Promt #1

The school that I am tutoring at is called Eddy Avenue Elementary. The neighborhood is in an urban setting. There are many playgrounds and apartments in the area. It seems like a tough neighborhood to grow up in because the lack of big houses and nice playgrounds. There was graffiti and it looks like most of the signs and parks were vandalized. This neighborhood looked like there needed a lot of work done to it to make it look like a more welcoming environment. The school building looked fairly new and didn’t look at bad as most buildings in the area. The classroom also looked nice with up-to-date materials and a good amount of laptops for the students to use. I can tell the school has either just been established or just recently renovated.

The space of the school isn’t bad, there are two schools fit into this once building. There are big hallways with plenty of space and the classrooms are adequate in size. They use the space well. The rug where the students sit when most of the teaching is done is in the front, the tables are in the back and the computers are in the corner and the desk is in the other corner. I like how it’s spaced out because the main priorities are in the front and the computers and the desk that aren’t as significant are in the corners of the classroom.

The school looks and feels like a good learning environment with bright colors on the walls and many pictures in the hallways. The friendly teachers contribute to this feeling. I noticed that the staff tries to build bonds with the students because the staff, such as the reading coaches knows many students name as well as the principle. The students always give a warm welcome to the principle when he enters the classroom. It seems like respect, and good manners are valued in this school and in the classrooms. The teachers are always advocating why it’s important to respect the staff and why it’s important to be well-mannered to fellow classmates and teachers. I notice the respect the students have towards the teacher because they remain silent when she was speaking and they always asked to either use the bathroom or to get something from their backpack. Also in the morning announcements they always have their pledge and mission statement that relates to respect.

This school is related to Kozol because the facts he states in “Still Separate, Still Unequal” because the majority of the students are either Hispanic or African-American. There were students that I was tutoring that complained about the parks and how they weren’t so great and how they were scared to play there. It reminded me about the eight-year-old who also complained about parks and how Kozol had things she didn’t and how his things are clean. This area is relevant to the ones that Kozol explains.