Service Learning: Reflective Summary

Arleen Martin
12/19/15
EDUC101
Professor Covalt
Service Learning: Reflective Summary

Purpose: The main purpose of this assignment was to show what I have learned throughout my
service learning project. This assignment is important because it shows how much being in the

Service Learning: Reflective Summary

classroom can affect your mindset in a positive manner. It describes in-depth the feelings,
actions, and thoughts of not only me, but the students that I had the opportunity to work with.

Acknowledgements:
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I would like to take the opportunity to thank the Principal of Garden City

Elementary, Dr. Pamela Hardy. She was always encouraging me to do my best, and
made sure that I went out there and achieved my goal of a successful Service Learning
experience. I wouldnt have been able to complete my Service Learning without her
support and constant words of wisdom.
* Thank You, Dr. Hardy! I am so happy and excited that I got the opportunity to meet with
you. I am so grateful that you gave me the opportunity to work in such a wonderful school, and
with such wonderful educators.
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I would also like to thank Mrs. Kari Tschaenn for giving me the opportunity to

work side-by-side with her. She welcomed me into her classroom with open arms, and
made sure that I was comfortable while I was working in her classroom. She is
continuing to instill her knowledge and passion for teaching within me. I am so grateful
that she gave me the opportunity to learn her habits, and to learn new ways that I can
incorporate things into the different subjects.
* Thank You, Mrs. Tschaenn! I am so grateful that I was given the opportunity to work
with such a fantastic educator, who is always willing to go the extra mile for the kids. I can never
thank you enough for everything you have instilled within my mind. Thank you for continuously
supporting me.
Over the past eight weeks I have been doing my service learning at Garden City
Elementary. This elementary school is one of the eleven elementary schools in Wayne
Township. Many of the schools in the area have a high hispanic and spanish speaking
population, and this school is no exception. During my time at Garden City I was given the

Service Learning: Reflective Summary

opportunity to work with my former teacher, mentor, and friend Mrs. Kari Tschaenn, whom of
which is a third grade teacher. I experienced many different special situations and had to use
my quick thinking effectively many times. From a student threatening to self harm himself to
having kids turn to me to help guide them in the right direction, this whole experience made me
more adamant that teaching is what I want.
Although many of my students excelled everyday, I saw that many of my students had
trouble with the barrier between the languages of English and Spanish. There was a time period
during that day in which half of the class was gone due to being pulled out for ESL and HOSTS.
For those of you whom of which are not familiar with the HOSTS program, it is a program that is
specifically designed for students who struggle with reading. With only approximately 27.2% of
the students being of the caucasian race. With the percentage being that low it is safe to say
that the school is very diverse. This means that many different languages may be spoken. In
class we talked about how important it is to keep the language barrier in mind at all times, and I
kept this in my mind throughout my service learning experience.
Also many of the students may have special needs. In class we talked about how to
handle certain situations, and that help to prepare me a lot for the service learning. One of the
situations we talked about in class is how every student learns differently, and how important it
is to meet the needs of every child. This relates to my service learning because I found that
although my students were in third grade, some of them still struggled with simple addition and
subtraction problems. One of the activities and assignments that I created was the Addition and
Subtraction races. For this activity I bought a set of both addition and subtraction. I laminated
both sets of cards, so that they would be able to last longer. After that I met with Mrs. Tschaenn
and together we discussed the students that were having trouble completing the addition and
subtraction timed tests. I learned that many of the students excelled and passed the timed tests
because of the quick thinking skills that went along with the activity. The time tests were so

