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By Brooke

I hope this helps. I tried to answer all of your questions. I teach 2nd grade in Florida. This is my first year teaching.

1.What kinds of parent teacher communication are expected? How do you handle problems?

I
communicate to my parents through a monthly newsletter. I also send home weekly reports for the students who need one. I call parents also if needed. I make sure to have a positive relationship with the parents in my class. Before school started I called each parent to welcome the child into my classroom. After school started I held a parent orientation to go over policies, procedures,

and to anwer questions that the parents may have.

2.When do teachers have free periods, breaks, lunch, etc.? Must they remain at school during their breaks?

At my school I get a 25 minute lunch break each day. We stay on campus. I also receive a 40 minute P.E. break each day. This is a planning period. 1 day a week I have a 40 minute music break. We are to remain on campus during our breaks. If for some reason we need to leave, we sign out in the office.

3.How often do teachers have duty? When, where, and what? Are there teaching assistants? What are their duties?

At my school on the special area teachers have duties. Examples of special area teachers are music, p.e., SLD, etc. These teachers have duties such as, lunchroom, car ramp, bus ramp, etc. The only teaching assistants that we have is for students with disabilities. Some of the students receive a one on one aid.

4.What is the dress code for teachers? What restrictions are placed on teachers?

My school has a pretty easy dress code. We may wear pants, shirts, sleeve less shirts, skirts, etc. We cannot wear shorts. We can only wear jeans on Fridays.

5.Is there a library/media center? How accessible is it? What are the checkout policies for teachers?

We have a media center. Many of my students visit it everyday. We have many books and computers available for student and teacher use. There are teacher resources such as catalogs, journals, magazines, dye cut machine, copy machine, etc. Teachers may check out as many books as needed.

6.Does your school have computers? Internet access? How did the school pay for the computers? How does the school pay for software and repairs?

We do have computers. We have atleast 3 in each classroom. We have just this year started leasing our computers instead of buying them. We will have regular computers replaced every 5 years and laptops replaced every 3 years. Every teacher receives a laptop to use.

7.What are the rules for students’ use of computers? Do they have to get permission from their parents? Is it possible for students to be refused access to computers for misbehavior? Give an example. How often does that happen?

We have parent consent forms that they fill out when they register their student. If they do not have permission for Internet use then they don't go on the internet. Yes, I would refuse access to a student for misbehavior. I have not yet had to do this. We also go to computer lab once a week for 40 minutes.

8.Can students chat? Email? How do you deal with student safety on the Internet?

I teach 2nd grade so my students do neither. Though, I do know that we have sensitive screening for sites that students view.

9.How often do your students use a computer? Do all the students in the school use computers? Have you found computers useful to your instruction? How?

My students use the computers daily. Some classes do not use them as often as I do. I find computers to be very useful. I often create power point lessons for the students to complete and I also create power point lessons to present to the student via a projector. It is great.

10.What training have you had in the use of computers for instructional purposes? Would you like to have more? What would you like to learn?

I received most of my training in college or have learned it myself. My county does offer computer workshops twice per week. I would like to learn more about creating my own webpage.

11.How often do you use a computer yourself to support your work as a teacher? What do you use the computer to do?

I use the computer daily to support my work. I come to proteacher everyday to get ideas from other teachers, I research material on the Internet, I use power point and word frequently.

12.What is the racial make-up of your class?
My class is 100% Caucasion(spelling??) I did have a Hispanic child at the beginning of the year. My school is mostly made up of Caucasion students. This is not the case for all schools in my county.

13.Are there students whose first language is NOT English? If so, are they competent in English also? If not what instructional strategies do you use to make sure those students are gaining the information? What other languages do these children speak?

I live in Northwest Florida and we have a lot of students that are from Mexico that come to our area. We have one school in the county that specializes in teaching the ESOL students, but the parents have the choice of sending them to our school or the special one. We include them in regular classroom activities. Mainly the students in my school that are from other areas speak Spanish.

14.Is this a class that includes students with disabilities? What accommodations do you make for these students with special needs (including gifted students)?

Yes, I have 3 students with learning disabilities and 3 students that are gifted. I also have two students that have ADHD. I make accomodations for these students but they are expected to complete the regular clasroom work. I have very open ended assignments in my classroom. The high students can really take off with the assignment and I expect more from them, whereas my low students are expected to complete the work but they do not have to do as much as the high students. We talk a lot about what is best for each student. The students know that everyone is at different levels in different things. We have a strong classroom community. They are willing to help each other all the time.

15.Is there an ESL (English as a Second Language) teacher in the school? How often are students whose native language is NOT English seen by this teacher?

We do not have one.

16.Are there any differences in the students’ technology skills that you see due to socioeconomic class, gender, ethnicity, race, native language, religion, disability, sexual orientation, or family structure? Describe them.

Computer skills- socioeconomic class- you can see a big difference- there is not as much exposure. It stands out a little more at my school because a lot of our students have higher income levels thus many have been exposed to many things.

17. How do you and your school communicate with parents who do not speak English?

We have a county translator that will translate if needed, we also have a Spanish speaking person that works in our cafeteria.

18. Is there a fund for extracurricular activities for students who can not afford to participate without some financial help? Where does this money come from?

We do have funding for students that cannot afford field trips. The PTO sets aside money for this purpose.

19. What is the most difficult aspect of working with students from diverse backgrounds for you?

The parents is the most difficult aspect to me. The communication is a lot harder and different cultures act in different ways and teachers have to remember that.

20. What is the most rewarding aspect of working with students from diverse backgrounds for you?

The rewarding feeling when you breakthrough with them. It is great to help a child to improve. Also, listening to the child and letting them share his/her experiences. I have learned a lot from children from different countries just by listening to them.