FieldBlog 2 Cleveland Heights High School

Cleveland Heights High School
Ms. Washington -- AVID Classroom

When I first walked into Ms. Washington's classroom, I was slightly concerned because I couldn't tell if it was controlled chaos or just plain chaos. She was laughing and goofing off with the students but seemed a little flustered. It probably didn't help that she hadn't been aware that I was going to be observing so that might have had something to do with that. I was also confused because I really had no idea what AVID really was since there hadn't been anything like that at my public high school.

AVID stands for Advancement Via Individual Determination. It is a college-readiness system designed to increase the number of students who enroll in and complete a degree at four-year colleges, focusing on students in the academic middle. The formula is to raise expectations of students. Students are given the resources to help them apply for scholarships and grants and to colleges and universities of their interest. AVID is not a "remedial education" program; instead it is a program designed to provide whatever support may be lacking for at-risk students who possess academic potential, but who may not be working to the best of their abilities. This is a phenomenal opportunity offered at this high school that I wish would have been offered at mine. As I was observing these students, I could see that they were personally driven which is key to educational success. If the student is not driven at an individual level then they often lack the motivation to reach their full potential. 

The class itself has a pattern they follow depending on the day. Monday and Wednesday they have the traditional classroom environment where they practice different forms of SAT and ACT prep. Tuesday and Thursday tutors come in to tutor the students if needed, others have time to go to their classes and make up tests or work on either hw or other study material. Fridays are dedicated to character building which is highly important for adolescents because if they don't believe in themselves it really doesn't matter how much everyone around them believes. At Heights, this class is offered to both freshmen and seniors; as a freshmen students take this class if they want to take classes at a college, like John Carroll, and as a senior they take this class to prepare them for college and take AP classes instead of going to a college campus during parts of the school day. I observed one of the senior classes.

I really liked the core concept of this class because it gave students the opportunity to talk to their teachers about tests or material they are struggling with and even get help during the school day from a tutor or a fellow classmate. I also really appreciated the student-teacher dynamic I observed. The Teacher went around to see how the students were doing and what they were working on. This gave her an idea of whether or not they were actually taking advantage of this time or not, but she never talked down to the students, you could tell that the students felt comfortable to be themselves and that this was an open environment. She got students to help one another with work so that those who understand can help those confused by their similar classes. She also made a point to talk to her students about their classes. As an observer you could see that she knew the students as individuals; the students feel comfortable enough that they are able to open up to their teacher and it helped them reach goals that students who feel that everyone around them is constantly competing with them.

One event stuck out to me over everything else I experienced while observing this high school. One student was working on her government hw. She asked Ms. Washington and since she was in the midst of helping another student with his physics homework she gave me the opportunity to help her find the answer. I was surprised that she was giving me this opportunity since so far all I've done is observe. It put me, even for just a moment, in the role of teacher. It's harder than one thinks to help someone find the correct answer without just giving them the answer right away. But it made me realize how much I want to do this. It's something a lot of people think they want to do, but not everyone is really supposed to be a teacher. It's a lot like why I'm not supposed to be a doctor, I'm not cut out for it and I wouldn't be happy in that environment. Thanks to this AVID class, I had a taste of what I would do as a teacher and left knowing I wanted to do. This AVID environment creates a different type of student relationship and learning environment than most schools. It prepares students for college in advance and gives them the opportunity to reach a possibly higher potential than those not given this opportunity and I wish this could have been offered at my high school. The student-teacher relationship that I observed is one where both the student and the teacher are learning and growing from one another.