Smith Academy Reflection

This past Thursday I visited the Smith Academy for Excellence and was surprised at how the school worked to help the boys learn best. We learned that most of the boys come from a poverty stricken neighborhood with many family problems. Along with this, a majority of the students were African American but there were also a few Caucasians and Latinos. The age/grade range of the boys is from second grade up until twelfth. They are extremely proud that this is the first year they will have a graduating class, including a young man who had previously graduated in the winter. I found it interesting that, although the men who run the school are Christians and the school is located inside a church, some of the students and teachers are not believers. This is a great way for the Smiths to share God’s word with them if asked. It was helpful to hear Mr. Smith talk about an experience he had where he was able to talk to a student about his faith and give some insight about Christianity and Christ. Most future teachers who are also Christians tend to shy away from talking about their faith out of fear of laws in place; however, by hearing someone who is in charge of their own school finding ways of incorporating this helps me to realize it is possible and should be done because I may be the only one the student or faculty member will hear about …show more content…
I realized more clearly that boys do learn differently than girls and the environment one grows up in impacts the child’s willingness to cooperate and desire to learn. I also realized that, no matter what situation is presented to me in the future, there will always be strategies that I can explore in order to be successful in teaching every child. I will just need to connect with the child in order to discover what their interests are and what motivates them to