So before the classes on Tuesday and Thursday, all I knew was that Little Village was in the Chicago area but did not know much about it beyond that. I always find it so fascinating to learn more about the Chicago Public School system because it honestly is something I have never really thought of. I never realized how limited they are on resources and teachers in general. I found it interesting that they made the comment "having teachers that don't teach middle school, teaching the subject." After listening about Little Village it really opened by eyes that I am not that educated on what CPS is and what it means to be in the Chicago Public School system so that is something I want to continue to look up and educate myself on. Something that really stood out to me was on Tuesday when they were talking about the school and gang involvement within school. This stood out to me because unfortunately at this age is when adolescents are the most influenced to join. I thought that it was great that they talked about how they bring in speakers to hopefully talk with the students and provide resources to them to get help. This was really an ah-hah moment for me because it reminded me of the importance of being a teacher is not just to teach but to help them and look out for them in this difficult time. I have always heard that there is a teacher shortage but I didn't realize the extent of it how much it can affects students. On Thursday we heard from the director of parent relations and how important parent involvement is in Middle Level Education students. This can be connected to what we are learning about with YA development and the importance that it is to have support. One thing that also stood out to me was the demographics of the school, and honestly the way that Chicago is broken up in general. In general I know that Chicago is very divided, you have poor communities, rich communities, black, white, latino, but seeing how that affects the school system and the divide that it causes within the schools was a real eye opener for me. One thing that I noticed that can be related to last weeks lesson on development are the Ted talks structured around sleep time. I noticed how school started around 8:00am which was a little crazy to me because being in a large city like that with traffic etc. I kinda expected the start time to be a little later than that since they have to get through the morning traffic etc. I really enjoyed listening to the guests both Tuesday and Thursday and felt like I learned a lot but also learned that I need to do more research on school systems as a future teacher.
Questions that I have:
What is the hardest thing about teaching in a CPS?
How do you deal with obvious gang involvement within the schools?
I feel like constantly (especially now) you hear about teachers going on strike or teachers quitting because of administration differences (and now ways they are handling COVID-19) what keeps you motived to still teach in difficult times?
What made you choose CPS over other school districts?
I thought the the gang involvement was very interesting as well. This is something that I have never really been exposed so it was very interesting to hear. As we have learned in class this far, YA's have a lot going on. The added stress of gang activity is another completely different level added to the YA's daily life.
You had some great AhHahs. I really like how you connected in the Vialogues and other course content. Your point about teachers roles going beyond content is really important. We have to find all kinds of ways to meet them where they are. This is a pivotal time for them, and the decisions they make can really impact their future. I encourage you to keep learning about CPS. I was not that informed prior to this summer but it really is a different in how they approach school. There are many inequities and issues that we should advocate for.