Chicago Center for Urban Life & Culture

Fall 2007 Student Teachers share their experiences

Below, two of our student teachers describe their experiences teaching in Chicago.

From Rachel:
I’m student teaching at Jose Clemente Orozco Academy of Fine Arts and Sciences (affectionately referred to as Orozco). The school is located in Pilsen. Although I would love to have a few more minutes of sleep each day, I love the commute to Pilsen. I enjoy stepping foot in three very distinct and different parts of the city each time I make the commute. I have a class of 31 gifted and bilingual fourth graders, and they are all amazing! Other than my students, I have thoroughly enjoyed the many opportunities I have had to practice my Spanish with my students, their parents, and the other teachers in the school. Being a part of Chicago Public Schools has definitely been a culture shock; it’s very different here from anywhere else I have ever been. But I am constantly learning to embrace and work with the various different challenges of urban education! So far student teaching has been just as rewarding as it has been challenging!

 

Seventeen distinctive murals, designed by the faculty and students, reflect the cultural make-up of the community. These murals, formed out of nearly 2,000,000 colored cast glass mosaic tiles, incorporate scenes of contemporary American and Mexican culture, in addition to symbols of ancient Mexican history.

 

 

From Kaleigh

I am at Peabody Elementary School in a 2/3 split classroom. During a typical day, I help out my teacher with daily routines, and work back and forth between the 2nd and 3rd grades. It has been very hectic, but generally a very good experience! I am teaching a unit for Hispanic Heritage month right now, and the students seem to be really enjoying it.