Tuesday, May 7, 2013

Day 4 in New York: First Day of School!

Today was the day! We had our first day in our assigned schools, and everyone had very different and interesting experiences to share.

The group that went to the middle school in the Bronx told stories about a teacher they adored named Miss V. They shared funny stories about our Miss V. commanded respect from her students and had fun at the same time. They were also excited about taking a field trip to The Bronx Zoo and to a show!

The group in Harlem, at PS 155, an elementary school, discussed how teaching methods and discipline methods differed from those we are used to in the Midwest. This group said that a lot of the teachers were focusing on the standardized tests that were coming up, and the language barrier was an obstacle they needed to overcome.

The group at PS 163, discussed the four programs within the school, the talented and gifted program, the general education program, the dual-language program with Spanish, and the ICT program that integrates students with disabilities in to classes with general education students.

The group at the Ethical Culture school discussed the different learning style that is used at their school. They said that the learning is all student-led learning. The teachers do not lecture, the students are responsible for getting what they want to achieve from the lesson. One of our classmates even has Jerry Seinfeld's son, Julian, in class. How exciting!

The group who went to Marta Valle secondary school, discussed how they were able to help teach actual lessons in the school. Most of them worked in classes with high school students which was an experience that was different from most of their classmates.

We all look forward to what the rest of the week has to bring!


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