Jeff Burgess
Reflection: ISLLC IV
Internship 6062/6072
Dr. Michael Arnold
Spring 2004

ISLLC 4 Summary and Reflection

Expectations:

4.1 Fosters the involvement of the community in the educational programs of the school.
4.2 Fosters the involvement of the school in the life of the community.
4.3 Fosters the involvement of families in the educational programs of the school.
4.4 Fosters collaboration and communication among members of the school and school community.
4.5 Demonstrates diversity is valued

	The Press Release for the Conservation Department Grant for a Lewis and Clark Field Trip fosters involvement of the community in the educational programs of the community (4.1).  The newspaper is a vital part of the community that serves many people in the district. Information and Internet addresses were provided in the article that invite the public to gain insight into the educational programs of the school. Information provided in the release and The Lewis & Clark Boat House and Nature Center web site (http://www.lewisandclark.net/boatsInfo.html) share the story of Discovery Expedition's permanent home. Located beside the Missouri River at Bishop's Landing in historic St. Charles, Missouri, the educational facility features exhibits relating to the Lewis and Clark expedition as well as the Missouri River ecosystem.  The Lewis and Clark Expedition and the Missouri River Ecosystem are both important elements of the social studies curriculum for fourth grade students in Missouri, who study continuity and change in the history of Missouri, the United States, and the world (see Show-Me Standards).  Information in the press release and on the Web Site of The Lewis & Clark: The National Bicentennial Exhibition (www.lewisandclarkexhibit.org) outlines the Corps of Discovery journey from the banks of the Mississippi and Missouri Rivers through Western North America.  The exhibition displays hundreds of rare and priceless artifacts and documents, equipment the explorers used, the landscapes they saw, and the Native American tribes they met.  These are primary documents that lead students into inquiry-based learning.  The Internet sight also provides comprehensive inquiry-based lesson plans for Lewis and Clark.  
	The Press Release from the Conservation Department Grant for a Lewis and Clark Field Trip fosters the involvement of families in the educational programs of the school (4.3).  When families heard about the grant and field trip, many of the parents of students were extremely interested in going with the class on the field trip.  A total of 14 parents (out of  29 students that went on the trip) signed up to go on the trip.  Ten of the parents admission prices were covered by the grant money. 
	The Press Release for the Conservation Department Grant for a Lewis and Clark Field Trip fosters collaboration and communication among members of the school and school community (4.4) by providing information about the grant and field trip to patrons of the district.  The Conservation Department is also local part of the community that serves patrons in the district and serves specific educational needs of the community.  The actual writing of the grant application required collaboration between the Conservation Department, Lewis & Clark Boat House and Nature Center, the Missouri History Museum and myself.  
	The Community Resources and Referral List fosters the involvement of the school in the life of the community (4.2) by providing a list of resources that school staff may use or refer parents to.  This list also fosters collaboration and communication among members of the school and the school community (4.4) by providing easy reference for school members to contact those in the community.  I put this list together with help from the counselor.  
	I chose to organize Grandparents Day as a public relations activity.  I edited the note sent home to children, calculated the numbers of grandparents that would be attending, arranged for adopt-a-grandparents, arranged a schedule of activities, and distributed items that could be used for interaction with the grandparents.  I communicated with staff and administration on whether or not to include lunch with the children as part of the grandparent activities as had been done in some of the previous years, but the current building principal decided that coordinating the purchase and preparation of food would be too difficult.   This activity fosters involvement of the community in the educational programs of the school (4.1) by inviting important community members into the school for an afternoon.   By inviting relatives in to spend time with children, we foster the involvement of families in the educational programs of the community (4.3).  “Grandparents consistently report that they most enjoy spending time in their grandchild's classroom.” – Something to Remember Me By; The Legacy Project.   I collaborated with members of the school community (4.4) by communicating with the local director of the Senior Center and local churches to invite community members into the school to (4.1) to serve as Adopt-a-Grandparents for lower grade children (K-3) that did not have a grandparent that was able to attend.  The involvement of senior citizens in the educational programs also show that diversity is valued (4.5).  I personally would like to see more involvement of senior citizens.  It would be good to invite groups to come in once a month for reading or other activities involving educational programs. One Christian school that I taught at would visit a local nursing home once a month to visit and read with the senior citizens, who were always thrilled to see us come in the door.  
	The OACAC Canned Food Drive fosters involvement of the school in the life of the community (4.2).  Over one thousand dry and canned food items were collected and distributed to need families throughout the community by OACAC (4.4) during the weeks before Christmas.  I organized the drive by creating and distributing flyers to all students and keeping a tally of the food items brought in each day.  The class donating the most items was granted an extra recess supervised by the counselor.  Student Council members collected the items daily and assisted in delivering them to OACAC.  
	Though the population of Greenfield Schools is not extremely diverse, it is important to teach diversity to our students (4.5). The Evaluation of Diversity in the Current Curriculum assesses how different activities meet some of the Show-Me Standards as they relate to teaching of diversity:
Performance: 
Students will demonstrate within and integrate across all content area the ability to:
1.9 identify, analyze and compare the institutions, traditions, and art forms of past and present societies.
2.3 exchange information, questions, and ideas while recognizing the perspectives of others.
3.2 develop and apply strategies based on the ways others have prevented or solved problems.
4.2 understand and apply the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in Missouri and the United States.
4.3 understand and apply the rights and responsibilities of citizenship in societies.
Knowledge:
In Communication Arts, students in Missouri public schools will acquire a solid foundation which includes knowledge and proficiency in: 
CA2: reading and evaluating fiction, poetry, and drama.
CA3: reading and evaluating nonfiction works and materials. 
CA7: identifying and evaluating relationships between language and culture.
In Fine Arts, students in Missouri public schools will acquire a solid foundation which includes knowledge and proficiency in: 
FA5: visual and performing arts in historical and cultural contexts.
In Social Studies, students in Missouri public schools will acquire a solid foundation which includes knowledge and proficiency in: 
SS2:  continuity and change in the history of Missouri, the United States, and the world.
SS6:  relationships of the individual and groups to institutions and cultural traditions.

Teacher responses were adequate. Of particular interest is one activity during the first week of May. Kaleidoscope is a community interaction day (4.1) organized by fifth grade teachers (4.4) with local people coming to our school for a day to share arts, foods, and crafts from around the U.S. and the world (4.5) – Asian cooking, origami, Tae Kwan Do, etc.  I thought of one highly relevant event that the sixth grade teacher neglected to mention – the sixth grade yearly field trip is experiencing World Fest at Silver Dollar City.  

Suggestions from teachers for improving diversity:
“We need access to foreign language education at the younger grades where it has the best chance of being retained.”
“Read more novels and current events magazines with diversity.” 
	
	I regret that I was not able to spend more time at my first teaching position at a multicultural Christian school on the U.S. island territory of Guam. My sixth grade class included students from many different cultures, including Chamorros (natives of Guam), and students from Japan, the Philippines, Korea, Scotland, and the United States.   I spent only one stressful year there in which I lost my mother.  After coming back to be with her for three weeks before she died on December 22 of that year,  I went back to Guam on January 5 to a Super Typhoon Paka ravaged island that bore the brunt of that storm on December 16.  I finished the school year and returned to Arkansas that spring after stopping in Hawaii for three days.  There I visited the Polynesian Cultural Center.

Pictures/Info on my year in Guam: http://www.geocities.com/jefreebird/Guam.html
Trinity Christian School in Yigo, Guam: http://trinity.iconpacific.com/ 
Guam Visitors Bureau:  http://www.visitguam.org/main/