Robert Vaccaro
Professor Traynor
EDTE 101: 01
5/5/2017
Course Synthesis Essay I have experienced many emotions such as pride and empathy. This service learning portion of the course makes me feel proud as a human being and as a tutor/mentor. I feel as though I am making a difference in another’s life. I found out that many of the students are underprivileged, living close to or below the poverty line and experienced one or more childhood traumas. I feel like that this work is going to hopefully carry through the rest of my students’ lives. I feel like a stable and constant parental/authority figure in their lives that is understanding and supportive. This makes me feel good about the hours of work I put in each week. The three
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After experiencing all different walks of life at Shaw, I can say that I am better prepared for the teaching world ahead of me. With more time and experience, I will be able to better care for these students as a mentor and teacher. This placement has helped me approach a situation with a nonjudgmental heart and to advocate and care for each student with dignity and respect regardless of situation of the student. I need to strive to accommodate each student’s needs as best as I can. I feel as though that most people go into situations in life with some form of judgmental attitude. I never do this because, as I have learned, one never really knows what’s happening in the personal life of a human being. This experience definitely has redefined my answer to the question what are schools for? After my placement, I would say that schools are meant to be safe havens for students from the outside world. It is a place where a student can go learn, live and thrive as a human being without stress of the outside world, specifically the challenges of their personal life. The school should help as much as possible in accommodating all students. Schools are meant to be culturally competent places where people of all races, ethnicities and backgrounds should feel welcomed and come together to create an accepting and loving community. I have experienced this at Shaw, and I am forever