Keywords

This chapter follows four of the original eleven research participants into their first year teaching in high poverty urban schools. Three of the students, Carrington, Catherine, and Alyssa, preferred to teach in middle or upper class communities, but due to the economy and actual job placement were placed in high poverty urban schools. Layla preferred to teach in a high poverty urban school. The participant’s growth and passion for urban education is significant to the vital role of proper teaching training, which must include opportunities for community engagement in high poverty urban schools.

A questionnaire similar to the original background questionnaire was given to the follow-up research participants, which included their actual teaching placement as an elementary school teacher. Response categories that could be selected included location (suburban, rural, and urban) and income levels (middle or upper income and high poverty). Table 6.1 shows the comparison between the first year teachers’ preferred teaching experience that was noted in the original study during their senior year of college versus their actual teaching placements.

Table 6.1 First year teachers’ preferred teaching experiences vs actual teaching assignment
Full size table

The following snapshots provide an overview of each participant’s teaching placement in the year following their college graduation, as well as responses to select questionnaire answers. I chose to include the research participants’ direct quotes as they represent the magnitude of their growth and genuine love for both their students and the profession. The participants are listed in order of parental income in Chapter 5.

Carrington

In her first year teaching, Carrington was hired to teach in a high poverty urban school with a diverse student population in Dallas, TX. Though her preference as a college student was to teach in an urban community with a mixture of students from high poverty, middle, and upper income households, Carrington worked in a high poverty school with a large Mexican population. Her growth as a first year teacher was evident in many of her follow-up questionnaire responses.

For example, as a college senior, Carrington selected “strongly agree” to the statement: Students from middle income or wealthy households bring valuable out-of-school experiences and informal knowledge to the teaching and learning process. As a first year teacher, she selected “agree.” As a college senior she selected “disagree” to the statement: Students living in poverty bring valuable out-of-school experiences and informal knowledge to the teaching and learning process. Though she did not answer this statement on the follow-up questionnaire, her written resonse was,

I disagree with this statement. I know that each student comes to school with some sort of background knowledge and out-of-school experiences. However, these are not the experiences that are reflected by the tests, assignments, and the definition of success, in the United States. My students come to school with a large and deep understanding of the Mexican culture. However, representations from their culture are not used in district tests or national assessments.

Questionnaire Responses

Some people believe that Black middle and upper class preservice teachers are prepared to teach in high poverty urban schools because they most likely share the same skin color as their students. Do you agree or disagree and why?

I disagree, I don’t think that skin color can depict the opportunities, accomplishments and struggles in life. Each person is different, and every teacher is different. Although you may share the same skin color, it does not mean you have shared the same experiences in life.

Do you have the intrinsic will to educate all children regardless of their economic status? How do you know?

I do. I know because of the dedication and determination that I display each day in my classroom. I wake up every morning and make decisions to support and advocate for my students, and any students involved with the opportunity gap in the United States.

Some educators suggest that low income and minority students do not bring valuable out-of-school experiences and informal knowledge to the teaching and learning process. Do you agree or disagree with this position? Explain.

I disagree with this statement. I know that each student comes to school with some sort of background knowledge and out-of-school experiences. However, these are not the experiences that are reflected by the tests, assignments, and the definition of success, in the United States. My students come to school with a large and deep understanding of the Mexican culture. However, representations from their culture are not used in district tests or national assessments.

Did you have difficulty connecting with students during your first year teaching? If yes, give an example of a challenging experience. If no, state why.

I did have a difficult time. I struggled because I was not familiar with the Mexican American culture in the southwest region of the nation. I struggled to provide examples of words for my students when learning letter sounds in kindergarten. I struggled teaching vocabulary for items and situations that my students had never experienced. I struggled helping my students draw conclusions and make inferences about things they had never experienced.

What strategies did you use to connect with students in a high poverty urban school?

The only strategy that I chose was immersing myself in the Mexican American culture. I tried foods I’d never heard of, listened to different music, took part in celebrations, and really tried to place myself in the shoes of my students. I learned more about the community in Dallas that my students are from and even moved closer to the school to familiarize myself with common landmarks. The more I learned, the more I could refer to events and traditions that my students were familiar with. Now, I am able to explain to my 2nd grade students that a “ball” is not only a thing that you can bounce, but it is also an event where you wear fancy clothes, dress up, and dance, just like a quinceañera.

What strategies did you use to connect with parents of your students in a high poverty urban school?

