My first few weeks at my partner school this semester have been great!  I started originally at the preschool in November, and it's been so fun to see the kids growing and learning over the past months.  The spring is always an exciting time in New Orleans, and in the past weeks the kids have had a lot to celebrate.  Last week, they played some games and had a second line around the classroom in honor of Mardi Gras, as well as counted 100 of their favorite things about preschool to commemorate the 100th day of school.  This week, they practiced writing their names and coloring inside the lines to make Valentine's Day cards for their friends. 

Usually, the kids are able to have two blocks of time in the classroom- one devoted to a group activity (such as writing sentences, using sight words, or practicing their names and letters) and one devoted to centers, where they are able to choose between various activities such as rhyming games or using play-doh to make letters. 

I've loved being able to see the kids on a weekly basis, because I've noticed that every time I visit they are getting better and better at skills such as writing their names and learning sight words.  When I first started, they were just finishing their letters and numbers- now, they are able to read some words, write their full names, and even count to 100.  I'm excited to see where they will be by the end of the year! ​

I’ve had a wonderful past few weeks at the preschool, and even felt a bit prematurely nostalgic this past week when another teacher came in to discuss graduation! Recently, a new music teacher has begun to visit about three times a week, with new instruments (last week was rhythm sticks), songs, and dances each day. The first time she came was on a day that I visited, and it also happened to be picture day. It turned out to be a bit of a hectic day; students were excited and a bit over-stimulated due fancy picture-day outfits and the two classroom visitors. At one point when both teachers were occupied with picture day duties, an opportunity was created for me to both gain control of the classroom and lead the class in an activity. It was challenging (especially because it was just before lunch time!), but I was eventually able to re-gain attention, and even teach one of my favorite call-and-repeat songs. Although my priority is with helping the students, it is wonderful that I am able to get classroom leadership experience simultaneously.

Aside from teaching the occasional song, my main and recognized role in the classroom has become queen of the art center. Everyone now knows my rule about Play-dough, paper cuttings, and paint: “If you get it on the floor, out – the – door!” In other words, I’ve created a rule that spilling on the floor constitutes a switch out of art to a new center. One teacher told me that the rule has started to stick even when I’m not there, which is great. Last week at art center, I witnessed a real-life example of “scaffolding”, which I’ve been learning about in my educational psychology class. I asked one student to grab me a purple crayon, and when another student saw her struggling to do so, she first pointed to where the crayon box is kept on the shelf, and then helped the first student find a purple one. When the helping student recognized that the first student was capable of this task, but not able to complete the task on her own, she came alongside to help out. I feel lucky that I’ve been placed in a classroom where I’m able to witness similar displays of compassion each time I visit.

​This past week I was lucky enough to volunteer on a day when my preschool class was going on a field trip to visit potential kindergarten classes. The field trip was motivated by national school choice week which encourages parents to look into potential school options available to their children. Where I grew up, I was fortunate to have a town with great public schools. Pretty much everyone in my town went to one of two elementary schools, which consolidated into one middle school, and then into a large high school which was shared with a neighboring town. In New Orleans there are hundreds of possibilities! It is so important for parents to know their options and find a great fit for them and their children.
 
For our field trip, we visited a language immersion school where the children spend their entire day learning in either Spanish or French, depending on the program they select starting in kindergarten. I was so impressed as we were greeted with, "bonjour!" from several groups of students. I am curious how these children perform in subjects usually taught in English at most local schools, but I am sure that they will be better able to maintain their foreign language skills than I was from my brief introduction to Spanish back in middle school.
 
Most of the tour was focused on answering any questions the parents had; however, at the end of the tour, the students were allowed to go outside and play on the jungle gym. It was fun to see them explore a new playground. The monkey bars at our preschool had recently been removed for safety reasons, so there has definitely been a void in some of the gross motor activities that they crave so much. There was a huge dome-shaped toy in the yard for the children to climb up and hang off. All of our children were immediately climbing to the top and jumping down, while shouting lines of encouragement to each other. It was so interesting to watch these young children learning how to make decisions about how high they could climb and still feel safe or be able to get down on their own. One of the smaller children in the class would only climb up one step before leaping back to the ground, while many of her peers were 3 or 4 steps above her. That didn't stop them from cheering her on as she led a chant with her name in it saying "jump, jump, jump!" I spoke with one of the other teachers about how wonderful it was for them to be getting excited about school. Now, everything in the classroom is really centered around getting them ready for the next phase of their education. I'm sure they will all do wonderfully wherever they end up next year.

Findings from many studies support the associations between aggression, peer relationships, and social skills. However, less research has been conducted on the relationship between aggressive behavior and social status. While aggressive youth are not always socially preferred (i.e., other youth don’t necessarily want to have them over for a visit or a sleepover), they are often perceived as socially powerful and popular. Additionally, some research has shown that aggressive youth may also have prosocial skills, such as leadership, which give them influence over their peers. However, there is a shortage of literature on the presence of this phenomenon among urban minority elementary aged youth. 

This study aims to extend prior research on aggression, social status, and leadership within an urban, elementary aged (3rd and 4th grade) sample. Researchers collected data from a preliminary trial of a school-based universal aggression prevention program that was administered in a school district where 84% of the youth are below the national poverty line. Two hundred twenty-seven students from ten 3rd and 4th grade classrooms participated. The students completed a peer nomination procedure which allowed researchers to analyze the relationship between both relational and overt aggression with social preference, perceived popularity, and leadership.

The results demonstrated that both relational and overt aggression correlated with lower scores for social preference. Relational aggression includes behaviors like spreading rumors or excluding others; overt aggression includes behaviors like threatening or hitting. The association between aggression and popularity varied by gender. Overt aggression correlated with higher scores for popularity among boys, while relational aggression correlated with higher scores for popularity among girls. Overall there was a positive relationship between social status and aggression. Relational aggression in particular was associated with being viewed as a leader.

The observation of this trend among minority youth as early as 3rd grade has important implications for aggression prevention programs. If aggressive youth are viewed as leaders, they can influence the broader peer culture and create a climate where aggressive behavior is perpetuated and condoned. Aggression prevention programs can work to teach youth how to utilize their leadership abilities in a more positive way.

Waasdorp, T. E., Baker, C. N., Paskewich, B., & Leff, S. S. (2013). The association between forms of aggression, leadership, and social status among urban youth. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 42, 263-274. pdf 

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