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UES features << back to UES 1. Sample Classroom Placements 2. What Students Have to Say 3. Interviews with Participants 4. Frequently Asked Questions 5. Profiles of Past Participants > an interview with UES participants
the participants
These five individuals participated in the Urban Education Semester in the Spring of 1999, and were interviewed by Ken Scott and Peggy Chang, Venture Consortium Staff: Nathan Havner, Franklin & Marshall College Robyn Perry, Wesleyan University Duong Phan, Brown University Gina Salerno, Franklin & Marshall College David Trajtenberg, Franklin & Marshall College the questions
You can click on any of the questions to jump directly to the participants' responses. 1. Why did you initially decide to participate in the Urban Education Semester? 2. Did the program accomplish its stated emphasis: connecting theory and practice in urban education? How did the Bank Street courses and advisement address this issue for you? 3. Where was your classroom placement, and what kind of classroom/school was it? What was it like to be working in the classroom? What did you learn from the experience? 4. Looking back, what feature(s) of the program had the greatest impact on you? 5. Looking forward, what impact do you think the program will have on your academic, personal and future goals? 6. To whom would you recommend this program? Do you have any advice for anyone applying to this program? > the interviews Duong: I wanted to participate in the Urban Education Semester for two reasons. Being an education concentrator, I wanted to make the connection between the theories that I was learning in my courses to the practical applications of the "real" classrooms. Also, I wanted to learn what exactly urban education was about for children, for parents, and for teachers. Robyn: I have always had a genuine interest in education and teaching as a career choice. Since Wesleyan does not have an education department, the Urban Education Semester was especially interesting to me. The structure of the program provided an excellent balance of "practice and theory". Bank Street courses gave the opportunity to learn through course work, while the teaching apprenticeship offered a fieldwork experience in a classroom. The program also received rave reviews from my peers. David: I originally participated in the program because of my interest in the political and bureaucratic aspect of the educational system. I am also interested in pursuing a career in the field of education, so I felt that this would be a good opportunity to experience the profession without having to make any life changes. Also, I've always wanted to spend time in the city, so what better opportunity than the Urban Education Semester? Nathan: I absolutely love NYC, plus I wanted to go into teaching and my school had no education program. UES was one way that I made myself marketable to public school principals, plus it was a great learning experience. Gina: I was on the fence about whether to pursue a career in education and wanted to find out first hand what it would be like through the opportunity to actually teach in a classroom. (back to questions) (back to top) 2. Did
the program accomplish its stated emphasis: connecting theory
and practice in urban education?
How did the Bank Street courses and advisement address this
issue for you?
David: The program did a wonderful job at connecting the theory and practice in urban education. For every situation that occurred in the classroom, the professors and advisors were able to connect it to a theoretical explanation. The implementation of group discussions and sharing of ideas, as well as input from the advisors and professors helped to create bridges between the theory behind urban ed. and its practice. Gina: I felt that I gained a great deal from the advisement I received from the faculty advisor. I could put right the suggestions and knowledge that I gleaned right into practice in my classroom placement. Finding the connections between the material in the Bank Street courses and the reality of a classroom environment was interesting and enriching. Robyn: The fieldwork and course work are mutually supportive. Often the focus of the participants was on the classroom experience, but the course work provided a basis of theory to understand the culture of our classroom experiences. Advisement was most useful in allowing us to synthesize and make sense of our observations and readings. This course provided the structure necessary to encourage a much needed sounding board. We utilized the various experiences of our fellow participants and the wealth of knowledge and insight of the advisors. Nathan: Looking back on my experience in UES, it certainly connected theory and practice, but during the semester I would have liked a more concrete example of exactly how the theory and practice were linked. It was also a little difficult just being dropped in to one semester at a pretty prestigious grad school. I probably should have been a little intimidated, but I didn't know any better. Duong: Having been in the education system for fifteen years, having taken education courses at Brown and Bank Street, I was able to connect the theory and practice in urban education. I especially liked the Folklore and the Music and Movement classes that I took at Bank Street. Those classes emphasized the importance of incorporating folklore and music and movement into the classroom for children. Finally, my invaluable experience at Bank Street wouldn't have been possible without the guidance of Maggie Deluca, my advisor. She read my journal entries, held weekly conferences with me, and really made me make the most out of my time in New York. (back to questions) (back to top) 3. Where
was your classroom placement, and what kind of classroom/school
was it? What was it like to be working in the classroom? What
did you learn from the experience?