I used the same strategies. Other than immersing myself in the culture, I made sure that I spoke to parents with respect and humility. Even though I wasn’t always speaking the same language, I made sure to use my body language and facial expressions to show that I fully was communicating with the parents, and not just the translator.

Do you believe you are a successful teacher in a high poverty urban school?

Yes. I believe it and I have the data to prove it. Last year, with 12 students that were beginning English Language Learners, I achieved the highest ITBS scores for my district and moved my students 1.8 years in reading.

Share an experience that occurred during your first year teaching that had an impact on your development as a novice teacher in a high poverty urban school.

One experience from last year was working with a student that struggled to read, as well as understand English. I truly learned that each student learns and develops differently, but they can all achieve. My student Omar came to kindergarten knowing very little English. He knew about 3–4 key phrases involving the restroom, drinking water, and needing help. Around January, most of my ELL students started to emerge as intermediate or advanced. However, Omar still was at the lowest DRA level and could only communicate in short phrases. It was at this point that I realized that it didn’t matter where I worked, there would always be struggling students. I took it upon myself to guarantee that Omar would pass kindergarten and go to 1st grade. I worked with him each day, developed a relationship with his mother, and just persevered. I learned that some students need extra help, and developing relationships with parents can ensure success.

Did you continue teaching at the same school during the 2012–2013 school year? If no, why?

Yes

How long do you aspire to work in a high poverty urban school?

I aspire to work in a high poverty urban school, or in a role with high poverty urban students, for the rest of my life.

Alyssa

Alyssa was hired to teach in a high poverty urban school with a majority English Language Learner student population in Washington, DC. Her preference as a college student was to teach in an urban community with students from middle and upper income households. In the original study, Alyssa ranked most of the statements as strongly agree, and she had a positive view of herself connecting to students and parents from high poverty communities. One area of growth was in her response about whether Black middle and upper class preservice teachers are prepared to teach in high poverty urban schools because they most likely share the same skin color as their students.

As a college senior, Alyssa both agreed and disagreed with the statement; however, at the conclusion of her first year teaching, she was more firm in her stance. She stated that shared experiences allow Black middle and upper class preservice teachers to be prepared more so than the color of skin. Alyssa’s growth between her senior year and first year teaching reflects her strong connection with her students and parents.

Questionnaire Responses

Some people believe that Black middle and upper class preservice teachers are prepared to teach in high poverty urban schools because they most likely share the same skin color as their students. Do you agree or disagree and why?

I think it has more to do with the notion of “shared experience” more so than the color of skin. Also I think we believe in reaching back to help our own so I’ve always seen it as a responsibility to teach children in high poverty urban schools because I want everybody to have the same educational and post-educational opportunities I’ve had,

Do you have the intrinsic will to educate all children regardless of their economic status? How do you know?

Yes, I do, I know because I have worked with children from diverse backgrounds and my expectations and commitment to each of them has been the same.

Some educators suggest that low income and minority students do not bring valuable out-of-school experiences and informal knowledge to the teaching and learning process. Do you agree or disagree with this position? Explain.

Totally disagree. A lot of my low income and minority students are actually performing higher and at a more accelerated rate than my middle/high income white students. I have ELL students who came in with no English who now can identify all the upper and lower case sounds and are reaching the Kindergarten Common Core Standards here in Pre-K 3 while my middle/high income students aren’t progressing nearly as fast. But I have also noticed their parent’s expectations differ greatly. My ELL parents tend to spend more time working with their kids at home and often ask for extra materials to use at home. But anyway, as far as experience and informal knowledge I think my minority and low-income students tend to have deeper insight to “real world” things and experiences which they connect with what we are doing in the classroom.

Did you have difficulty connecting with students during your first year teaching? If yes, give an example of a challenging experience. If no, state why.

I had difficulty connecting with my ELL students because of the language barrier. I got a lot of blank stares the first month or so but I was able to get access to picture cards and I learned some basic Spanish words so that helped a lot.

What strategies did you use to connect with students in a high poverty urban school?

I don’t use any strategies, we just connect. Many of my students, my girls specifically, see me as a second mother so we have a connection that is genuine.

What strategies did you use to connect with parents of your students in a high poverty urban school?

I don’t use any strategies with any of them either. I basically “keep it real” and let them know when they need to get it together and work harder with their students. I try to engage in conversations during pick up and drop off just to make sure I’m aware of any changes at home or in the family that could be affecting the child.

