Javon Smith
SEC 363
Brenda Troiano
September 23, 2011
In Sickness and in Health, I now pronounce me Mr. Smith
Education specialist and author William Ayers states, “ A common experience of
teachers is to feel the pain of opportunities missed, potential unrealized, students
untouched” (Ayers 2001). I have been longing for this opportunity: to reach out to the
students and allow them to make no excuse. I randomly woke up completely stuffy. “Mr.
Smith, I was sick” will never be a good enough excuse for my students to miss class. This
is simply because I never missed class for that reason, and I have Sickle Cell Anemia and
Asthma. On my first day at Roosevelt, I was as sick as a dog. Sneezing as often and
loudly as I could, I realized it was my duty as an educator to learn from the awesome
institution, I have grown to know Roosevelt High School to be.
The very first thing that caught my attention was the free breakfast. This place
knows hospitality. The fact that we were given time to chat and laugh a little, gave me a
real good sense of the ideal I live my life according to which is “work hard, play hard.”
They even had my favorite jelly donuts. This donut was unlike any other, it was bigger
and better than ever. The colossus donut reminded me of Roosevelt just because the
school has about 1400 students.
Then, I met the vice principal. She knew what she was talking about. This
inspired me to continue in the science of education. That being an educator is not limited
to a curriculum; it is according to Bill Gates’ new three R’s of education. The three R’s
are no longer reading, writing, and arithmetic, not they are rigor, relationship, and some
other r word.
Another attention grabber of Roosevelt was the amount of extra-curricular
activities there. This is something I have grown to know is really uncommon in Chicago
Public Schools. In most public schools, I would assume the teachers are too bent on
leaving faster than the students when the 2:30 bell signaling the end of the day begins
ringing.
I am interested in the AVID program. The AVID program, as proclaimed
constantly by Roosevelt’s administration, looks very appealing on a resume. This is
mostly because the entire purpose of the program is to uplift students, not just
emotionally, socially, and behaviorally, but also educationally. This is something some of
the best students miss from teachers. The students of great teachers are missing out on an
even greater resource—teachers that know their craft.
The students seemed to remind me of Tavares in Greg Michie’s, “Holler if You
Hear Me”. They all had heart, but the mind seemed so distant to the point where people’s
instant judgment of them is clouded by the drugs, sagging jeans, potentially violent
future. When in reality, the teachers and judges do not see that the children are just
broken (Michie, 1999).
If Tavares had a program like WECEP, he may not have resorted to the corner. I
met the coordinators of this program in the workshop on the first day. The program
provides vocational experiences to the students who are financially deprived and under
age so they could not legally work without a permit. WECEP works in the efforts of
changing such enforcement. Together, the teachers and students find loyal employers to
help the organization out. This seems to be a tremendous opportunity for underprivileged families.
In high school I played a lead role in almost every play. This is actually part of the
job I have now as a speech coach at Thornton Township High School. As soon as I heard
about auditions for the fall production of Romeo and Juliet, I jumped right on it, and ran
to the little theatre shortly after dismissal. Room 248 was only home to a theatre teacher,
I had to contact through e-mail the head of the entire English department in order to get
involved seriously with the production.
The school is not as dim as other public schools I have been to, and it is a whole
lot more diverse. I noticed the school has a rich legacy of championship with sports and
the glee club competitions. I have been in a choir since as far back as I could remember.
From 1st Corinthians Missionary Baptist Church Choir to DePaul’s Gospel Choir. I know
singing. So, naturally I flocked toward the glee chub to see if their group has begun yet.
As far as I know, they have not initiated rehearsals for the school year.
The school has invested money in the children, this is clear. When walking into
the orchestra room, there are instruments. Practice instruments. When I took music in
high school we had worksheets. Practice worksheets. There is a much deeper sense of
community here.
When I began student teaching a year and a half ago, one thing I always figured
was if relationships with the students are so important, why are the teachers only granted
a year to work with the students? The students should have the same teachers as long as
they are in school. Then, Farrow introduced the seven new installments called “Small
Language Communities” or SLCs. This made me want to give up my aspirations of going
back to Thornton SD205 and just come to Roosevelt. The teachers get more than a year
to work with the students. Then, that bond can really be formed.
Farrow also introduced us to the notions of Tiers. Tier 1 is for the students. Tier 2
is for the students. Finally, I noticed the amount of respect and professionalism within the
administration. I have grown to understand administration to be much like the business of
education. I did not detect even the slightest hint of disrespect or power-hunger. Each
presenter presented with one purpose: to inform the future educators on the future of
education.