Education 225, Building Relationships

Reimagining the Disrupted Classroom, by Katie McCormick, Bryn Mawr College, 2013

Introduction and Description of Context

This proposal was inspired by my work this semester at El Centro de la familia.  I spent Tuesday mornings working with a group of mothers whose children attend a preschool program at the center.  The mothers, all of whom are recent immigrants to the U.S., participate in informal English language classes while their children attend preschool in another part of the building.  The reason for this setup is three-fold.  First, it helps enrich the educational experience for the preschoolers because it gives parents the tools they need to support their children’s learning and academic success.  Second, it benefits parents by helping them develop their English proficiency, addresses parenting and  work-related skills, and focuses on computer literacy.  Third, it removes the legal barrier of running a preschool without certified teachers by keeping parents onsite during school hours. 

Riley Diffenderfer

Empowering Learners

 The author responds to an earlier paper in this handbook, focused on transcending cross-cultural barriers in mentorship and teaching.

 David Harris

This paper takes on the idea of boundaries in education, and why they should be viewed as fences rather than walls.

LaKesha Preston-Roberts

A student talks about her experience in tutoring algebra to a freshman in high school.

Alison Crawford

This essay talks about ideas for improvement as a mentor using as example the Empowering Learners Partnerships.

 Margo Schall

This essay, which is written with emotion, talks about employing emotion in education - a step which needs to be done in order to improve teaching and learning.