Woodward

I've been tutoring 3rd graders at Woodward Elementary School in the Saint Louis public school system since October. There are only 20 precious school days left with my kids. Similar to my teaching experience in France I haven't blogged about school because I've been trying to understand. Alas, I still have more questions than answers, but its time to say something.

My school is, comparatively, a very good school. The principal is awesome, and I can only think of 4 teachers I'd like to fire for verbally abusing children. In a school system that lost accreditation a few years ago and where horror stories are the norm, Woodward is a veritable gem. Most of the kids who have been raised up at Woodward are on grade level. This speaks volumes to the quality of staff there.

I tutor 9 students and all but two come from other schools that were closed. Many of the transfer students don't have records. My teammates all have a large amount of transfer students. There are 4 AmeriCorps Members on a team, one Member for each grade K-3. Another major trend amongst our kids is a high level of English as a second language learners. (ELLs) Five of my nine are not native English speakers. All of those five are transfers from failing schools. ELLs are especially needy of a quality school because their parents are frequently incapable of helping them with homework.

Clearly the quality of the school and the teacher are key ingredients to a child's education. This is particularly true when the school is serving some the the poorest kids in the country.

After a field trip I took one of my kids home because nobody came for him and nobody answered the phone. An adult cousin answered the door when I dropped off my student. He was visibly high. I talked to my student's teacher about this and she wasn't surprised. She said Woodward has been good for my student and his brother. She said when they came to Woodward the boys were a mess.

In the case of this particular student it is twice as important that school is a loving, nurturing place where a plethora of life experience is gained. A few students are slower to learn because they are neglected at home. A child can't learn effectively if they don't first feel loved and safe. Schools that serve poor students are often charged with providing life experiences that a child would normally get at home. A few examples of simple things some students have never done are, seeing chickens, counting, paying for things, cooking, and going on the highway. These things are educational and provide a foundation to build on and reference to, yet many students have big experience gaps thus they learn slower because more information needs to be given.