Do you believe you are a successful teacher in a high poverty urban school?

Totally. 100 %. I have the data to back it up. 22/27 of my Pre-K students know all their upper and lower case letters and sounds. 7 of them are reading 3 letter words, and most of my students are almost at the Kindergarten CC Standards which is a HUGE difference from what I was told to expect from some of my co-workers. Aside from academics, my students are critical thinkers and they love to learn. I think their love for learning is what I use to measure my success. They don’t want to go home at the end of the day and that makes me feel good because that means they think school is fun and they are choosing to stay and learn.

Share an experience that occurred during your first year teaching that had an impact on your development as a novice teacher in a high poverty urban school.

I was a co-teacher with a young white man who struggled connecting with our black students and managing the classroom. His style of discipline was very lenient and he never had a demanding or strong presence. After a while those boys where running all over him to the point he would resort to just kicking them out of the room first thing in the morning. That really frustrated me because I feel black and white people discipline children differently and instead of seeking new methods he just gave up. It hurt a lot. So I made a point in my second year of teaching to lay down the rules and make it clear that nobody is going run over me and I was a little hard at first and I refused to smile or be affectionate for the first weeks. I set the tone that my affection had to be earned and now my students obey me as though I am their parent. I am always complimented on my classroom management and how well I keep my students together in and outside of the classroom. I think seeing a teacher lose so much control of his room because of a cultural disconnect really motivated me to just lay down the law the same for every student. No exceptions.

Did you continue teaching at the same school during the 2012–2013 school year? If no, why?

NOPE! I was unhappy at my school. There were a lot of racial issues with staff that affected how the students were taught. I ended a lot of relationships before the year was over because I felt like a lot of my white co-workers where there to fulfill their “one good deed” helping kids in the “hood”. It got annoying and I snapped at the end of the year. I moved to another school with actually more low-income and minority students. It was a culture shock at first but I am so happy here. My students and families are amazing.

How long do you aspire to work in a high poverty urban school?

Until I drop…or have my own children because I want to take about 5 years off to be a dedicated full-time mom…so whichever comes first!

Layla

Layla was hired to teach in a high poverty urban school district in Pensacola, FL. Layla is the only research participant in the follow-up study who taught in her preferred school setting. In the original study, Layla ranked most of the statements as strongly agree, and she had a positive view of herself connecting to students and parents from high poverty communities. Her subsequent responses spoke to her continued passion for urban education and her zeal for teaching.

Questionnaire Responses

Some people believe that Black middle and upper class preservice teachers are prepared to teach in high poverty urban schools because they most likely share the same skin color as their students. Do you agree or disagree and why?

I do not necessarily agree or disagree. However, I do believe that teachers who share the same skin color as their students can relate in experiences. From my experience students who can relate to the teacher will try their best to meet the expectations of that teacher. Students are looking for teachers who genuinely care about their well-being inside the classroom and outside the classroom.

Do you have the intrinsic will to educate all children regardless of their economic status? How do you know?

I do not believe I have the intrinsic will to educate all children regardless of their economic status. I know this because I have a desire to teach students that come from low socioeconomic statuses. I feel like these students need a role model who they can look up too. They also need a teacher who will set high expectations and believe that they do better than those students who come from different backgrounds.

Some educators suggest that low income and minority students do not bring valuable out-of-school experiences and informal knowledge to the teaching and learning process. Do you agree or disagree with this position? Explain.

I disagree with this completely. I believe low income and minority students bring valuable real life experiences that can teach not only other students but educators as well. Most of these students are faced with challenges that I have made them experience the world differently. They bring much insight as well as a different perspective.

Did you have difficulty connecting with students during your first year teaching? If yes, give an example of a challenging experience. If no, state why.

I did not have difficult connecting with my students. My students knew from day one that I cared about each of them as if they were my own children. I formed lifelong relationships with not only the students but their parents as well.

What strategies did you use to connect with students in a high poverty urban school?

Some strategies that I used to connect with students was to first build a genuine relationship and to get to know each one them as a person first then as a learner. I also showed my students that I was interested in thing they were interested in. For example, I attended my students’ extracurricular activities. I also showed my students that I believed in them and that I was going to push them because they were not going to become a product of their environment. I had one student who did not ever do any homework. My solution to the problem was to go to his house every evening and sit with him while he finished his homework.

