How has this experience (the internship) made you consider your college path that will ultimately lead to your career?This experience has taught me to be confident. I always feel nervous when I am doing something new and independently, before going to internship I was confused on what I had to do when I went to college, what classes I had to take being there and what school to go. My mentor was always there answering question about teaching, specific questions about how to work with students that are learning English as a second or third language. For me watching my mentor be there for the students, when they had questions she had a solution for everything. What encouraged me to keep going was when I heard the students' stories and how many of them are struggling more than I expected. Also, many of the students are thinking on coming back to their homelands and quitting school. I want every student to have an opportunity for education and feel like they can be welcomed in this country. I want them to open their eyes and see the great opportunities in this country. What has me keep going is that I am someone that understands them 100 percent, someone that had to move many times, I know they feel and I want to go through that hard time by their side. I want to leave a mark on their hearts forever. Consider what you have observed and learned about your mentor or other employees at your site, and reflect on your own academic & professional preparation.I have observed from my mentor at San Pasqual High School that everyday that she comes in into the class she is prepares and has an idea of what she will be doing throughout the day. She has the room open at all times for students to come in and hang out during breaks, lunch and after school. She is willing to create a community, a family that can gather up at any time. She is not only being there to teach and help them academically but also in their personal problems. She is there to help out financially, academically at any class. Help with anything. In my first internship I had co-workers and they were also really close to my mentor helping out with many things. We had communication with each other and slip the work. When my mentor was absent then we had to take turns during class to explain, help out, grading, etc. I got to be close to them and hear their goals to become teachers. One of my co-workers help me out the most because she explained me how the teaching credential works, and that Cal State San Marcos is a great school for education. She also told me that I had to talk to my counselor and tell her that I wanted to be an ELD teacher right away so I could be taking the right classes. One of the co-workers used to be my helper when I was learning English and it was wonderful to work at her side and learn how to be productive all the time, how to be kind and lovely to the students. She was always teaching me something and congratulating me for being a great student and person.
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Link to my final ProductWhy was the project important?
The reason of why was this project important for me and the site where I intern was because the students that I worked with are learning English as a second language or also sometimes as their third language. I consulted my mentor when I was going to start my project and she mentioned that it didn't have to be a big deal. It could be something simple and small. When I was interning at San Pasqual many students had to say words in Spanish during their sentences because they couldn't remember some words, so I thought that making a survey to ask students which words, phrases, questions are the ones that they usually forget.
Process to complete this project
Part I: (Digital Project)
Part II: (Physical Project)
Presentation slides from on-site POL.How was your work as an intern meaningful to your education?Since the day of Career day, I was already excited to be there. Once I came in my mentor told me that she wanted me to focus on some of the students. I have always wanted to spend time with students that need help. I want them to feel comfortable with me so it can be easier for me to help them out with what they need. Something that has really meaningful to me has been listening to people's stories and backgrounds. I can relate to them. I heard students that want o give up already and some of them that there's nothing that can stop them. I completely forgot how you feel when you are an ELD and you are students that the only thing that is in your mind is to succeed. I have learned to not give up because as students learning a second or third language sometimes we have to fight more, work harder to be in this country. I have been reminded that they are fighting and I should help them fight too because I want to represent them. Their stories have inspired me to not give up and keep trying. How was your work significant or meaningful to the world beyond school and your specific internship site?I have learned that I am a symbol. I am a treasure to the teachers and students because I am an outcome of the teachers but also to my old teammates because they saw me at point zero and now I am at a better point. I have learned to listen and always be intentional with the students so I can help them out. I have never been created and an artistic person but I have learned to be creative and in artistic when showing samples of work to the students. I have learned to learn things fast and be attentive to instructions and do things right and more than asked. How did you make a meaningful contribution to your workplace? I have been helping out organizing. My mentor has to do summer school and the place where I am interning at gets out the Friday, June 1st. I have to help clean up the room, pack up all the books, pencils, papers that are on the walls. I love helping out setting up the classroom. I love cleaning up and wrapping up to the end of the school year. I have been helping out to decorate the room and set it up for summer school classes. It has been amazing and I am contributing to making the classroom look more attractive and fun for the students. I love to not only help out m mentor but also the other teachers around school because they