My Field Experience Class

On the first week of school in second grade, my teacher, Ms. Byrd, took us to the library to check out a book. I wasn’t very excited at the time because reading used to bore me. I viewed reading to be a hassle rather than a way to gain knowledge. As our class marched up the ramp leading into the library, we were immediately greeted by a fragile old woman with hair as grey as a pack of Alaskan wolves. The old lady turned out to be the school librarian. She was extremely enthusiastic about reading and asked the class “who is excited to pick out a book today?” All of my classmates swung

As a child, I read non-stop. I used to spend entire nights reading, so much so that by the age of 9, I had developed grey circles under my eyes, which I wore like a badge. In school, I would use every free second I had to get just a little closer to finishing whatever book I had on hand. Ms. Carpenter, who always seemed as though she didn’t like teaching very much, frequently yelled at me for keeping my books on my desk so I could get to them quicker whenever I finished my classwork. She insisted that they were a distraction. But I always had a book to read, because every Friday each class walked in a neat line

Sometimes it gets to the point that people get too attached to books, a bibliophile per se. Those who are not too fond of books, might find one novel that they grow to love. Literature tends to spark emotions in someone which makes them keep reading. This is something that this class does as well. Talking about a book with peers, gets you excited to keep on reading.

For as long as I can remember I was identified as a bookworm. I always accepted this title as a compliment no matter how people meant it. As I grew older, took more challenging courses, and participated in extracurriculars, my opportunities to read diminished. However, I never abandoned my passion for novels, bookstores, and libraries. As a freshman in high school, I joined the book club and now lead it with some friends. I strive to inspire others to appreciate the myriad of ways a book can serve us, and why I still love to read about anything and everything.

When I first heard of an opportunity to partake in an field experience, I couldn't help but get a tad excited. My first field experience was with elementary aged students, it was an eye opening experience that made me realize that perhaps I would be more suited for secondary age students. Therefore, this field experience I feel more excited about partaking in since it is with the age group that I will be working with. That being said, I am going to be at two different middle school's here in town Anthony and Eisenhower.

I began my field experience on June 4, 2015 with no idea of what to expect. During the period however I was able to gain a first-hand experience of how different environments affect students. It is always easy for someone to feel at home and function effectively in a familiar environment, but what happens to a student when the environment is not their own, or not what they are used to? Do the same principles or measuring stick apply to these students that apply to those in a familiar environment? It was interesting to observe these students who were completely out of their comfort zone but were required to learn at the same level and have the same academic achievement as those who were completely at home.

Although I am a librarian by practice, I am a teacher by choice. I believe in the educational mission of libraries and work hard to perpetuate the democratic ideals on which our profession was founded. I encourage my students to take their learning personally; to look beyond the assignment to see the connections to their everyday lives, and beneath the information to see the systems of social, economic, and political power that build and inform our world. As a teacher, I take the work I do seriously and I encourage my students to do the same.

More specifically, kids in that age group have experienced trauma and don’t understand how to handle it, and fiction novels can help them. For example, “The Boy in the Black Suit” describes a young teenager that just went through a loss of his mother and experiences depression, but then shows how he lives on with happiness and copes with his depression. Although Catherine Gewertz might object that majority of fiction books don’t have applications to real life and non-fiction can produce the same results, but I maintain that teachers can hand pick a selection of books that apply and nonfiction cannot pinpoint problems as precisely as fiction. Therefore I conclude that fiction has an important place in high school curriculum and benefits students greatly in using empathy and dealing with

#1 Please describe how you have prepared for your intended major, including your readiness to succeed in your upper-division courses once you enroll at the university.

Books have a great impact on many people. People learn about the world, and can be inspired by them. Schools encourage young kids to read lots of books to become more educated. Many people want books to glorify the world, and leave out the harsh realities that everyone will come face to face with. If books are written realistically with all the hardships that life contains, the readers can prepare for those challenges and accomplish more towards a greater society and fixing some of the problems. Books should portray the world as it is to prepare readers to face and understand issues of corruption and poverty, the pain of growing up from childhood, and the brutality of war.

Learning experiences in Culture and Schooling have impacted my values, beliefs, and attitudes towards others. Participating in the field experience requirement for this class has made me more aware of the diversity in our culture and has given me the opportunity to observe education in an urban school setting. I was unprepared for what I witnessed. I envisioned the institution to be dilapidated and neglected. I expected the students to be undisciplined, disruptive, and uncontrollable. I was wrong. The school building was well maintained and the student body was well mannered and respectful. After becoming involved with the school and meeting some of the students, all of my negative views about urban schooling have changed. Therefore, this course has influenced my perspective and opinions. I now realize that I should not pass judgement without having knowledge of or experience with the subject matter.

Books, especially good books, have the power to change a person’s life. When going through a dark time in life, reading can be able to change one’s mood about the situation and perhaps even help find a solution for it. It can be thought as a stress reliever. But books can do more than just that. Books can be able to change lives by giving three things. They are self-knowledge, humility and a sense of belonging.

All throughout elementary school teachers would constantly nonstop preach about how reading was important and how reading was supposed to improve creativity and memory. Teachers would take time out of the school day to read to us, while reading the book to the class, often the teacher would stop reading and ask us questions about what we have read so far. On top of books being read to the class, we would have to read books on our own. Reading didn't stop there multiple book projects each and every year on top of all the reading already done in class. To say I was tired of reading was an understatement

Books were my best friends all throughout elementary, and perhaps my only friends during kindergarten. I found comfort and solace in reading and the library was the perfect utopia that just so happened to exist. Euphoria accompanied every footstep I took in there. I would come home with at least 10 books, all finished in less than a week or sometimes or two. I was more excited by the smell of books and the sounds of pages flipping rather than the smell of mom’s cooking or my favorite song coming on the radio. It didn’t matter whether a book was torn up or brand new either. The most notable and most memorable

it liberates from any kind of reality whether ugly, uncomfortable, hurtful, etc. A book can be a peaceful world in a chaotic world; it can be an interesting world in a boring world. It can also be a world a richness in a world of necessity. All these are the bounds a book can break. Taking the lines “This Traverse may the poorest take, Without oppress of Toll” (Dickinson) as an example, this show that a book is an escape or liberty from any reality. Even the poorest read books and travel to new places for free without being bound by their poverty. They travel different places without the bounds of their social status. A book is not just great because it meets the wishes of the poor, but also because it can accommodate the dreams of each and everyone whether hungry, sad or depressed. The list goes on; a book can accommodate all. A book allows the reader to live a dream he/she will never live. This fact also affirms that there is nothing as great as a book.