What strategies did you use to connect with parents of your students in a high poverty urban school?

Some strategies that I used was doing quarterly home visits in order to get to know the parents. I also called each parent with a praise about their child. I also had open classroom times on a monthly basis. Open classroom time is when the parents can come to school and learn with their students. My parents appreciated my efforts and in turn they supported me.

Do you believe you are a successful teacher in a high poverty urban school?

I do believe I am a successful teacher in a high poverty urban school. I truly believe this is my calling in life and that God has favored me to make a difference and change lives.

Share an experience that occurred during your first year teaching that had an impact on your development as a novice teacher in a high poverty urban school.

One experience that occurred that impacted my development was when one of my students was getting beat up by gang members. I was this child’s advocate through the entire process. The child was being beat up daily and threatened because he had snitched on someone in the community. The mother was afraid to do anything for fear of retaliation. I met with the director of housing and the school district in order to get something done. At first I was ignored because I did not come with evidence. After doing research on the zero tolerance bullying law and bring evidence I was able to get the student moved to a different school and a different housing project.

Did you continue teaching at the same school during the 2012–2013 school year? If no, why?

I did not continue teaching at the same school because my husband got stationed to a different Air Force base.

How long do you aspire to work in a high poverty urban school?

I am unsure of how long I attend to work in a high poverty urban school. I will do it as long as I am called too. I thoroughly enjoy what I do and I do not see me stopping anytime soon.

Catherine

Catherine was hired to teach in a high poverty urban school with a large refugee student population in Atlanta, GA. Her preference as a college student was to teach in suburban community with students from middle and upper income households. In the original study, Catherine disagreed with the notion that students living in poverty bring valuable out-of-school experiences and informal knowledge to the teaching and learning process. As a first year teacher, her growth was evident by her answer that reflected an opposite sentiment and that encouraged the field of education to value out of school experiences of students in high poverty urban schools.

Another area of growth was Catherine’s change in response pertaining to connecting with parents. She exhibited apprehension as a college student, but showed increased self-confidence as a novice teacher.

Questionnaire Responses

Some people believe that Black middle and upper class preservice teachers are prepared to teach in high poverty urban schools because they most likely share the same skin color as their students. Do you agree or disagree and why?

I think that sharing the racial background as your students can create a base for greater understanding between their students but I have seen situations where socioeconomic status has made it hard to reach students who live in high poverty.

Do you have the intrinsic will to educate all children regardless of their economic status? How do you know?

Yes, I know that this intrinsic will exists in me because of the love I have developed for my students and thus far I have only worked with students from lower socioeconomic statuses.

Some educators suggest that low income and minority students do not bring valuable out-of-school experiences and informal knowledge to the teaching and learning process. Do you agree or disagree with this position? Explain.

I disagree with this position; I think low income and minority students bring out of school experiences that the field of education must learn to value. Often times these students have had experiences that make them more mature than their peers and teachers should work to meet those needs.

Did you have difficulty connecting with students during your first year teaching? If yes, give an example of a challenging experience. If no, state why.

I had trouble connecting with my immigrant and refugee students in my first year because I had to take time to learn and understand the nuances that make their culture different than my own.

What strategies did you use to connect with students in a high poverty urban school?

I spent lots of time with my students after school where we not only worked on academics but talked about their home life. I have also made visits to homes so I could connect with families.

What strategies did you use to connect with parents of your students in a high poverty urban school?

I used my conference times as an opportunity to get to know the parents of my students not to just discuss academics. As stated before I have also gone to the homes of my students.

Do you believe you are a successful teacher in a high poverty urban school?

I think I have been successful this year but I have much more growing to do as a teacher in a high poverty urban school.

Share an experience that occurred during your first year teaching that had an impact on your development as a novice teacher in a high poverty urban school.

Working with a student on reading and having a student tell me in English that they don’t know English. This moment was powerful for me because it reminded me that my students do not always recognize the skills that they have and of the power that comes with having command over speech/language.

Did you continue teaching at the same school during the 2012–2013 school year? If no, why?

Yes, I did.

How long do you aspire to work in a high poverty urban school?

I see all of my educational work being with low income and minority students.

As reflected in the four follow-up research participants’ powerful and engaging words, their growth and level of comitment toward meeting their passion and purpose in high poverty urban schools is clearly defined. Though they may have had trepidations and fears in college about teaching in a high poverty urban school, each experienced success and was able to connect to both teachers and students.