Wednesday, February 6, 2008

New school!

So I have FINALLY started my student teaching at a public charter school in the Columbia Heights/ Mt. Pleasant neighborhood in DC called Next Step (Proximo Paso). The school is comprised of 83 students, mostly very recent immigrants and high school drop-outs. One of the school's major goals is to prepare these students for the GED. The students in steps 1 to 3 are being taught content in Spanish at varying reading levels (elementary-step 1, middle school level- step 2, and at or near high school level- step 3). Those students also take ESOL (English to Speakers of Other Languages). Steps 4, 5, and 6 classes are taught in English at varying reading levels (some literally at 1st-3rd grade reading levels).

Of course I will primarily be teaching social studies but for the first week I am sampling all of the steps to get an idea of the schools program and get to know each of the teachers. Today I even taught a science class about global warming IN SPANISH! It was challenging but really awesome! I am also getting involved in helping an ESOL class of lower level Spanish speakers.

Tomorrow and then ALL DAY Friday I will be teaching the digestive system (in English, thank God!). I will be posting about all of my experiences as I go here on this blog. When I have an idea of lessons I will need to plan, I would love your ideas!

Scott

1 comment:

Dr. Adrea said...

Wow, this is good news, Scott. I'm looking forward to hearing more about your experiences.