My Experience At BPS 17: Jesuit Ideals In School

I am learning so much from volunteering at BPS 17. I am learning about the school system in Buffalo, various teaching methods, and most importantly I am learning about the students. From my observations, I am also able to see how the Jesuit ideals can apply in a real life situation. The three Jesuit ideals I am applying from my experience at BPS 17 are the pursuit of excellence, learning from experience, and critical thinking and effective communication.

I believe the pursuit of excellence is trying to be excellent in everything one does so one becomes a role model for others. This is demonstrated through the school administration because they have been working to improve the school’s academic standing. In fact, the school’s vision is to become

When I was helping the students with their reading, there was two sides. On the first side, they were trying to figure out the right answer, what the question was asking, and how to answer the question. I had to repeat the instructions several times and I also had to read the story several times so they could figure out what to write for their answers. However, when we went to the backside they asked fewer questions. They also knew what to listen for in that story and I did not have to read the story as much. They focused on what they did well on the first page and worked faster since they knew what to focus on. They learned from their past experiences and applied what they had learned from the first page to the second

One of the things that cause me consolation is that Ms. Gonzales always calls her students friends. She has never called them students or children. Whenever the students start to get too loud or too out of control she threatens to take one of the letters in friends off the board. If all of the letters in friends are gone from the board, then the students are no longer her friends and she will treat them differently. I love how she does this because I think it helps establish a better connection between the teacher and student and I think that it helps the students act mature as they are being held to higher expectations. Another thing that caused me consolation is that she teaches the students by having them teach themselves. She asks them questions and they answer it from what they already know. She just then relates what that means to a certain term. She also transitions from certain topics very easily. This causes me consolation because she is encouraging the students to teach themselves and this is a very important skill to learn for life. Another thing that causes me consolation is that she doesn’t let the boys come inside until all the girls come inside. Some of the boys even had me come in before they did. The boys also hold the doors open for the girls. This makes me feel good because she is not only teaching the children about school, but she is also teaching them about good manners. It sets a good example for the