Classroom Observations At Sierra Vista High School

A more pressing matter is that of the history in the classroom. With the one sided history being instructed to Native students bring a message that “Their history does not matter,” alienation begins to form and all motivation soon leaves the students (Laura).

Throughout secondary school, instead of accepting the facts stated in my textbooks, I continued to ask questions. Disillusioned by how complex historical events were taught like equations with a simple cause and effect, senior year of high school I determined that I would become a teacher. As a teacher, I aspire to not be hindered by standardized requirements and teach history in a way that resonates with students and evokes passion.

The school I am observing at is St. Charles West High School in St. Charles, Missouri. My host teacher is Mr. Steve Smith. Mr. Smith has been at St. Charles West for almost 10 years and is very passionate about his job. He teaches 3 different courses: Civics, Contemporary Issues, and an AP course. I will be teaching a lesson to his Civics class. His students range in age from 14 years old to 18 years old. Mr. Smith also attends Lindenwood and is working to get an administration position at St. Charles West.

I walked into room 160 and saw a group of anxious 14 year olds, waiting for the lady we had all heard so much about to walk in. Rumors about her ranged from “she will make you cry daily” to “she’s basically the human form of a fire breathing dragon”. When the bell rang, we all prepared for the worst. The small lady that walked in, with short brown hair and glasses too big for her face did not look nearly as intimidating as all the stories suggested, which was comforting on that first day of class. This was Mrs. Carballo, my AP US History teacher. She started our first day off by talking about the summer reading and our objectives for the year. By the time the second week rolled around, I felt pretty comfortable with the course...that is, until we all received books that were almost bigger than we were!

Unequivocally, there are no words in the English language to describe how I truly appreciate and respect Priscilla Budzinski. Throughout all of my high school career, Mrs.Budzinski has been my guide and mentor. Freshman year of high school, I walked into Mrs. Budzinski’s classroom lacking of the combined missing character traits in the Wizard of Oz: a brain, a heart, and nerve; alas, Budzinski acted as the Wizard behind the grand curtains pulling strings to demonstrate that all traits were inside of me the entire time. Wholeheartedly, I had no idea what honor classes were, let alone AP classes, but Mrs.Budzinski fundamentally transformed my entire life when she had implored me to take her AP World History class. My first AP class was brimming

Mr. Voss offers a relaxed, but also challenging classroom environment on a daily basis. He is very interested in the topics covered in class, but also adds his own humor to the AP curriculum. His class is very fun and engaging, and also prepares for the AP Exam in May. Mr. Voss expects for all of his students to work to their full potential and he genuinely cares about his students and is willing to help out students that are having trouble in the class. Every year he has these inside jokes and puns that he makes which are absolutely hilarious. Everyday I truly looked forward to going to his class, and Mr. Voss got me more interested in learning about US History. I now watch history based YouTube videos just because of the class. Mr. Voss has

I seek to join Teach For America because I strongly believe in education equity and in the power of empowering students to reach their full potential. I was born and raised in East Los Angeles, an underserved community, where I witnessed how education inequity played a critical role in the life opportunity and academic success of the youth in my community. At age 13, I began losing friends and classmates due to drugs, alcohol, gang violence, and delinquency. Afraid and stressed about the social injustices in my community, I began to lose interest in school. Fortunately, Mr. Bravo, my 8th grade history teacher, came into my life during this pivotal moment. Mr. Bravo helped me cope with my losses by providing check-ins during lunch and after school. Mr. Bravo empowered me to be a better student and most importantly helped me understand that I could be a social agent of change.