advantage that I available to help out. What qualities or characteristics did you see in the people around you that you want to develop in yourself? Why?I would love to have Ms. Damian's characteristics to be so sweet with students, patient and lovely to be there for anyone. She has the biggest heart in this whole world. She is a teaching aid but she has been working there for many years. She has seen everything, she has seen me fail and win. I am working with her now and every day she shines brighter than the sun, her smile is contagious and I love seeing her work hard every day and see her availability to help the ELD students at any time. What new questions has your internship inspired you to ask about our world? What has it made you wonder about? What are you moved to go out and do or learn about on your own time?I have wondered so much why the Latino cultures sometimes don't help out their own race, language, and culture to improve. I have seen many students that deal with anxiety and social struggle because their teammates provoked them to be stuck where they are. Obviously is optional to believe those comments but many of the students so believe them. One of the students just came from Vietnam and his name is "Phuc" he changed his name to Paul because the Latino and Hispanic students had been making fun of his name. I have been researching why my own culture tends to do that. To let people down instead of becoming one and stronger. How did interpersonal relationships and/or collaboration at work influence your understanding of life outside of high school?I have learned that work it does not always work and work without stopping because sometimes we need to breathe and take a break. The students that I am around are working hard every minute of their lives because they are barely setting up to something new. I have been in the United States for 5 1/2 years and this year I was barely setting in place to live, school and friends. I have enjoyed my work with y mentor and my co-workers because we all speak Spanish and we have the same culture. We love to party in the classroom all the time, joke around and live life. We take breaks to dance and eat lunch together because that time is worth it and valuable. My relationships with my mentor and other teachers/co-workers have helped me realize that I was born to be a teacher. I was born and destinated to be there for this special students. I am a piece of gold to my mentor and to the organization because not many people are interested in doing the hard job, of teaching a second language, to start from zero and become everything. A lot of students look up to me and I am living the history that many students will one day read. I live to make history not to regret it.
How have you advocated for yourself during your internship, or seen advocacy demonstrated in other situations?During this internship I have learned to be myself. I have to use all the experiences that i have lived as an ELD students, and immigrant from another country to understand the students and help them out. I consider myslef a hard worker and I am always doing something, I am always busy helping out people because that's what I like. Beieng around student of my age makes me feel comfortable and I like to interact with them and hear their stories because many of them had to go through to harder process and way to get to the United State. Many of them appreciate education more than I do and it makes me reflect on how they feel and how I felt when I was a new comer. The teacher knows who I am and I am a great student that likes to learn. When I ued to be in that school I couldn't express myself muh because I was afrai of speaking up and share y ideas but now I love to ask questions and learn from my mentor and my co-wokers. I like to go always beyond what I am asked to do and show that I lie serving people and not be praised because that's is not a good motivation because as humans we fail. I like to how my teacher that I have improved and that she can feel proud of me. Are you following the advice in "How to be an intern everyone remembers"? If so, how is it working out? If not, what are you going to start doing?Yes, the reason of this is because the I am always behind my mentor listening, watching, paying attention to instructions because I wnat to do things right. Many of the students know that they count on me and they want to learn from me. y mentor is really happy to have me there because she feels special and knows that I want to learn from her. I am always respectful, kind and pacient with the mentor, co-workers, and students. I am there asking questiona nd interested on the path for teaching ELD class and I am always the difference everywhere I now that they will always give advice on how to be intern. It has been my pleasure being there and I am taking advantage of this great opportunity!
What you plan on doing or creating?What I am planning on doing for my project is a survey of ELD students that come from different countries. Majority of the students are Hispanic and they find Mexican Spanish style more appropriate and I would like to know why they think that. I want to find out their answers and opinions about that in specific. What skills you will need in order for it to be awesome?The skills that I need in order for it to be awesome is being a fluent Spanish speaker. There is many students that come from Latin America and only speak Spanish so I will have to speak Spanish really well for it to be successful. I also need to have a great attitude and desire to engage in a interesting conversation that they would like to be in. I need to talk about them not about me because people like to talk about themselves and that would make the time go by faster. What support you will need, and who you will need it from?The support that I will need is from the teacher, mentor. I will need the time to ask questions to the students about my essential question. I met a helper that just graduated from Cal State San Marcos that gave me the idea of the project and she is willing to help me out of how to do it. She will provided me with a research that was started but not finishes and it would be a pleasure of me to finish it.
What's your job title?
