Post-Practicum Reflection

Noticing

During this practicum experience, I had the opportunity to spend several days at Ephesus

Junior Academy, a private Seventh-day Adventist school in Richmond. There is no school nurse

on staff and many of the students did not have complete medical records on file, so the first day

we conducted health screenings on all of the kids including vital signs, height and weight, and

vision and hearing screenings. On each of the remaining days, we spent a majority of the day

immersed in the classroom. I observed how the children’s learning is structured throughout the

day and how the teacher manages a classroom made up of students of different ability levels. I

got the chance to see how the students behave at different developmental stages and hear them

interact with each other. I assisted them in completing their learning activities in subjects such as

mathematics, reading, and spelling and tried to help them better understand the concepts. I also

got to see the impact upstream factors have on a vulnerable population. My expectations for this

practicum experiment were met.

Interpreting

After this practicum experience, I value the educational opportunities I was given and the

home environment I grew up in so much more. I think that Ephesus Junior Academy is providing

the students with great learning opportunities that they would not receive elsewhere, but I don’t

think the staffing is adequate to give them the academic attention they need. The idea of a small

school with individualized instruction is appealing, but there is not enough time in the day for

one teacher to be able to provide all of the children with the appropriate teaching for their

individual grade levels. Many of these kids do not have home environments that foster learning

so school is their only educational time, and they have the potential to fall behind very easily.
When we were there to help out, a higher percentage of students could be worked with at once

individually with instruction tailored to their needs.

Responding

The major thing I learned about this community was that they are in dire need for a more

supportive home environment. The children learn a lot while they are in school during the day,

but without the parents on board to contribute to the cause and enhance their learning when they

go home at night they may regress in their abilities. This makes it very difficult for them to

progress like they should and maintain academic achievement at a pace consistent with their

indicated grade level. During my time at Ephesus Junior Academy, I offered a nonjudgmental

attitude and patience in teaching them at their own pace. I also gave them encouragement and

tried to make them feel more confident in their academic abilities.

Reflecting

This practicum experience has influenced my academic life by making me more aware of

the factors that influence vulnerable populations. I now have a better understanding of the

barriers they face and the needs that they have. I also have a much better understanding of the

developmental stages of children and how to tailor interventions according to the age group. This

practicum experience has influenced my personal life by making me more interested in doing

some sort of volunteering involving similar populations. I found this experience to be very

rewarding because it opened my eyes and made me feel like I was making an impact on these

children, even if it was only a small one.