Everyone has a Story



As a future educator, I have come to realize how important it is to recognize both the similarities and differences between different people. Everyone has their own unique background, and with it comes their own unique story. Recognizing why people are the way they are is imperative for me, as I plan to become a future educator. I have created a Venn Diagram (link below) that both compares and contrasts  my ELL student, W., and I. This in particular is key for me in understanding what exactly makes the two of us different, as well as what brings the two of us together.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1wI4l_rKK4K4enYu8qfMBzkcr7d7F7RX2vguOctUnNFU/edit

The Best Way

Two days ago I went to my third tutoring session with W. This time we worked on making a public service announcement for a Biology project. After reading the directions together, W had to decide how he wanted to create his announcement. In the directions the teacher gave around 5 different ideas. I read each one to myself and only recognized a couple of the sites/software pieces. I thought to myself that Microsoft PowerPoint would definitely be the easiest. Just as I was about to voice this to W, he turned to me and said “Definitely not PowerPoint. Everyone does them, and they’re easy. I want to try something new.” He left me stunned yet again. While I was about to suggest the easy route, W was excited for a challenge to learn something new. Not only did W impress me, but he made me take a step back and reevaluate my life and the way I do my own work. Maybe the easiest way isn’t always the best way. Like W, I need to start to reach outside of my comfort zone more in order to learn new things and become more multi-faceted.

Learning Through the Pain

I recently had my second visitation with W. I was helping him work on a research project and was impressed by how much he already knew. With that being said, W still had some trouble researching, as he wasn’t completely sure what key words to plug into the search engine. In addition, he was unsure of what certain words meant. Because of this, the two of us had a considerable amount of conversation. Towards the end of our hour together, W looked at me and said “My mouth hurts.” I looked at him puzzled, when he explained to me that talking as much as we just had hurts his mouth and tongue. Being someone who can only speak one language this was something I had never even considered. Just this simple little thing reminded me just how hard these kids are always working. W was in literal physical pain, but pushed through that pain because he wanted to learn so badly.

Learning from the Learner

 

This past Monday I had my very first tutoring session with an ELL student, who I will be working with throughout the course of this semester. For the purpose of confidentiality I will call him W. In just one hour with W I was amazed by how much knowledge I was able to acquire. While getting to know each other, we got on the topic of hobbies when W mentioned to me that his favorite sport is soccer. W explained to me that he has always loved playing, but hasn’t had much time for it since he moved to the United States. This is due to the fact that he’s trying to focus all of his attention on school and learning the English Language. As not only an athlete, but a soccer player myself, I was in awe by this statement. I can’t imagine having to push soccer aside for anything, but W it seemed to have been a no-brainer. He showed true determination and an honest sense of maturity. He wanted to learn, and I don’t mean just do well in school, but rather truly get the best education possible while learning more about the American way and culture. In just one tutoring session, I was quickly able to see that although I may be in the “tutor” role by title, I will be learning just as much if not more from W throughout this semester than he will from me.

WIDA CAN DO descriptors and ELL

As the tutor of an ELL student, it is important for me to have the ability to recognize where my student falls on the WIDA CAN DO descriptors chart (see chart below). Today I looked further into W's listening, an area the student tends to be weaker in when compared to the other categories. After looking through the different levels and their descriptors, I came to the conclusion that I believe my student is a level 3 listener. When the two of us are working on projects with one another and I try to explain something to him in words, he often has to refer back to whatever written directions he has. He connects what he is hearing to what he is seeing in order to feel comfortable and fully grasp the concepts. In addition to this, when I explain to him something he doesn't understand, I often ask for him to repeat back to me in his own words what I had just previously stated. This allows for me, as his tutor, to evaluate for myself his understandings. I do this in order to make sure he is fully understanding everything. However, with all of this being said, he is able to sort out the main ideas from the supporting details, as well as get the general gist of the points I am trying to make to him. Putting all of this together led me to believe that W is currently a level 3 listener, however, I can see him soon moving up to a level 4!