My job title is an English Learner Development (ELD) Teacher. How did you end up doing the job that you do? I used to work on Temecula/Valley Center area and there was always traffic and I was always getting home late. It was a lot of driving. Why did you choose to work here? The reason why I chose to work here was because i saw that there was open spots for Spanish class but also ELD. I wanted to get a spot lined up to work with Latino community and I got in. What skills and training are necessary for your position? You need a teaching credential program/ academic requirement. How did you acquire these skills? Through school? On the job? Having experience working as a Teacher's Aid, tutor, and you will need to learn how to deal with students. Also culturally, be aware of different cultures and students. Be aware of biases because many ELD teachers are not aware of that, they don't know the differences. Do you consider a career in this area satisfying? in what ways? Yes, satisfying. Teaching diverse students and creating relationships. Is there anything you wish you'd realized about the world of work when you were my age? The importance of relationships. The difference/importance of body language words. Not only verbally but also physically. Think before acting. What is a typical work day like? I have first and second period prep and usually get here at 8:30 am and plan the work to do. At break I have students come in into my class and hang out and after 15 minutes I start with ELD 2 for two periods. After they leave I have lunch and the students come in the class and hang out. After Lunch I have 5-6 period and they are ELD 3. My day is busy because all the students are different. How is the organization structured? We have a principal, assistant principal, dean of the students, Athletic director, and leadership positions. Department of Counseling, Department of Security, teachers, studio department. All this departments work with each other. Many schools see this structure as a triangle but I see it as a circle. Every department has a chair that leads them but it's not the boss of them. Leadership of different departments. You see a person that stands up for everyone but it's not the head. What it's the purpose of this organization/school? The purpose of the organization/ school is to create a program that prioritizes learning, helps understand how to learn and explain how to learn. Have a growth mindset. This purposes changes based on the principal. What does it take to be successful in this organization? Toqq be able to know the context, area of expertise, be able to express orally an physically what you know. Know what is teaching and what to teach, and express it. Be ready to advocate for your students in the area of what you teach, what you say. If you disagree and why? Be open and ready to help. If they need help with anything. Be flexible. How important is getting along with other people in your career? It is really important to get along with people in this type of career because you need other people's ideas to lern, critique, feedback. Other people's perspective on things are helpful because they are looking at things differently. What other personality traits, skills, or knowledge are important here? To be always humble and pacient to deal with all type of students. Many of them have different lifestyles, backgrounds and you need to be open to learn from them and be flexible to help with anything. REFLECTION My internship has been the best experience at my life because I have always dremed with being in a classroom without worrying to finish my work first to be able to help out students. In my classroom there is many students that come from central america, Mexico and they all have different backgrounds and cultures. I love beig able to speak to the students and hear their stories about how they czme to this country. When I am around the classroom they alway ask me questions and I help them out translating words and instructions. This students are really funny because they love to talk about experiences of their lives and make us laugh. They love to use English as a joke and joke around with it. I have learned that this organization is big and has many sources for the classes. The teacher in charge of ELD department is my mentor and she is not supported very much with materials and people that can help but she always overcomes things with the help of the pwoplw that are willing to help. The mission of the school id for students to learn and grow but the usually don't pay attention very much to the ELD students and their needs. Many teachers don't take the students seriously and that they need help but think that they are lazy and don't wanna work. I have been developing leadership skills, I can understand the needs of the students and how they feel when they are in that class. I have learned ow to deal with students and their characters, I have ganied experience with studenst and comprehend that some of them are not learning English as a second language but the third. I consider all this students stronger than me because they came to the United States when they were older than me, have to learn one more language than me. This students have lot harder than I did which makes them more stronger. In this internship, it's not the first time I am in the organization and I know the system really well. I used to be a student at this school and this was also my 10th grade career day. One of the things that really impacted me from my workplace was that my mentor already had plans for myself. She had a lot of work for me to do, goals and thig for me to work on during my internship. My workplace is relatable. I know how it works and how the students feel when they are in the class. This classroom feels warm and welcoming, everyone is a family.
