Flour Bluff Intermediate School Family Science and Math April 15, 2010

*The key word here is family. When you make something about someone's community, it gets everyone involved. You are able to see parents wanting their children to participate. It holds family accountable for each others success."

*Its an odd feeling to go from not liking a subject such as science to thinking, "hmmm, maybe science is something I want to get certified in!" It just goes to show if you get exposed to something, your horizons can only broaden and that is exactly what we did with the students at the family science nights."

*Overall I give Family Science Nights an A+!

*I think the most important thing I learned was how to alter our lessons for different students; students that differ in age and in culture.

*Over the course of these three family science events, my confidence in teaching science has increased significantly....After each of these events my passion for teaching grows, especially now that I see all the different ways science can be presented and made fun. I'm excited to get out there and teach!

*I do see the value of having multiple events and honestly it is not even the amount of practice that we receive. It is the privilege to go out into the community and meet teachers, principals, students and parents. It is the opportunity to practice being a teacher and working with small groups of children and their caregivers. But most of all, it is the honor of sharing our knowledge with so many children and their parents and hopefully touching their lives in a significant way.

*I haven't had much interaction with kids. It's like a dry spell and you can become unsure of your purpose in education. Thankfully, Family Science night was an outlet for me. I was able to express myself naturally the way I know I am supposed to. I no longer have those questions. It was reinforcement to me that this is where I belong.

*I hope one day I can say to myself, " I feel really good today, because I have seen progress in a child that everyone else said would not succeed". This will be really good enough for me.

*What I learned the most from these events is that culture really does lay a huge role in learning. Where you come from does affect your learning. It is up to us as teachers to try to overcome these barriers for the sake of the students. And I feel that because of family science night, I now know more than ever that I have chosen the right career for me and for the future students I hope to teach.

Garza-Gonzales Charter School Science Night April 12, 2010

"Everytime I go to one of these it puts me in an awesome mood and gets me pumped to be a teacher!"

*I have learned to adjust my presentation to make sure that all students that participated could learn something. I think that is how I have changed the most.

*We were asked about college....My group and I answered honestly and at the same time we tried to encourage them as much as possible. I really liked that this happened because I think college is so important and I love that they were really interested in it.

*As I reflected on our interactions with this student population I realized that...they are all overcoming great hurdles and huge obstacles that we can only guess at. As educators it will be our responsibility to look past the exterior and find the learner underneath.

*What inspired me was that these students may have been from a socioeconomically challenged area but they were not by any means challenged in their learning skills.

*When we began to talk about the social and community aspects of our project they began to see the relevance of the issue and then they kept their focus.

*I like that the teachers from the school were there to support their students but also to participate in our activities. I think it was important for the students to know that their teachers were there to support them and give them some guidance.

*I am grateful for this experience and am glad that a charter school like this one was integrated in our class schedule.
*I think that the teachers need to have endurance, understanding, and confidence that these students can meet high expectations because most of them were minority and low income students which disgracefully puts them in the low achievers category. I have a feeling that these students have experienced many hardships and rejection. I believe that it requires a good and dedicated teacher who has the tools and knowledge to meet their needs.

*I would really love to work in a Title I school and I feel I honestly need to be more educated in Spanish in order for me to educate students as well as their parents....I'm also truly thankful to be able to see what I need to change or can build on before I graduate to make me a better educator.

Ella Barnes Elementary Science Night - March 9, 2010

I have never been exposed to teaching science in all my life - and I am about to graduate. I wish at a younger level of college I was exposed to experiences like this. The benefits go even go into the confidence of teaching science....I am very grateful for the exposure.

* I did not know that using the methods we used in Family Science would be successful in teaching science....It really makes the kids want to learn science and they get to spend time with their family as well.

* Teaching science is really about the approach - especially if you want to try any sort of inquiry process. The opportunity is definitely priceless.

*I didn't really consider the fact that Mexicans don't really burn like the rest of us...nor African Americans for that matter.

*...you can help students and their parents to learn and realize that science is not only for a few people.

*I confirmed that I like doing things with "ganas" (meaning with desire) and not just for a grade.

*Give opportunities to all and you will see miracles!

*A good project doesn't have to have twenty different steps and take you to the moon, all you need is a little enthusiasm!

*I was stunned to learn that many of the students had not even been to the beach before....One child said he'd never been to the beach. The beach is part of our culture here in Corpus Christi. That is why it is important that if our students can not experience it first hand that we, as teachers, do our best to teach them about it through various experiments, showing them the actual sand, seaweed, and shells.

*Teaching is a wonderful job and I know I was meant to do it.