Prompt 1: Seeing in a New Light

I had never fully enjoyed driving in this area when I had to pick my neighbor up from a sporting class he took down the road from the school I am currently tutoring in. I still don't really enjoy it, but I am much more comfortable now. The school is secluded on its own road. Driving up to the two story, brick building I always smile because I see the clever architecture of Crayon columns at the entrance of the school.
On my first day of tutoring I was so nervous I forgot my keys and phone in the office on the way in, and forgot to give the visitors pass back when I left. I ran back to give it to the secretary and forgot my folder. The point of this story: the secretary was very nice. She asked who my teacher was, and when I told her she smiled, "Oh! You have the nicest teacher in the school!" Needless to say that took a lot of anxiety off of my shoulders--especially when she was nice about how much I forgot.
My first impression, even before I had stepped foot in my classroom, was positive. I am very thankful for that! To make my first time at the school even better, when I walked into the classroom, the teacher was extremely happy to see me, asked my name and told the students, "Say 'hi' to Miss Kailyn class." The whole class repeated in chorus their teachers instructions, but for the rest of they day they were slightly chatty. My guess the reason was because it was the day before their February vacation, and a new person was in their classroom. I know I would have been the same way when I was that young.
I sat at a round table while the teacher finished her lesson. There were posters and reminders all around relating to different lessons they were learning. One poster in particular that I have noticed the students definitely use is the Science Journal Outline. It shows the different sections they need to include in their science notebook and a short summery of what each section includes.
The space provided in the classroom is used well. The desks are set up into several groups, and I have noticed that the students are divided among the groups in such a way that each group has a mix of students with a handle on the school work and students who have a little more trouble with the school work. It seems to work well because they all help each other if they need it. Several times the teacher asks the students to show with their hands how they are doing with their work. The students will hold up 1 finger (they don't understand), 2 fingers (they understand the material a little), or 3 fingers (they totally understand what they are doing). The teacher goes around and helps those with questions, and she sends a few kids for me to help. Some days if she is doing a class lesson (like in science) where she works with the students, She has me walk around and help each group as she explains the lesson. It's great teamwork, not just between the teacher and I, but between the class, the teacher and I. The teacher highly values helping her students. One day another teacher walked in and handed her a check for a cause. My teacher explained to me that the teachers pay to dress down on Fridays for her "adopt a child" cause. I think this is amazing. She really cares about the students, and to give further evidence for this: she told me about one of her first jobs after moving to this sate. She was in a classroom where birds were living in the loud speaker, and where there were ZERO school supplies for the students. She didn't even have a lesson book, and was the 3rd teacher that year for those students, and it was only October. She said it took a few months for the students to finally respect her. She told them she was not going to leave them and that she was there to help them learn and do well. By the end of that school year, she said her and her class had become very close because she did not give up on them. That story touched me so much it is incredible.
As for the value of the school, they definitely value helping their students to do well, and they value giving them a strong support system. Every Friday my teacher sends and e-mail to the principal about how wonderful her class is, and the principal walks around to different classrooms to see how the students are doing. This school is very interactive, and they are working hard to continue upping their test scores--which increased in double digits last year which is amazing.
I am very thankful to be placed in this school. I feel very safe and comfortable here, and the students and staff really do appreciate the help being provided which makes me feel even more grateful that there are so many people that want to help and make a difference in our education system.