Duong: My placement was at PS/IS 176, The Muscota New School. I worked in a progressive kindergarten/first grade classroom. I enjoyed working with my cooperating teacher, Marilyn Hernandez. I saw the multiple roles that teachers had to play on a daily basis. David: My classroom placement was at The Young Women's Leadership School. It was a public, all girls school located in Harlem. It was a very interesting experience working in a school that taught only girls, but was still public. It had the feeling of a private school, but at the same time had to conform to all of the city wide standards. This made it a unique experience. The scope of what I learned from this experience is too lengthy for this response, but one of the most important things I learned was that each and every person has his/her own context, and it is important to realize this context before judging the individual. Nathan: I student taught third grade bilingual (English and divish) at PS 20, on the Lower East Side. The school is a magnet school for technology and the arts. It was hectic, loud, but an excellent place to get my feet wet in teaching. I learned a great deal from Ms. Mancini at PS 20. I am using a lot of what I learned in NYC in my job at [the school I teach at now]. Both schools are public, urban schools in a working class neighborhood. The main thing I learned was that teaching public school in an urban environment takes flexibility with a capital "f." Robyn: I was placed at River East Elementary School in East Harlem (divish Harlem) at 115th street and FDR Drive. I was in an interage to first grade (5-7 year olds) classroom. The school is a progressive, public school housed in the same building as a public middle school and high school. The philosophies of these three schools were not similar, only the building is shared. I learned immensely from my fieldwork experience. I learned that I definitely want to pursue teaching as a career. I grew personally from the experience and gained an understanding of the culture and politics of a school environment. I had the opportunity to participate in faculty meetings, giving instruction, developing projects, and managing students individually, in small groups and as an entire class. Gina: My classroom placement was a kindergarten class at P.S. 20, a magnet school for technology and the arts on the Lower East Side. The experience I had in Mrs. Alperstein's classroom was outstanding--describing it could take up a whole article! I always looked forward to working in the classroom, even though there were days when I came home exhausted. However, the energy I expended with my students at P.S. 20 would come back to me tenfold when I saw what they were learning and how they were progressing, and indeed how I was learning and progressing in my abilities as a teacher. I gained so much knowledge from working at P.S. 20, I couldn't list everything I learned. But one of the most important lessons I took from the program was how guiding a student to believe in his/her abilities could change his/her classroom performance, and how the same applies to me as a teacher, as well. I definitely grew with my students. (back to questions) (back to top) Robyn: No one part of the program was most influential. While I was participating I suppose that the teaching experience was most gratifying and immensely educational. However, now it is difficult to separate the features of the program. As Maggie always advised us, "It's all related." and "It's not about you, it's about the kids." That "it's all related" took me a long time to realize. The way that we deal with each other as members of the UES is related to how we will affect a staff meeting which directly influences a school culture. The students are keenly aware of a teacher's behavior as a model, and this makes our individual attitudes a significant factor in students' lives, so what we do in the classroom does not end when we are "off duty". Duong: At first I did not want to work with such a young group of children, but by the end of the program I was glad that Maggie had placed me in a kindergarten and first grade classroom. I still remember what Maggie told me. She said that if you could work in a kindergarten and first grade classroom where anything and everything could possibly occur then you could teach at any level. In reflecting back, I truly believe what Maggie told me. Nathan: The distance that I traveled from the first day to the last day. I learned so much at UES, and when I started I was basically clueless. It was wonderful to have that space to grow and learn from my mistakes. Gina: The placement at P.S. 20 in conjunction with the individual advisement sessions were the most fruitful features of the program for me. Individual advisement gave me the chance to discuss what was happening in my classroom and figure out ideas of how best to handle a problem, construct a lesson, etc. David: The feature of the program that had the most impact on me was the fact that we lived in close proximity with 11 other [program participants], each in a similar experience, so the interaction between us was most memorable, and most impacting. Another feature that had the most impact on me was the fact that I was living in NYC (that speaks for itself). (back to questions) (back to top) 5. Looking
forward, what impact do you think the program will have on
your academic, personal and future goals?
Duong: Before going into the program I was considering teaching older children, but after the experience I refocused my attention to younger children. For my senior thesis, I am looking at children's literature, writing three of my own, and presenting them to children I know to get their feedback. Gina: UES has had a huge impact on my future. First of all, I'm no long on the fence about teaching--I'm looking forward to jumping right in when I graduate from Franklin and Marshall in May 2000. I also know now that urban education, as opposed to teaching opportunities in other areas, is what I'm most interested in. My plans for the immediate future include moving back to New York to teach in the public schools and working towards my Master of Arts in Teaching degree. David: I am currently applying for graduate school in education. So I can say that the experience had a very positive impact on my personal and academic future and goals. Robyn: I am applying to graduate school programs to get my master's and get certified to teach. I was so influenced by the progressive theories that this program exposed me to that I am applying to Bank Street and other programs with a similar philosophy of education. Nathan: My UES experience helped me get my teaching job in DC. I recently started teaching a pre-K class for the District of Columbia public schools. We're three blocks from the capitol, and the school is called the Peabody Early Childhood Campus. My UES experience definitely helped me get this job (It was my first interview out of F&M!) (back to questions) (back to top) 6. To
whom would you recommend this program? Do you have any advice
for anyone applying to this program?
Nathan: I would recommend UES to motivated individuals interested in finding their own path through school, possibly from universities with no education program (like me). Also, if you know someone in the program before you start out, it is a lot less intimidating. Duong: I would recommend this program to anyone who has interest in educational issues and especially children. After all, it is all about the children. ADVICE: If you want to take a break or get away from Brown, please do not apply to this program. This program is intense. You have to take a full load of courses as well as be in the classroom all day three days a week. Furthermore, you will be on your feet all day with your students and they will demand your attention. Robyn: I recommend this program to anyone who is interested in education / social issues. Anyone admitted to this program must be ready - ready to be pushed to the limit, learn more about themselves than they may have ever wanted to know, evaluate and then re-evaluate, be flexible, try hard and be disappointed, try and make a real difference in a young person's life. When you are ready the program is an awesome experience that will enhance your personal, academic, professional, and social growth. However, the program really stretches you and requires maturity. David: I would recommend this program to anyone remotely interested in the field of education. The person need not have an interest in teaching, but must at least show an interest in the issues that arise in modern day education. My best advice to anyone applying to the program is to fasten their safety belt, 'cause it's a hell of a ride! Gina: To anyone who, like me, wasn't completely sure about education as a career: this program will help to make up your mind about whether or not teaching is the right path for you. And on the way to that realization, you will have the chance to extend and enrich yourself through Bank Street classes, your classroom placement, and through the experience of living in New York City. There is so much to be gained from UES that even if you don't think that teaching is what you'd like to do, I would urge you to apply anyway and discover how this program can enhance anyone's college learning experience. (back to questions) (back to top) |
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