Jammie Garcia

LBS 300.02
Spring 2016
May 17, 2016
Signature Assignment
Stanford Avenue Elementary in South Gate is where I have been working as a teachers
assistant for the past 7 years. Throughout the years I have had the opportunity to work with many
great teachers whom Ive learned a lot from. I have also had the chance to work in different
grade levels, which can be challenging at times, but has given me a lot more experience with
working with children. Stanford Elementary is a school located on the west side of South Gate,
which is considered the bad side of town because its closer to Alameda Blvd, which is a bit
more industrial than the rest of the city. My first impression of Stanford when I arrived at 7:30am
seven years ago was that it was a huge school. There were hundreds of students rushing to the
yard with their tamales and champurrados in hand to get in line before the bell rang. It was a bit
overwhelming but I was up for the challenge. As the bell rang, I noticed teachers walking to the
yard to pick up their students. The first few teachers that arrived to pick up the students had
straight lines and walked in an orderly manor. After a few minutes the yard was cleared of
students and teachers, but not clear of trash. For the 2014/2015 school year Stanford had 22
teachers, all 22 teachers had their full credentials. This school year, Stanford opened a position
due to the increase in enrollment in the first grade. There are 23 full credentialed teachers
working at Stanford this year. The Academic Performance Index (API) score for Stanford
2015/2016 year was 761. Compared to the nearby schools such as Montara Elementary and
Madison Elementary, Stanford ranks much lower. The local Middle School and High School

have scores in the low 700. One of the reasons why the scores are similar is because the students
that attend Stanford also attend the local Middle School and high School. Its the same students,
therefor the scores dont drop as drastically as other areas where students are bused to school.
School at Stanford starts at 7:50 am and ends at 2:14 pm. With 95.4% of students at Stanford are
at a Socioeconomically Disadvantage, many students are dropped off very early at school
because their parents have to rush to work. Most parents work more than one job to make ends
meet. Since there are so many students that get dropped off early in the morning the 5th grade
teachers had created a Morning Running Club. Teachers alternate the responsibility of arriving
early to school to help supervise the runners. One of the teachers that I work with this year is Mr.
Maciel. He is a 5th grade teacher and has been teaching 5th grade for five years. Hes been
teaching for over nine years, and says he wouldnt change his job for anything else. His class is
made up of EL students in levels 1,2 & 3. These students encounter many challenges and
obstacles, which is why its one of my favorite classes to work in.
Throughout the years I have learned a lot from all the wonderful teachers I have had the
opportunity to work with, but one of the things that has stuck with me throughout all these years
is that you never give up on the students. There are many parents that are not as involved in their
childs schooling, but that doesnt mean that as a teacher you dont push as much or have lower
expectations for those students. Sometimes those are the students you have to push even more. I
truly do believe that teaching chose me. When I first graduated from High School I was set on
becoming a doctor. I was determined to become the first doctor in the family. As time passed I
realized that I could not stand the sight of blood. Just the thought of blood gushing from bodies
makes me feel lightheaded. At that point I decided to look elsewhere for a career. As the years
and majors passed, I would always gets complements from family members that I had so much

patience with children and I would be a great teacher. Five years later I decided to take a chance
and look for a job as a teachers assistant to see if I would like to work with children. I soon
realized that being a teacher was not going to be easy but it would be worth it. Mr. Maciel has a
quote on his desk that a student gave him his first year of teaching. The quote says, It takes a
big heart to help shape little minds. I believe that to be so true. If you dont have the heart to be
a teacher you will be extremely unhappy.
Mr. Maciel has taught me many techniques throughout the year. One of the most
important techniques that I will take from his class is that peer-to-peer learning is very important.
Having students work in small groups or in partners to go over concepts that are being taught in
class can be very beneficial. Students are repeating to each other the concepts and techniques that
they are learning, which reiterate the importance of learning these skills. This also helps with the
comprehension of concepts. There might be students that didnt completely understand the
concepts, but by working in groups they might be able to learn it better.
Strategies that I will be taking from the 5th grade class are that students all learn at there
own pace. There are students that take a bit longer to understand the lesson, and thats fine. If
needed, teachers can work in small groups to reintroduce the lesson. Another strategy that I will
be taking with me is that try to relate the lesson to real-life situations. Sometimes if applicable,
try to compare a lesson to something the students can relate to. This will help in creating a more
involved lesson and better comprehension.
Working with students I have realized that I have many strengths but also I have many
weaknesses. Some of my strengths that I feel I have are that I have patience, and also that I want
to give all the students the benefit of the doubt. At the same time those can be taken as
weaknesses. Children are so bright, most of the times brighter than you even think. They know

how to manipulate situations to benefit themselves. I always try to give all the students a chance
and I tend to not want to question students when they are involved in bad situations. I believe
all children are good children and what makes them ac bad are sometimes things that are out
of their control. I had a situation at the beginning of the year in Mr. Maciels class that made me
realize that a lot of children go through so much as such a young age. Mr. Maciel had me
working with a group of boys that needed help with their reading. I would different lessons such
as blending, and fluency reads with them so help them improve their scores. While working with
these students I noticed that one of the boys would have great days and then be extremely moody
other days. One day I decided to ask him what was wrong and he told me he was mad because he
wasnt able to go visit his dad in jail because his mom didnt have enough money to drive to visit
him. I didnt want to ask more because I felt like it wasnt my place to know more about his
home situations. After our talk, I felt sorry for him and would let him get away with not wanting
to participate in group. A few weeks passed and I noticed that his attitude had only gotten worse
with time. Apparently his dad was moved further away and he wasnt going be able to go visit
him until vacation. After this I realized that sometimes children act bad or have an attitude
because they have so many things going on at home that sometimes is out of their control.
After working for many years as a teachers assistant I have learned many things from
amazing teachers. Not all teachers teach the same and each teacher has their unique way of
making their classroom their own. I believe to be a successful teacher you have to know that not
all children are the same. You have to be able to adapt to your students to be able to help them
succeed.