What really strikes me about my colleagues is that they are related to the system and they don't need to be told what to do at all because they are always doing something or busy. My co-workers know the students really well and the students love them back. They are always available for any question that I have for them and treat me like if I was one of them too. Beautiful people that one day they were helping me to learn Eglish and now I am collaborating with them. What strikes me the most about what I am doing is that English Learner Students are like newborn babies, that you see them born in the language and you go alongside growing with them. I love seeing people trusting me and asking a question, raising their hand and asking questions. These students open their hearts for teachers, helpers to enter and they are expecting you to be there for them and not turn your back. I am a loyal person and responsible. I don't want to leave them ever because they always need me, they need my help and I would be there to help anytime, with anything. What I am more excited about is the helping part, translating, helping. I have always dreamed of being sitting on the table and teaching students, facilitating and they listening to me. I want to them to be paying attention without losing track because they want to learn. I love the campus, the variety of cultures, languages and different backgrounds. I really excited to see them grow every day and not give up. What I am worried about is to not reach those expectations that the teacher has for me. I would love to facilitate some students and helping them out, but sometimes I am busy grading or doing other things and can't pay attention to the students. I would like to sit down and have a conversation with the students that my mentor is asking me to keep an eye on. I am worried to fail as a student teacher and not be the intern that should be. Sometimes my quietness and embarrassment betray me. To kick off my experience with internship and career-related experiences in 11th grade, I spent my "Career Day" at a high school called San Pasqual in Escondido. This is my internship site that I am going to be attending for the next following weeks. I could attend to this career day because the teacher named Irene Sanchez was one of my previous teachers at San Pasqual High School. Before I came to High Tech High North County I used to attend to San Pasqual High School. She has been my teacher, and it was an honor for me intern her classroom and learn about my potential career as an English Language Development (ELD) teacher.
A typical work day at San Pasqual High School looks like making examples of crafts for students to look at. Organizing, cutting paper, coloring, represent part of the preparation for the class activity. Going to the office to print out some copies remain part of the work. The teacher that I helped out hadn't been at school for a week, so she had many grading behind and an event coming up. Grading presentation for the students, and organizing grades represent part of the work day. Creating documents for students that were going to receive awards, crating the words, being creative when producing them. I had a co-worker with the name of Shia and she is helping with the classroom so I also helped her out with taking students to the nurse, translating classes, and words for students that are learning English. Creativity, patience, responsibility and availability play a big role in education, because students are looking up to the helpers, and they need them to be available and patient to listen. Part of it was to interact with other student helpers and make them feel like I was nothing but someone like them. San Pasqual High School is a school that is dedicated to excellence in learning through a shared responsibility of students, parents, staff, administrators, to educate all students to reach their intellectual and social potential in a safe, cooperative and supportive environment. They are committed to the success of students to be responsible, ethical, productive, and patriotic members of the community. The school policies to tardies are that if you are a student you have to pass by the front office and pick up a tardy slip during the first 30 minutes. After those 30 minutes you have to go straight to class and be marked tardy by your teacher. In the classroom where I was interning, the teacher has to be more comprehensive because this students sometimes have transportation problems and get to school late. The dress code of San Pasqual High School is traditional and casual. The students can wear any clothes that are covering most of the body. In this school, you are allowed to wear T-shirts, leggings, shorts, and hats. San Pasqual has a flexible dress code. Not everyone follows it but it's the majority of the time it's been fixed. Many students in the classroom that I worked with were on dress code and it was nice to see. In this career, the day was more helpful and fun. My goal was to get to the classroom and start working hard, to be busy all the time without stopping. Once I entered the classroom I had to do something. I always dreamed of being the sample to show the class, I have been always afraid of that because I am not an art person but creativity is part of being a teacher. When I was at San Pasqual High School I loved to attend to ELD awards to recognize students that have done worked hard. In my high school experience, I have learned skills in my classes. For example, in Spanish class, I have learned more Spanish so I can help out students from ELD class with Spanish and understand them. Many of the students are Hispanic and need help learning English. Also during my Spanish class, I have to help students with pronunciation, explanation and understanding the language. In my potential profession, I would have to show those skills that I have learned. Patience and kindness have to be also practiced in my profession because there are people that need to be heard, people that need more love and patience than others. I have developed this skill in my Spanish class when I have to teach other students about Spanish and they don't understand. In my Humanities class, I have also learned skills that will help me during my profession. Creativity is one of the skills. When creating a document, writing I have to decorate my literature with words, colors, and literary devices. During my profession, I have to create examples for the students to follow and read. When students are looking up to something it was to be good and clear so they can follow. Organization is also a skill that I have developed in my humanities class. I need to have a binder, a portfolio, google drive with the documents where I store my assignments. It's easier for a mentor to grade when you are organized. Organization plays a big role in a career because that represents a person and also helps the people around it to help with anything. |