Ms. Silva’s Class: Alumni Edition

Hello Readers!

Thank you for returning to my blog again. It’s hard to tell sometimes if this blog is at all interesting or just self-indulgent. Nonetheless, if you are reading it, I appreciate you coming back for more.

Today, I stayed an extra hour after school to meet with some of my 3rd grade students from last year (now 4th graders). Their faces are longer, their hair has changed, and they are somehow more confident and more self-conscious at the same time. It was nice to interact with them in a different space. They helped me with my classroom, played with legos, and we ended the day running around outside. It brings to mind the after school space, and how connecting with students in a less structured, less standardized space can be great space for kids to relax into their actual selves and still learn academic and social skills. I tried to do some tutoring with these very students last year, but I found it really stressful to try to force them to be in “student mode” an extra hour with me after they’d already had six hours of sitting at attention, trying their best (most of the time). Our only rule for coming to after school this year is that homework has to be done (complete with regular homework checks with their teachers). After that, I can focus on forming relationships with them, helping them process whatever is going on at home and at school, but mostly, just let them be kids having fun in a safe environment.

I think this is what many after school programs do for students. They allow kids a predictable environment with their friends (just like school), except there is also room for freedom and choice. Ideally, schools would tap into this freedom as well, but the reality is that so many schools depend on high test scores for funding. Thus, a traditional, extremely focused (little choice) environment is often favored by school administrators and their teachers. I won’t go into the socioeconomic inequity of that whole issue, but I will say that in my (little) experience, students learn best when they are relaxed, interested in the subject, and with their peers. I know that sounds pretty basic. After all, which of us wants to go to a work training or lecture that is stressful, boring, and with a bunch of strangers? But schools often become stressful, boring environments where socializing with friends is discouraged for the very reason I mentioned before–strict emphasis on standardized test scores.

I guess what I’m saying here is that I feel I’ve been given a new opportunity with these Ms. Silva’s Class alumni. I can enjoy these students now for who they are and take our learning from there. They still need guidance and support (case in point: one of my students was about to ride a kindergarten tricycle down a slide before I stopped her and told her–as if this was new information–that that would be unsafe…another student spent a couple moments doing cartwheels around my classroom before I had to remind him we’re in a classroom, not outside). They’re not kindergarteners but they’re still kids. It will be interesting to see how this second year with them, in a different learning capacity, progresses.

Thank you for reading!

Elena