Felice 1

Teaching Overview at North Carolina’s Williston Middle School

Gianna Magdelana Felice

Temple University

Japan Campus

Tokyo Center

FLE 5470 Introduction to the Study of TESOL

Dr. Ron Martin

07/16th/2022
 Felice 2

Nelson Mandela, who is considered the father of Modern South Africa once said,

“Education is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world.” This is a quote

I remembered reading in elementary school which changed my perspective on learning, as well

as inspired me to be the change I want to see. Thus, further creating my interest and eventual

journey into my teaching career. While I have only just begun in this field, it is something that I

want to continue growing. In this paper, I will begin by describing the institution I worked at.

Continuing will be discuss my teaching duties. The ending is about the students.

Working Institution

Stop start, this section will be discussing the work institution I participated at, discussing

the t layout of the school, and general information. Wilson Middle School was the public

institution I worked at in 2017 and was located in the poorest district in my city Wilmington,

North Carolina. There were not only high crime rates, but also high drug-use, and human

trafficking. Despite the circumstances, the institution made a priority of children’s safety and

cleanliness. This was mainly due to the teachers providing many necessities out of their pockets,

such as cleaning supplies, pens, notebooks, as well as clean clothes, and snacking food such as

granola bars. There had also been security guards at every entrance of the school with metal

detectors for everyone to go through when entering. The institution was the smallest in the

district, with a total of 30 classrooms that had been designated for every sixth, seventh, and

eighth-graders enrolled as homerooms, and because of that, the classrooms had been bare, only

being decorated if the teacher wanted to do so as teachers had to rotate to each class, not the

students.

Of the 30 classrooms, five of them were meant to only hold five to eight students,

whereas 25 of the remaining classrooms were meant to hold 30 to 45 students. There was a
 Felice 3

dedicated classroom that was used for special education classes, as well as a classroom dedicated

to children that could be difficult to work with due to violent behavior. Despite the school itself

being severely underfunded, every classroom was supplied with a chalkboard that was attached

to the wall, and a screen for teachers to pull down to display for use of the overhead projector.

Only 10 classrooms had been provided with a mobile whiteboard and dry erase markers that

teachers would all share when needed. Because 25 of the classrooms had been filled with 30 to

45 students, the institution had a field for children to use during recess that was roughly half the

size of an American football field.

Recess consisted of an average time of around 25 to 30 minutes daily, except on days

there had bad weather conditions. The playground had two basketball nets, four tables for

students to sit and talk at, and five trees that students would play or gather around. The school

also had a gymnasium, roughly the size of 18 yards, where students would run laps, climb ropes,

and play dodgeball. There was also a single room that was used as a Nurse’s room, with two

small single beds with curtains surrounding them. The school was small in terms of the number

of classrooms it had for the number of students enrolled in the district it was in, but the district

leader for our region supported the creative aspect of the students by providing a gymnasium and

playground field.

Teaching Responsibilities

To further explain, this section is discussing the teaching duties that I followed

throughout my time at Wilson Middle School. The teaching duties that had been expected were

slightly different, as I was a teaching assistant and not the official classroom teacher, and

therefore it was my job to ensure my students would pass the class, by helping them study and

understand things during the lesson that the official teacher didn’t have time to stop and go over,
 Felice 4

as well as keeping notes to provide for their parents. I would write notes on the subject that was

being taught every day, so that way if a student needed help in recollection I could provide the

correct information.

As for the notes that I would provide for the parents, it usually entailed a status of how

their child was performing in the class. Occasionally it would include if there had been any

issues regarding their grades, interactions with other students, or their behavior. I would deliver

these notes by email at the end of the trimester or during the parent-teacher conference that was

held shortly at the beginning of the school year. There had been many things that I went out of

my way to do, such as providing stickers to put on the students’ homework, tests, quizzes, or

generally anything that was handed in and had a passing grade or had been completed. I found

that it motivated the students to work hard, as they would collect the stickers to brag about how

many they received.

My hours of work consisted of every weekday from 8:00 a.m. until 3:30 p.m., despite

these hours I would find myself often working outside of hours to stay organized and prepared

for the next following day. There are also many times that I had to stay late at school, to spend

time with students to go over their lessons, and homework, or if they needed someone to talk to.

The teachers were allowed an hour lunch break all at different times, which I enjoyed as I was

able to relax and catch up on any work that I needed to get done.

Ultimately, my responsibilities weren’t too demanding, but there had many times that I

would be working off-hours to accommodate the students’ needs or prepare for the following

day.

Classroom Environment
 Felice 5

To conclude, this section is discussing the classroom environment that I was appointed to

and the students that had been in that classroom. Throughout my year teaching in 2017, there had

been a total of 800 students were enrolled at the middle school. The assigned classroom I

focused on had a total of ten students, seven of which were boys and three were girls. They all

had come from a range of different countries. Essentially, the students I looked over were SLL

and being taught American History to not only educate them on the country they’re living in but

also help them learn English. Two students were from India, one student from China, three

students from Vietnam, two students from the Philippines, and two students from Africa. All the

students had a good relationship with each other, because the class was small this often led to

multiple student collaborative activities. I had not seen at any point in time the students arguing,

fighting, or even being rude to each other. The students, however, were shy to other students that

weren’t in our limited classroom group, as often when at recess, they would not participate in

playing with the other students and would stay together.

All of the students’ parents were involved in their children’s academic studies, as I would

often receive emails or phone calls wanting to know the progress that their child had been

making. The students were all quiet when I first met them, it took a long time for them to get

comfortable with me helping them, but it wasn’t probably until around 2 months that had gone

by when they would start to begin conversations and ask questions, as I often had to go out of the

way to ask them questions on the subject that was being focused on so I would know if they

understood it correctly.

The students especially liked reading out loud as all of them would raise their hands to be

the first ones to start the reading. The students focused on American History as well as the

English language. At the beginning of class, the students would draw on the chalkboard of
 Felice 6

whatever they wanted as long as it was age-appropriate. All of the students in the class were

required to keep two pencils on their desk, along with a box of colored pencils, as these had been

used in the lessons every day.

Conclusive Experience

Ultimately, I thoroughly enjoyed my teaching experience at Wilson Middle School, as

not only was I teaching students during an impactful point in their ever-expanding life, but I also

had been taught many things, such as patience, kindness, and determination. While the school

itself wasn’t able to provide financially, the teachers didn’t mind putting in more effort to

provide what was needed. Although the school itself was inclusive to all students from different

backgrounds, ethnicities, and cultures. I plan to continue expanding my teaching duties and

would like to gain further knowledge in different classroom settings.