Please reflect on the professional developmemt seminar held on June 10, 2011.
Chandra Brown, Lifelines Counseling
Pastors Joseph and Linda Johnson, Mt. Hebron Church Ministries
Michael Pierce, MLK Redevelopment
What did you learn? How will you use what you learned in your teaching philosophy, classroom, or in life in general?
I enjoyed being at the church and going on the bus ride. I loved the activities at the church (if I ever teach in this area, I would like to go on a field trip to the church to have some fun with the kids). The tour through the areas was very interesting. I think it is very important to know where children are coming from when they go to the schools. I thought it was interesting that some times teachers have to go to bus stops to sit and wait for the children to get on the bus. While this does not sound like fun, it sounds like it could be a good opportunity to get to know the children of the school if they are not too cool to talk to the teacher on duty.
ReplyDeletePlease reflect on the professional developmemt seminar held on June 10, 2011.
ReplyDeleteChandra Brown, Lifelines Counseling
Pastors Joseph and Linda Johnson, Mt. Hebron Church Ministries
Michael Pierce, MLK Redevelopment
What did you learn? How will you use what you learned in your teaching philosophy, classroom, or in life in general?
I learned that hard work, selflessness, and persistence do get results. Pastor Joe and his wife Linda pour so much of their lives into the community of Trinity Gardens. Pastor Joe is from the projects in New Orleans and one teacher helped to change his life. They started a church there in the heart of Prichard and it has flourished. The Bright Spot, a top of the line youth building, was built for local families and teens to have a wholesome place to hangout, and it is free. Inside you will find a giant meeting room, classrooms, a full-court gym, a cafe, and an arcade much like Chuck E. Cheese's! It is an amazing place that selfless people built to better their community. Pastor Joe said that it wasn't always so successful though. He said that he had to make his intentions known to the community because they don't trust people easily. He said it took hard work and persistence, but he had a vision and never gave up.
I also learned to not lose sight of the goal from Michael Pierce, who is with the MLK Redevelopment Project. This is an incredibly driven man with a vision to transform the projects in one of the worst part of Mobile, the very same ones he grew up in years ago. He builds nice, quality houses that people with limited income can afford to purchase. He built a shopping center to bring the commercial businesses to the area. He is working with people trying to also build a grocery store in the area because there has never been one there before. Mr. Pierce has had many setbacks in his life, both political and personal, and he hasn't let that stop him or his vision for the low-income, low-educated people of Mobile. He wants a better life for them, including more opportunities, just like Pastor Joe and Mrs. Linda does. They are being the change that they want to see in this world, specifically Mobile, Alabama. These stories were very inspirational to me and they will stick with me for a long time.
The first professional development seminar helped me learn a lot more about my students. I learned more about the community in which my students are from, and I learned that hard work, persistencem, and dedication go a long way and do result in success.
ReplyDeletePastor Joe and his wife sent a great message to the preservice teachers. Pastor Joe is from New Orleans and grew up not having much. His story is about how one teacher changed his life. His teacher taught him that he is no different from the other children. He taught us that it's up to us to change the minds of the students in order to change lives. Pastor Joe's message brought me to tears becasue he truly believes in his community and changes lives daily. The Bright Spot is a phenominal building that provides the community of Trinity Gardens and other lcoal communities a safe and fun atmosphere for families. We need more people like Pastor Joe and his wife and their fellow Bright Spot memebers in the world that care deeply for their communities and strive daily to make their communtiies a better place for the families.
I really enjoyed the tour of the communtities in which our stduents are from. That was probably my favorite part of the seminar. It is extremely important to know where our stduents are from, and to be familiar with their communtities. Knowing our stduents' communitties not only helps us understand our stduents, but it also provides a sense of support from the parents of our students. no matter where a teacher is teaching, a teacher needs to know the community and environment of his/her stduents.
The last part of the field trip to the MLK district was also inspirational. Mr. Pierce has great visions for the same district in which he was raised as a child. The important message I took from Mr. Pierce was that it is important for people to try and want to make the projects a better place becasue that in turn will help our community and its families. It was intersting to learn the challenges faced by low income neighborhoods, such as the lack of grocery stores and poor, underdeveloped housing. I really respect Mr. Pierce's vision for the redevelopment of the MLK district. He provides its community members with affordable, well developed housing and much more.
Overall, it was just inspirational to hear each guest's story of how he/she has succeeded in life. Teachers are so important to the communty, and more times than one, it's a teacher that makes the most positive influence on a child's life. This seminar taught me to think about all student's situations and be part of the community. I want to change minds, so I can change lives.
I believe that I stated this somewhere before. It was really life changing for me. I felt like God was speaking directly to me when Pastor Joe was talking. I learned to bring tissues because all of the speakers that we had that week filled me with inspiration. I really felt like this is what my calling is. I want to impact the lives of all of my students. I want to inspire them to be all that they were meant to be. I don’t want these kids passed through the system like I was. I was overlooked, unappreciated and felt invisible. I want them to know that they are somebody and that someone does care. I really feel like being in inner city schools is where I will make the most difference. I can’t wait to start teaching and I’m excited that inner city schools are where the openings are because that is where I’m supposed to be.
ReplyDeleteThis professional development helped me to get an idea about where my students live and where they go to school. They had all told me where they attended school; but, it was difficult for me to have any sort of connection with it because I had never seen their schools. I love that we were able to see the schools that our students attend.
ReplyDeleteI was blown away the Bright Spot! I had no idea what it was all about or the amazing things that it has to offer the community. I really enjoyed hearing from Pastor Joe and his wife and about the struggles that they have had to overcome. They are both inspiring.
The tour around Mobile was my favorite part of the day, but Chandra Brown's activity was probably the most challenging. In most of the classes that I have taken at South we have discussed what to do if you suspect a child is abused or neglected and other issues that we will potentially face in the classroom; however, my thoughts have never been challenged like they were with Ms. Brown. I loved that we were able to share our ideas and also talk about the pros and cons of the decisions that we make. One scenario that we discussed was about a student that we suspected was abused but we did not have any evidence. We had to decide if we would report it to the councilor or not say anything because we did not have any evidence. Everyone seemed to be conflicted with what to do. Someone (I think Mr. Lewis) said something simple, but it is something that I will never forget. He said when you have to make a difficult decision like that think whether or not your decision will cause more harm than good. I know that I will encounter difficult situations with my students but I should always base my decisions on what will benefit my students more.
Honestly, I did not know anything about the Bright Spot or this area until this seminar. It really helped me to understand the area better, and where my students come from. I was really amazed by the ministry that Pastor Joseph, and Mrs. Johnson have set up. I think it's great that they have established a place to reach out to the community. I also enjoyed going on a tour of the area. I learned so much from this seminar!
ReplyDeleteThe Bright Spot is such a nice community outreach program. You can tell that a lot of time, selflessness and money have gone into the facility to give the residents in the area a nice place to go that offers love and support!
ReplyDeleteI really enjoyed being at The Bright Spot. Pastor Joe's story truly touched me. It is amazing how so many people change their lives around because of that one person that helped them. I would love to be the teacher that could change at least one student's life in a positive way. I also love how this community have a positive place to go to in the area. Amazing.
ReplyDeleteAs I stated in an earlier post I truly enjoyed this day at The Bright Spot. Although I do believe my favorite part of the day was an impromptu tour of the actual facility. The space is great for the community. After seeing I just wanted to run and around and play. I thought the speakers to be very educational and informative.
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