Working with Mr. Clapp’s 6th grade classes has opened my eyes to the real world of teaching. I started out with some setbacks and learned from them. Then, I went into a stream of comfort and success

“History is written by victors,” while the origins of that quote are unknown, it’s message rings true in America, specifically in regards to the US education system. The slam poem Somewhere in America, written and performed by high school students Rhiannon McGavin, Zariya Allen, and Belissa Escobedo, touches on many subjects, from gender equality, to the treatment of minorities, but especially the idea of history being written by the victors or those in power. It focuses on censorship in schools, the whitewashing of history, and the fact that students are often not taught about major events in history because they don’t promote American exceptionalism. In an interview with Queen Latifah, Zariya Allen, one of the writers and performers of the

Touched on research that showed the significant effects that representation within education can have on children. With this research in mind educators have begun to look at incorporating “windows” and “mirrors” in to education. Windows are ways for students to understand others, mirror are ways to for students to learn about themselves. Miller-Idris explained that history education has made progress in terms of representation of diverse identities in curriculums, but typical through separate “add-on” lessons or units.

Teachers who suffer from settler teacher syndrome, act within a system of schooling meant to solidify an epistemological and ideological foundation for settler colonialism, and do so with little critical consciousness. Having been indoctrinated into settler colonialism, and by seeing the system of schooling as neutral and normal, teachers are employed as cultural gatekeepers and function to maintain systems that are harmful to students of color. One could also use Hill Collin’s matrix of domination, a black feminist construct, to explain the phenomenon. Hill Collins described the matrix of domination as structural, disciplinary, hegemonic and interpersonal in nature - “the structural organizes oppression, the disciplinary manages oppression, the hegemonic justifies oppression and the interpersonal influences oppression” (blinded for review). In both the settler colonial framework and the matrix of domination framework, teachers are both actors and acted upon. Their places within a system of domination is dependent upon them not being furnished with the opportunity to critically interrogate the system they are so intricately linked to. I argue that suffering from settler teacher syndrome is not wholly a conscious condition, but rather an (un)intended consequence of functioning within settler colonialism. I’d also like to think that they suffer from lack of knowledge, and can therefore be (re)trained and (re)taught, to think and function differently within settler

Once , I Was in World History class in 10th grade.I had a teacher,who always gave her opinion on History with irrelevant topic .She was Hawaiian , which makes her very sensitive to events in history such as WWII ,the Hiroshima Bombing,and Pearl harbor because her uncle was paralyzed by the bombing of Pearl Harbor.WWII was the only topic we learned for the entire semester because her family raised her to believe it was a very important event in History and it changed the entire.Therefore,I had a hard time passing tests and quizzes because of the depth of each question.The questions were really difficult unless you were passion about this particular part of World History.Therefore,many minority students struggle because such events in class feel irrelevant, not pertaining to their culture, and society we live in.

Outside of the classroom, my passion for writing and history burned brightly. I joined the Caribbean African Student Assemblage (CASA) and the Latin American Student Organization (LASO) eager to delve into the cultural aspects of the places I was studying. As treasurer of CASA, I did more than balance the club budget. I developed an education program that brought together the college community in discussing narratives of African and Caribbean history and culture. I also found outlets for my writing on these issues in my school’s papers The Crusader and The Fenwick Review. As an editor for both, I wanted to connect my campus to world events. I covered everything from student massacres in Mexico, to how racism affects Oscar-voting and school

I became friends with the guy sitting next to as we both were really engaged with the lessons and we would chuckle together when Mrs. Hostetler would groan about the rest of the class having no interest in any of the material. Another reason why she stood out is that she is the treasurer of the Patterson for Ohio campaign. John Patterson was a recently retired government and A.P. US. History teacher that decided to run for the 99th District Ohio House of Representatives. Mrs. Hostetler boasted to us about political involvement and how important it is for everyone to understand their civic duties to make the community a better place for their families and themselves. With her influence and hearing great things about John Patterson from the community and my

I had scheduled to have an appointment with my PS 210 teacher, Professor Gabriela Rangel, in the Patterson Office Tower. After taking a bit to find the room she was in, I sat down with her and asked questions relating to both her field of teaching, field of study, and herself as a teacher and person.