August 31, 2010

Cooperation

Written by: Helen Ramondos, Primary Literacy Teacher, Lake Hood Elementary

“Though force can protect in emergency, only justice, fairness, consideration and cooperation can finally lead men to the dawn of eternal peace”. Dwight D. Eisenhower

Corina moved to Anchorage from one of the villages in southwest Alaska and was placed in my third grade classroom. She whispered to me that she had a nickname, Sixty, named after her uncle. She would sit quietly at her desk and keep to herself. Whenever directions were given, she seemed lost and later had difficulty completing tasks and participating in class discussions. Corina often either looked around to see what her classmates were doing and then mimicked them, or played with materials at her desk. She was very shy and had no friends. During lunch and recess, Corina kept to herself.

Fortunately, as a teacher, I was able to relate to Corina’s struggles on adapting to a new, larger school with a lot of strangers. I also came from a small village in Alaska. Occasionally, during class story time, I would read cultural books that she could relate to, and I would ask her to give the class an interpretation of a simple word in her language, such as the word snow. We would have sharing experiences and one of them was about our favorite foods. Corina’s was “agutuk”. Since my class was so diverse, many didn’t know what that word meant. She had fun describing it. Third graders love to share, and Corina was the “center of attention” answering her peers questions on something that she was knowledgeable on. My class had many cooperative learning activities, with whole class participation. Corina grew to enjoy them. I complimented and praised her for every little accomplishment. She, in turn, complimented me on how “perfectly matched” my clothes were. Remember, she liked to mimic. The school had Indian Ed. Services, which I made sure she attended. I informed the tutor on Corina’s academic and social situation. Her hours with the tutor were increased. The Indian Ed. Tutor also taught all third grade classes how to make Eskimo drums. The music teacher became involved and taught the students the Eskimo ice-cream dance. All third grade classes had a potluck and dancing at the end of the school year, wearing their kuspuks that a parent volunteer made. Corina had a ball! I also modified her assignments for her comfort level on grasping the concepts. My students had “class jobs”, in which, everyone had a turn on doing a particular job in the classroom. Corina loved being the “line leader”.

As the year progressed, she gradually adjusted to the learning environment and grew more comfortable with my classroom structure, students, and the school in general. These are just some of the lessons/activities that I did in my class with students such as Corina. With the cooperative effort on all involved in Corina’s education, she successfully completed the third grade and finished her elementary school years at that same public school.

Because of Corina’s lack of progress in school and her inability to pay attention and complete her work, some teachers might think that Corina may have a learning disability and be referred for testing. Sadly, many second language learners, such as Corina, exhibit types of behavior that resemble students learning difficulties. So meaningful assessments, with the cooperation of the teachers and “placement team” must be administered properly for appropriate academic placement for students.

This is my reflection on a very special little girl named Corina, and how the word “cooperation” evolved into a story.