Although the needs of my students at Clarksdale High School vary widely depending on the individual and his or her particular circumstances, a few generalities can nonetheless be deduced from which a generalized list can be created. First and foremost, it is important to divide the students’ needs into three broad categories: physical, emotional, and intellectual.
As a whole, my students’ physical needs encompass the following material goods and/or accommodations, as seen in Table 1. In order to meet these needs of my students, I take an active role in ensuring all of my students who stay after school for tutoring with me have some means of transportation back to their place of residence. I make it a policy of mine never to require or even allow students to remain after school with me unless they can assure me they have some means of returning home. I also probe lightly and respectfully into my students’ lives at home by asking them how long they’ve been at that particular place. Not only do I have an active interest in learning more about my students and their very interesting lives, but by so doing I’m able to perform a cursory assessment of the home situation of my students and whether there should be any justifiable cause for concern. In a similar fashion, I also tend to ask my students about their preferred eating habits. This for me is both easy and useful conversation with my students since I can use my love for good cuisine to instigate an insightful inquiry into whether they are eating regularly and in a healthy manner. Unfortunately, it seems to me a large number of my students have little to no idea what constitutes healthy eating patterns, seeing as they tend to regard eating Hot Pockets and Cheetos hot chips as a quotidian gastronomic habit. While I’m not personally responsible for dictating what my students do and do not put into their mouths, as an educator I nonetheless see it as my role to guide my students towards better food choices by subtly and consistently positing the notion that healthier eating choices might in fact be readily available for about the same amount of money. In order to meet my students’ emotional needs, which entail providing non-abandonment, consistency, positive reinforcement, and healthy outlets for talking about life stressors, as seen in Table 2, I have aimed to be a positive role model for my students to emulate. My students are used to having many people in their lives abandon them, so they need reassurance that I’ll stick with them no matter what comes. This also means that I need to consistently be a presence in their lives so that they truly understand that I will be there every day for them if they need me. In order to ensure this happens, I make it a goal of mine never to miss a day of school. So far, I’ve been successful seeing as I have a perfect attendance record to date. I also try to be a consistent presence in my students’ lives by staying at the school until at least 5 p.m. every day so that I can meet with my students at their leisure after school. Furthermore, I make it a personal goal of mine to attend many events outside of school, such as football and basketball games, recitals, and other events of significance, in order to play an active and consistent role in my students’ lives both inside and outside of the high school. My students are also very used to being put down by peers and sometimes also by family members, so I see it as my role to find the good in all that they do, both academically and personally, even when admittedly this may be difficult at certain times. With this in mind, I aim to shower praise on them at all occasions so as to bolster their confidence in themselves and in their abilities. As a whole, I believe that as a teacher it is my role to provide for my students a healthy emotional outlet for the many life stressors they are facing. Keeping this idea at the forefront, I always endeavor to be a willing and open ear to my students whenever they wish to speak with me about anything. Being a teacher has in some ways meant becoming a member of their family, seeing as I often have to talk and work through difficult life situations with them. I’m honored to fulfill this role for them, but I understand its gravity and therefore do not take what my students say lightly when I can sense that they are in desperate need of confiding something in me. Lastly, as enumerated in Table 3, I consider it my role as a teacher to provide content-specific knowledge, non-content-specific knowledge, and new philosophical points of view. First and foremost, my duty as a geometry teacher at Clarksdale High School is to freely disseminate knowledge pertaining to geometry, of which my students are drastically in need. I therefore do my utmost both in class and during after school tutoring to answer any and all questions my students may have about any given question which may be related to geometry. Secondly, seeing as I’m college educated and in possession a healthy knowledge of many high school subjects, I do my best after school to help my students with any questions they may have about content in their other classes. However, I humbly admit I do not know everything, and so I make it a responsibility of mine not to spread false information. I’m always willing to help my students with any work they may have, but if I honestly don’t know how to answer a question or understand the details of a particular assignment, I always make sure not to overstretch my bounds. I never have my ego on the line, so I have no hesitation letting my students know if I can’t do a particular problem. Lastly, I see it as a particular duty of mine as both a role model and an educator to expand the philosophical boundaries of my students by introducing them to different worldviews which may seem strange to them. My students have an ardent thirst for knowledge, but unfortunately the vast majority of them don’t have the economic or situational means of exploring past a 100 mile radius of their place of birth. I therefore consider it my duty, especially as someone who’s lived in many places and has traveled extensively abroad, to teach my students about the cultures of other people and the different ways in which they perceive the world. I’m always considerate of the sensibilities my students might have, especially with regards to religion and familial morals, but I do tend to benignly open their mind to the idea that other young people – just like them in every capacity except for the fact that they were born on a different side of the planet – might hold radically different views from their own. So far I’ve found that my students, far from being defensive in the face of opposing viewpoints, have been keenly interested in the lifestyles and outlooks of others. I think spreading this type of knowledge falls within the bounds of what a teacher ought to be for students – a disseminator of knowledge in all its forms, whether it be content specific or otherwise. As a teacher at Clarksdale High School, I strive every day to ensure I’m meeting the physical, emotional, and intellectual needs of my students. And while I admittedly do sometimes fall short of meeting this mark, I nonetheless make an effort to at least do my very best on a regular basis. If I can honestly say that I’ve done so upon the conclusion of the day, I consider my job well done and can feel that I’ve genuinely made a positive impact in my students’ lives. |