Week 7- Culture and Relationships--Jamie Nickell

On Friday, I helped work with the K-2 group for Field Day at AMIS. Jonathan and I were in charge of working the Bounce House and keeping it under control. Quite entertaining! :)

The Bounce House- Field Day at AMIS

While I was observing the interactions with the children and their teachers, I noticed that the younger kids seem to have a higher respect and listen more intently to their teachers than what I see with the older kids. I loved to see how each child helps out the other when there is a miscommunication between them. They translate, and explain to where that particular child understands and is not left behind. In my extra book I am reading for this course, Teacher by Sylvia Ashton-Warner, she talks about how peers often help out one another more than a teacher even realizes. They gain a sense of comfort and trust with each other and know that if they are not understanding what is to be done another student will help them out. I believe this is also because a child might feel that they would get in trouble for having to ask what the teacher said to do again.


The children at AMIS enjoying Field Day!

 During Field Day I found that their were many family members of some of the children who had came out to volunteer and participate in their child's fun day! Family is important in a child's education, especially in immigrant children. It helps the child take pride in their schooling and gives them a sense of accomplishment and success when they have people who care about their own success. However, on Saturday for the International Festival, I noticed that many children were having to translate to their parents what I had said to them as far as directions for the games. As Dr. Vaughn mentions in her book, this can cause barriers between the families when the children pass the parent up in education or language, or even both. I hope that the children's education will help the families to succeed and try to make the best of their levels of education.