Community Service at Newark Arts HS

I tutored Math after school at Newark Arts HS under Mr. D for my community service requirement. For the time that I tutored which was most of the semester on Tuesdays, Wednesdays, and Thursdays, I really enjoyed the environment and teaching the students that they put in my care. It was really worth the daily commute. I found that many of the students who were motivated and came when they were supposed to, to my class truly took a lot out of it. They progressed very fast in just a couple of weeks.

I found it interesting how overall, even though HSPA scores were not very high, that most the students were very knowledgeable in math even though their focus was arts. I know that if I was an Arts HS student, I would probably be more concerned with practicing than anything else. While I was tutoring them, I kept using analogies to real like situations such as shopping, sports, etc. to make it interesting and to help them apply the knowledge.

I felt that I made a real connection with most the students. I actually never had a problem with volume and cell phones. I allowed a couple of calls since it is after-school tutoring, and the calls usually pertained to rides and siblings which is clearly important. I also found that the students were very polite and respected me. I also guessed what their focus was the first day since I am a music major, and we usually describe each other by instrument, etc. I found the students to be more civilized in Newark than my junior year high school theology class.

One of the math teachers actually trusted me with hooking her calculator up to a monitor, so I could show the students as a whole and not individually how to correctly use their scientific calculators with ease. It was interesting how much easier it was to teach them by using the monitor. Technology is very appealing to our generation, and this really made it clear to me even though it was a calculator and not a smart board. I also took a lot out of teaching the classes since I had to remind myself how to do the math correctly in the ten minutes I had before the students started to come into class.

Strengths and Weaknesses of No Child Left Behind

No Child Left Behind has some great intentions and ideas, but its effects have done otherwise. Budget cuts and NCLB have given many districts reasons for downsizing or even eliminating art programs in their schools in order to put their spending towards making AYP. No Child Left Behind does include arts in its ten core courses but does not support arts as much as Math, Science, and Technology.

Also, the courses that are focused on the most such as Math and English are not challenging enough for many students and tend to hold them back from what they could really achieve. No Child Left Behind sets a standard of mediocrity when many children are at different stages of learning. Also, No Child Left Behind sets extremely high standards for some disabled students. This is beneficial and not at the same time. This makes teachers more responsible for making sure disabled students get the attention they need, but it also makes it difficult for disabled students who do not have the ability to meet the standard that is expected of them.

There are inherently great ideas behind No Child Left Behind, and hopefully, President Obama will focus on improving on No Child Left Behind’s ideas in order to have better effects in the schools of the United States. Funding and the lowering of drop out rates is essential in improving our school districts and making our students educated citizens. Also, a well-rounded education that includes the arts and other courses in addition to Math, English, Science, and Technology is extremely important in being an educated citizen.

Importance of Demographics

Understanding demographics are important because as a teacher you need to know where you’re students are coming from and how their environment has made them who they are, what they know, and how they learn and apply themselves. The cost of living in New Jersey is certainly ridiculous when one actually cannot afford to live in New Jersey on minimum wage alone never mind support a family on minimum wage.

In urban areas, the cost of living greatly affects students’ performance in their academics. Many students work in helping to support their family, or come from backgrounds where it is difficult for them to work on their academics outside of class time. I found that speaking with a harp teacher in who worked at a school in East Orange that many students see school as a safe haven coming from backgrounds where they are struggling at home.

Demographics are also important in understanding school budgets and funding. In New Jersey, funding and budgets are usually by district, and some urban communities do not have close to the same funding of some rural and suburban communities. Demographics also tell you what kinds of races, cultures, religions, nationalities, etc. that have a large impact on the community that your student is a part of. This type of knowledge can help your students feel more comfortable in your classroom if you apply it and also can help you introduce your students to and help them to appreciate cultures that they are not aware of and different cultures of their classmates.

Assumptions about Newark Arts HS

I had many assumptions before going to Newark Arts HS and was pleasantly surprised what I saw for the most part. My father is never happy with me traveling into Newark or other urban areas, but I did not and usually do not find Newark to be as dangerous as he makes it sound. He did spend a lot of time in Newark between attending UMDNJ and now teaching at UMDNJ, and he has had some experiences that cause him to worry about me.

I found the students to be very polite and open with us. I also expected this since Arts HS is an arts high school and usually any student dedicated enough to want to do arts and are accepted are mature and have a sense of professionalism because of their background in arts. During our orientation, there was a girl who played Beethoven’s Pathetique Sonata which is an extremely difficult piece for a high school student, but she played it beautifully even though she took some sections at a slower tempo which is expected.

Newark Arts HS is dedicated to making their students educated citizens through art which I think is a truly great way of making a student more aware of all aspects of their society. All high school students have the basics of becoming an educated citizens through the knowledge they gain through their core academic classes such as Math, English, Social Studies, and Science, but not all students learn in the field of the arts in depth enough to have an appreciation for the arts and how the arts affects their community. Arts have been apart of the most successful civilizations throughout history, and many developments came out of those civilizations even as far back as ancient Greece and Rome.

Do we need public schools?

Public schools are really almost essential to our time and culture. Private schools are not affordable for most people, and schooling itself is extremely necessary to be successful in and maintain our American culture. Public schooling not only is meant to educate, but it also teaches children how to handle social reactions by being surrounded by peers who are of the same age and maturity level. Public schooling allows any child of any ethnicity, religion, and financial state to receive an education bringing together children of many different backgrounds and giving them an equal opportunity to succeed in our culture and society.

"Do we need public schools?" really asks the question, "Do we need to educate?" Education is essential to maintaining our democracy and way of life. Communication is essential and also very technologically advanced today, and literacy is a key part of communication. Education in public schools also allows every child the opportunity to be successful and not rely on their family for their future career. Our culture clearly thrives on education by how fast everything has advanced even in my own lifetime, and it is truly necessary to have a well rounded education to keep up with our fast-pace culture.