Service Learning: Reflective Summary

important because in order for the child to successfully pass I-STEP he/she must be able to do
both addition and subtraction in a timely fashion.
There was a student who we will call Tom, who struggled academically and whose selfesteem was low. After I realized how bad his self-esteem had become I quickly addressed Mrs.
Tschaenn about the issue. She believed that it was caused from the way his parents acted
towards him at home. I quickly thought of a way to help him. On the days that I would be in the
classroom observing, teaching, and communicating with the students I would always do
whatever I can to help him out. I soon learned that all Tom needed was an extra push and a little
one-on-one, that way he would know that someone would be there to support him and tell him
that he can indeed excel.
Between Mrs. Tschaenn and I we probably told him he was smart and he could do it
about 5-7 times a day. We would go into an activity and he would look at me for the reassurance
that he could indeed solve the problems given. Yesterday was my last day working in the
classroom as a student teacher and I found out that he was missing many assignments. This
was causing him to have a failing grade in the class. After talking with Mrs. Tschaenn and
learning that the student would continuously ignore her directions and fail to turn in his
assignments I sprung into action. I quickly grabbed all of his assignments from his desks, and
sorted them into piles. I then told Tom why I was doing this, and that I was very upset and
disappointed that he failed to do many of his assignments. I also told him that instead of going
out to recess to play with his friends he would be sitting with me in study hall. He didnt seem to
happy about the idea and simply refused to work. This upset me, and frustrated me all at the
same time because here is a child who I know is smart, yet he continuously refused to work. He
read the frustration in my face and decided that he would try to get out of working. I let him know
really quick that I wasnt buying it. I said, You can sit here and continuously do nothing and be
bored, or you can start working on your assignments and I will be willing to help you. He soon

Service Learning: Reflective Summary

began to work diligently and for the next hour and a half he completed all of his assignments
except one.
This situation is example of tough love, because Tom knew that Mrs. Tschaenn and I
both cared about his success and we both wanted him to thrive. Therefore, by the end of the
day I knew that I instilled in him that he can be successful with effort and a little bit of help.
Throughout the day yesterday Tom started talking to me about his life at home, and he soon
revealed that he had to basically take care of himself. He had no set bedtime, and he was able
to basically do whatever he wanted. He was used to getting what he wanted when he wanted,
which is why he acted out in school.
This situation also taught me how important it is to let your students know that they can
ask you questions, and that even though you are upset with them you still care. This is the
perfect example of how family and environmental factors can affect the students learning.
Caring for your students is something that we talked about tremendously in class. Not one
person in class didnt have a story about how one student didnt change their perspective of
things. As soon as I told him that he can come to me for help, and that I will sit with him in the
hall he became excited. He knew that I wasnt going to give him the answers, yet he was still
willing to become excited about learning. He started smiling and I could tell that his brain was
buzzing with excitement.
As a student myself, I know how important it is to have someone support you.
Throughout my service learning experience one of the things I learned is all students want to do
is be cared for. Caring for your students is not only something that needs to happen, but it is
something that many students long for. As Tom was getting on the bus I told him I hope he has
a great Winter Break and he responded by running up to me and telling me that He hopes I
have a Merry Christmas, and that he is going to miss me. It was right then that I realized why I
want to get into the teaching profession. It isnt about the money, or the awards, it is about
working with the most fantastic individuals ever, and that is the kids. Caring for your students

Service Learning: Reflective Summary

and letting them know you care is something that I accept into my classroom because we as
teachers are rewarded by making someone who is usually sad and angry, happy and smiling.
No amount of money could ever take away the happiness that I feel in my heart knowing that I
was the reason one of my students is a little bit more confident and happy.
I observed many wonderful things happening in Mrs. Tschaenns classroom. I
saw many of the students have that wonderful light bulb or as I call it AHA! moment. I believe
that the skill that I learned the most about is the ability to keep the children interested in what
you are teaching by simply making learning fun. Mrs. Tschaenn used different songs like Jingle
Bells, and Row, Row, Row Your Boat, so that her students could memorize the different
multiplication facts. I think that the thing that I need to improve on the most is the ability to have
children use their critical thinking skills to analyze certain texts. Although I saw it happen
hundreds of times during these past eight weeks, I found that it was something that I personally
struggle with as a teacher.
Through the service learning project I became better acquainted with how
teachers improve their students mindset while in the classroom. Although Garden Citys reading
levels are already wonderful they still want to make sure that their students reading
comprehension levels continue to improve from one grade to the next. They are doing this by
making sure that they have a positive mindset everyday when they walk into the classroom.
They also do this by making sure that no matter what subject they are learning about the
students are always doing one thing, reading. I personally believe that I am one step closer to
having my own personal classroom. I have been offered many different positions already, and I
am proud to say that this service learning has helped my mind fill with knowledge of the different
aspects of the classroom. Whether it was student growths, language barriers, or mathematical
illiteracy I was there to strengthen a childs spirit and I also am excited to use the different traits I
learned next semester during Education 121.

Service Learning: Reflective Summary