time and intellect. By the end of the session, she was laughing and actually applying herself. A week later I saw her in the hallway, and she came running up to me and told me with a smile that she got an 85% on the paper. In that moment, I felt fulfilled and excited to be doing what I am doing. It wasn’t just that her grade had improved, but also that she felt confident in her ability to succeed. My experience at Freire thus far has taught me that if you are willing to invest time and care in your students, the rewards can be amazing. It is what pushes me to become a teacher after graduation this Spring.

Luz, Camera, Comida!

Learning a language within the confines of a classroom can sometimes be a little...stale. To spice things up--and bring her skills and objectives to life for her students--Profe Teresa recently capped off her Spanish II unit by with a lively cooking project. Leading up to this project, students had learned how to describe food and give commands in the kitchen using their growing language skills. As part of this unit, Profe Teresa led two in-class cooking lessons, showing students how to make guacamole and fruit smoothies. Then, it was the students' turn to film their own original Spanish language cooking videos. Here is a taste of their creations:

Yasmeen Abusamaha, Josephine Chukwuani and Essence Hall-Dulin created a tortilla española, which is a typical Spanish breakfast or bar food. Josephine mixed it up a bit by using a Mexican sombrero as her chef’s hat.

Junius Johnson, Sara Bien-Amie and Titiana Robichaw were one of the groups that took advantage of Freire’s kitchen next door and created salsa de taco, a Mexican-inspired taco dip.

Bahsil Franklin worked solo, and created a batido de fresa y plátano. He clearly is comfortable both in front of and behind the camera, and added a soundtrack to make washing, cutting and blending fruit extra dramatic.

A great job by these and all the student chefs!

Profe Teresa is happy to share even more videos, swap recipe ideas or talk about the lessons that supported students to create these video projects. "Definitely reach out if you are interested in doing a video project with your students--and learn from my mistakes!" she says. She and five other Freire teachers will be doing a workshop with WHYY next week to learn more about integrating video projects into the classroom, and the group will be presenting at a future PD.

Dropping a Discussion Beat

Guest Dragon Dropper Julie Berger recounts a powerful (and musical!) moment from her 11th grade English III class last week: 

During a class discussion of Ralph Waldo Emerson’s essay “Self-Reliance,” students were offering their interpretations of his message. One student spoke eloquently about the challenge of truly being ourselves, when the student next to him, so taken with his ideas, intoned the first line of a song from the cross-generational classic, Sister Act 2: Back in the Habit: “If you wanna be somebody …”

Not missing a beat, I grabbed my pen as a mic and continued, “If you wanna go somewhere …” Other students, clearly getting a kick out of this soulful outburst from their teacher, picked up the rest of the song: “You better wake up and pay attention.”

This playful moment initiated a musical rest-of-discussion. As the initial speaker continued his thought, another student put down a back beat. Other students picked up on the beat, infusing our discussion with a new energy. The beat continued as the next speaker picked up the thought. It seemed to fuel engagement and excitement, and it fit in perfectly with the discussion on celebrating individuality. It also provided much-needed laughter in a class that has often been a behavioral struggle for me throughout the year.