I got excited to be partnered with one of Dr. Litton’s students! Upon reading the email, the first thing I noticed is that my partner has the same family name as me, Acosta! I don’t know if that was a coincidence at all. I was partnered with Leah Acosta. She is a preschool teacher and has 2 years of experience as a teacher to 3-5 year olds. I was excited to be paired with her because I want to be a preschool teacher also in the future. I emailed her my thoughts and my experiences so far as a fellow teacher and she responded positively to what we can do in class.
Leah was very nice to my students. My students loved her immediately. The first thing they also noticed is her family name. My students’ non-stop asked me if we were sisters. Leah laughed at the questions and gently said no. I saw the eagerness to talk in the eyes of my students as they approach Leah but because of language differences, they would just stand next to her. I translated to Leah what the children are saying to her and she responded to them the best way she can.
Leah taught Math and English in my class. Despite the language barrier, my students were actually listening to her. She really tried to say what she wanted so that the students can understand the topic being discussed. What I liked with how she taught is that she was prepared with songs that match the topic discussed. Like for English, she was telling the class a story about a fish. To let the students feel the story, she led them with songs like this:
Slippery fish, slippery fish swimming in the water
Slippery fish, slippery fish, gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Oh no! It’s been eaten by a…
Octupos, Octopus squiggling in the water
Octopus, octupos, gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Oh no! It’s been eaten by a….
Tuna fish, tuna fish splashing in the water
Tuna fish, Tuna fish, gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Oh no! It’s been eaten by a
Great white shark, great white shark lurking in the water
Great white shark, great white shark, gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Oh no! It’s been eaten by a
Humongous whale, Humongous whale spouting in the water
Humongous whale, humongous whale, gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
No more sea creatures!
Leah had more songs and the kids were following and singing with her even if the language used was English.. I saw that she enjoyed her time as a Math and English teacher.
Leah also sold my tray of food for recess. The first thing she asked me is that why is the school selling junk food for recess. Leah shared with me that in the States, they give vegetables and other healthy food for recess. She also noticed that the junk food really makes the students very hyper. How I wish our schools could also give healthy but delicious food for our students. These healthy foods will actually help them grow physically and mentally and at the same time be more productive in class because of the sustained energy. I shared with Leah that majority of my students has less than twenty pesos as pocket money. Their parents would rather spend the extra money on food that will feed their whole family for the whole day. That is one reason why one peso foods are really a hit among my students.
My class one time reached over 50 kids and because of the recess food sold, it was so hard for me control their energy. I am happy that Leah helped me control their energy that day. I saw that she was also having a hard time. Leah suggested to bring them out to play, just to release the energy. Sadly, I told her that we can’t bring the students out to play. She shared with me that her class has 45 minutes of play time, enough time to release all their energy. When her students come back in the classroom, they are settled and their energies are controllable. Because of this, she now understands why my class gets rowdier after recess.
I also let Leah check the seatwork and quizzes so that she can also see the capabilities of my class. She noticed that my students possess a very big difference in terms of intelligence. Some students are really slow learners, some are average learners and a few are fast learners. Because of this experience, she asked me why are we fellows handling sections like what I am handling right now. I told her that new teachers, including us teacher fellows, usually get the lower sections. Leah did not understand by what I meant by “lower section”. I told her that the grade two students are arranged by intelligence- the smarter you are, the higher the section. She was shocked that our school arranges student sections that way. She told me that grades 1, 2, and 3 sections in the States are not arranged by intelligence. When the students are reach grade 4, then that is when they are arranged in sections. Despite the truth I shared with her, I told her that we fellows are trying our very best to let our students belong to the higher sections as they get promoted.
Leah shared with me techniques she does in class to control behavior which I am doing right now in my class. She noticed problems that are always occurring in my class and suggested solutions I can do. She even noticed that pencils are a problem in my class- pencils are too small and my students lose it. As a solution and her way of helping my students, Leah gave pencils to me to give to the students. I was so happy! I gave all my students the pencils Leah provided.
