speaks Spanish.” When Carlos completed his bracelet, it was one of the best in the class and
he was very proud. I knew that for at least one class I had helped a child feel important and
confident. That is why I am in the teacher education program.
Our teacher asked if any of us did not like high school and I raised my hand. I told the
class my story of being the only Spanish-speaking student. I did not think I was smart enough
to do the work, so I went into the vocational program and became a beautician. Alan said
something interesting to me. He asked, “Why are you still blaming that fifteen year old girl
for all the problems she had in high school?” I never really thought about it before. Maybe if
some teachers had taken an interest in me, things would have turned out differently. Maybe,
someday, I will be that teacher and I can make a difference in life for a teenager that is lost.
Excerpt B: I’m going home.
We were asked to read this paper and write a paragraph about what it means. I began to
read the article but I didn’t understand it. There was a lot of noise in the classroom and I
couldn’t focus. I sat in my seat not knowing what to do because I was so upset. I complained
to myself and then I came to a conclusion—I don’t have what it takes to get my Masters and
I’m going home. I decided to talk with Alan after class and tell him why I couldn’t do the as-
signment. Just then, Alan asked who didn’t understand the reading. I raised my hand. I told
him it was too hard, and I just was not as smart as the rest of the class. After I spoke, others
began to open up. To my surprise, only two people in the class understood the article. The
conversation started to change now. This is how students feel in school when the teacher
tells them to read something that they don’t understand. I have felt and struggled with this
feeling all my school life. I was running away from this feeling when I became a beautician.
When we looked at the article together as a class, I discovered two things. If you feel you
have support from other people, you can confront the unknown and work it out. There are
also different ways of teaching the same subject matter. It can be boring and oppressive, or
it can be interesting and even fun. A teacher needs to remember the students and use appro-
priate lessons to teach them. Don’t go over their heads.
Excerpt C: It really doesn’t look right when the teacher chews gum.
Today, five students did mini-lessons. For many of the students in our class it was the first
time they were in front of a group teaching, and some had a hard time. They lost the class in
the middle of the lesson and could not figure out how to follow through and bring their mini-
lesson to a conclusion. I learned some important points from what they did. 1. I have to keep
focused. 2. Don’t sit and point at the board. 3. Things go better when you are organized. 4. Be
direct and ask lots of questions. 5. You have to understand what you are teaching. 6. Try to
look confident. 7. It really doesn’t look right when the teacher chews gum.
Excerpt D: You have to be in charge.
The people who did mini-lessons today clearly learned from the first group, and they did
much better. Today I learned: 1. If you are nervous, it shows. Try to keep calm. 2. Don’t be
so rigid. Go with what works. 3. Participation from students is essential. It lets you know if
they understand the lesson. 4. When students participate they get motivated to learn
more. 5. Use different materials to make the lesson more interesting. 6. Do not assume stu-
dents know what you are talking about. You have to explain things to them. 7. Try to limit
the number of things that are not related to the subject. 8. Body language is important.
Watch out for the signals you are giving the students. 9. If you are the teacher, you have to
be in charge.
30 CHAPTER 1