Priscilla Carpenter

Journal Entry #4
Date of Service Learning Experience: 9/27/07
Total hours that day: 3 hrs. 12:30-3:30
Total hours of experience: 9 hrs.

Today’s service learning experience was very nerve wrecking. I had to do my read aloud to the class and I was so nervous because I knew the teacher was critiquing me. When the kids came in from lunch, they were excited to see me because the teacher had told them earlier that I would be in to read. Once I got up to read and knew the kids were excited for me to read to them, I was not as nervous as I was. The kids absolutely loved the book I read “Wild About Books” and they were so engaged the whole time I was reading to them. They don’t ever get read to in class, so they were so happy for me to read to them. After I finished the book, the kids all clapped for me and they all wanted to have the book! I ended up doing a writing assignment with them where they had to draw and write a summary of that drawing about what their favorite part of the book was. The number one favorite part was when the “otters never went swimming without Harry Potter!”

This week I also went and meet with my Junior Achievement kindergarten teacher, Mrs. J. She is one of the most effective teachers I have been around in a long time. She never once yelled at the kids who were being rowdy and she always made the students feel like they were very smart. Every time the students would answer a question that was hard or they just finally figured out the question after a few times, she would tell them to “kiss your brain” and they would kiss their hand and then put their hands to their head. The kids absolutely love this because they feel that they are smart and can accomplish anything if they try at it. Another great thing about Mrs. J, is that she is ESOL endorsed and can speak Spanish to some extent. The school that I am doing Junior Achievement has a very high Hispanic population so it is great that she can speak Spanish. During one of her activities, Mrs. J let the Spanish children speak in their own native language because they couldn’t say some words like “rectangle” in English. I really enjoyed being in her class and I really can’t wait to go back and teach my JA lessons to them because the children are so well behaved and the teacher is an excellent teacher and I really want to learn some techniques of teaching from her.