My class and I prepared thank you letters for Leah before she left. My students were asking and are still constantly asking if Leah will be back. I just tell them that Leah may come back and when she comes back, she already knows how to speak in Tagalog. Their smiles reached their ears because finally they can talk to her.
Leah was very nice to my students. My students loved her immediately. The first thing they also noticed is her family name. My students’ non-stop asked me if we were sisters. Leah laughed at the questions and gently said no. I saw the eagerness to talk in the eyes of my students as they approach Leah but because of language differences, they would just stand next to her. I translated to Leah what the children are saying to her and she responded to them the best way she can.
Leah taught Math and English in my class. Despite the language barrier, my students were actually listening to her. She really tried to say what she wanted so that the students can understand the topic being discussed. What I liked with how she taught is that she was prepared with songs that match the topic discussed. Like for English, she was telling the class a story about a fish. To let the students feel the story, she led them with songs like this:
Slippery fish, slippery fish swimming in the water
Slippery fish, slippery fish, gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Oh no! It’s been eaten by a…
Octupos, Octopus squiggling in the water
Octopus, octupos, gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Oh no! It’s been eaten by a….
Tuna fish, tuna fish splashing in the water
Tuna fish, Tuna fish, gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Oh no! It’s been eaten by a
Great white shark, great white shark lurking in the water
Great white shark, great white shark, gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
Oh no! It’s been eaten by a
Humongous whale, Humongous whale spouting in the water
Humongous whale, humongous whale, gulp! Gulp! Gulp!
No more sea creatures!
Leah had more songs and the kids were following and singing with her even if the language used was English.. I saw that she enjoyed her time as a Math and English teacher.
Leah also sold my tray of food for recess. The first thing she asked me is that why is the school selling junk food for recess. Leah shared with me that in the States, they give vegetables and other healthy food for recess. She also noticed that the junk food really makes the students very hyper. How I wish our schools could also give healthy but delicious food for our students. These healthy foods will actually help them grow physically and mentally and at the same time be more productive in class because of the sustained energy. I shared with Leah that majority of my students has less than twenty pesos as pocket money. Their parents would rather spend the extra money on food that will feed their whole family for the whole day. That is one reason why one peso foods are really a hit among my students.
My class one time reached over 50 kids and because of the recess food sold, it was so hard for me control their energy. I am happy that Leah helped me control their energy that day. I saw that she was also having a hard time. Leah suggested to bring them out to play, just to release the energy. Sadly, I told her that we can’t bring the students out to play. She shared with me that her class has 45 minutes of play time, enough time to release all their energy. When her students come back in the classroom, they are settled and their energies are controllable. Because of this, she now understands why my class gets rowdier after recess.
I also let Leah check the seatwork and quizzes so that she can also see the capabilities of my class. She noticed that my students possess a very big difference in terms of intelligence. Some students are really slow learners, some are average learners and a few are fast learners. Because of this experience, she asked me why are we fellows handling sections like what I am handling right now. I told her that new teachers, including us teacher fellows, usually get the lower sections. Leah did not understand by what I meant by “lower section”. I told her that the grade two students are arranged by intelligence- the smarter you are, the higher the section. She was shocked that our school arranges student sections that way. She told me that grades 1, 2, and 3 sections in the States are not arranged by intelligence. When the students are reach grade 4, then that is when they are arranged in sections. Despite the truth I shared with her, I told her that we fellows are trying our very best to let our students belong to the higher sections as they get promoted.
Leah shared with me techniques she does in class to control behavior which I am doing right now in my class. She noticed problems that are always occurring in my class and suggested solutions I can do. She even noticed that pencils are a problem in my class- pencils are too small and my students lose it. As a solution and her way of helping my students, Leah gave pencils to me to give to the students. I was so happy! I gave all my students the pencils Leah provided.
My class and I prepared thank you letters for Leah before she left. My students were asking and are still constantly asking if Leah will be back. I just tell them that Leah may come back and when she comes back, she already knows how to speak in Tagalog. Their smiles reached their ears because finally they can talk to her.