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C.H.A.M.P. Service Learning Paper

Josie Jaggers

Azusa Pacific University

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C.H.A.M.P. Service Learning Paper

Over the past seven weeks, I have had the opportunity to be a mentor to five incredible

fourth graders who attend Paramount Elementary School in Azusa, California. C.H.A.M.P.

stands for College Headed and Mighty Proud. Throughout this seven week program, I was able

to build relationships with the students placed in my group. I was able to learn about them and

the different goals and aspirations they have for their lives. The C.H.A.M.P. program is designed

to teach students about college and to prepare them for the next steps they need to take to

become college ready. Throughout my time with these students, I was able to observe different

aspects of their lives that contribute to their education. Two topics that I want to focus on are

equity vs. equality and English Language Learners. The C.H.A.M.P. service learning experience

and the concepts being discussed in class were directly related to each other. Equity vs. equality

and English Language Learners were two topics that were discussed in class as well as observed

throughout my C.H.A.M.P. service learning experience. This service learning experience has

taught me how I want to view my students as an educator and to continue to live out that every

individual is made in the image of God.

Equity vs. Equality

Theory

The phrase that is used in the realm of education is equality. Many people say that the

goal of educators is to provide an equal opportunity for students to achieve understanding

throughout their education. According to Safir (2016), “If equality means giving everyone the

same resources, equity means giving each student access to the resources they need to learn and

thrive” (p. 1). Each student that walks into a classroom is very different and has different needs
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than every other student in that classroom. Giving each student the same resource may help some

students, but not others. If every student has different needs, they need to be provided with the

different resources that they need specifically. There are many different factors and barriers that

play into a students ability of achievement and educators need to be aware of these to better

provide equity for all of their students (Safir, 2016, p.1). Being aware of these different factors

and barriers that play a role in a students life is important because it allows for understanding of

what kinds of needs they may have.

Every student has a different need and it is imperative to understand who they are as a

person and where they come from to understand what their needs are. In order to do this, it is

important to know who you are as an individual. This allows one to be more understanding of

different backgrounds and struggles that students may have. “Once we have an understanding of

who we are, we must then focus on other-awareness by investigating the values of others”

(Lingenfelter & Mayers, 2016, p. 109). Seeking out the identity of the students who educators

come in contact with, can make a huge difference in facilitating an equity classroom

environment.

An individual’s culture plays such an important role in their life and who they are as a

person. Safir (2016) describes the idea of being culture blind stating that “When we ignore

students’ identities, we efface who they are in the world and lose a rich resource for learning” (p.

2). By not taking the time to truly get to know a student, educators are losing out on the

opportunity to learn about their students and the resources they need in order to be successful.

Addressing all of the needs of the students in each classroom may be a hard task, but it is worth

it if a teacher is able to provide specific resources to a student or family who needs it to be

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successful.

Practice

The first day I met my C.H.A.M.P. students I was so excited to meet them and they

seemed very excited to meet me as well. I knew that in my small group of five students there

were many individual needs that I needed to be aware of. On the first day of C.H.A.M.P., all of

the students filled out a form that was all about them. It asked them different questions and they

were to complete the paper on their own. The C.H.A.M.P. coursepack estimated that it would

take the group around fifteen minutes to complete this activity and for most of my students, this

was accurate. I had one student who did not complete half of the worksheet in the time that the

rest of the students had finished the entire activity. From this initial experience, I allowed her the

extra time to complete the worksheet and she still was unable to complete it in the C.H.A.M.P.

session for that day.

The topic for the second C.H.A.M.P. session was all about the different aspects of college

life. We discussed differences between college and elementary school and the students were to

write down these different things on a double-bubble map that was provided for them. My

student who had previously struggled with the all about me activity was also struggling to fill

this out as we were discussing what to write in the different boxes. I was not sure what to do

because I did not want to single her out for not finishing the activities, but I also wanted her to be

able to understand the material that we were discussing during our session times.

Over the next C.H.A.M.P. sessions, I would offer her support while the students worked

on individual work. I was trying to do this in a way that did not take any attention away from the

other students, but gave her the support she needed to understand the C.H.A.M.P. material and
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try and finish as many of the activities that she could. The other students were busy completing

their own tasks so they didn’t feel like I was taking time away from the rest of the group. As the

end of C.H.A.M.P. was near, I noticed that she would not ask for help as often and she was

starting to be able to finish some of her tasks independently. The last session of C.H.A.M.P. was

a filled with many fun activities. Before the activities began, I had the students write in their

journal what their favorite part of C.H.A.M.P. was and this student said that she liked that I was

patient with her. This was amazing for me to be able to observe because I was able to see this

transformation that occurred in such a short amount of time. It brought the whole idea if equity

versus equality into perspective for me and I am so glad that I was able to support her and watch

her grow from week to week in her ability. Being able to support students and their individual

needs is so important and I am so blessed to have been able to be in that position for this student.

English Language Learners

Theory

English Language Learners are students who are learning English as a second language

other than their native language. There is much debate over different strategies that can be used

in the classroom to be able to provide the support that these students need. According to August

(2018), “A key principle of instruction in a second language is enabling students to interact via

speaking, listening, reading, and writing with peers in their second language” (p. 7). These

different activities that August mentioned are all said to be helping students to be able to

understand English and grow in their knowledge of the language. Basic Interpersonal

Communication Skills (BICS), a topic we discussed in class, are the skills that allow students to

be able to communicate with their peers (Teach for America, 2006). Cognitive Academic
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Language Proficiency (CALP) is the ability for students to be able to communicate in academic

settings (Teach for America, 2006). The different activities that August discusses furthers the

students knowledge and is useful in either of the skill levels they may be in.

There is a growing amount of English Language Learners who are in the public school

systems and it is important for teachers to be equipped with the proper resources for them to be

able to help these students succeed no matter how much English they may know (Ortiz &

Robertson, 2018, p. 177). Teachers must find the resources and prepare to be able to teach these

students. There have been many cases where “ELLs have been both overidentified and

underidentified as having a disability” (August, 2018, p. 8). Without the proper resources and

training, teachers are unable to provide English Language Learner students with what they need

and they may be identified as having a disability because of these outside factors.

According to Ortiz and Robertson (2018), Educators must “help students understand that

rules for interaction and behavior differ across people and settings and that adapting to a

particular context does not devalue their own culturally-based behavior” (p. 8). During lecture, it

was discussed that the goal as teachers is to lower the affective filter for English Language

Learners. The affective filter is defined as “The [negative] emotional variables (e.g. anxiety,

[low] motivation, [low] self-confidence, fear) that affect a student’s ability to receive the

comprehensible input” (Teach for America, 2006). This strategy introduced by Ortiz and

Robertson is an example of one way to lower the affective filter for these students so they are

able to learn English as a second language without feeling as though their first language is

looked down upon.

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Practice

The first time that we went to the school site for C.H.A.M.P., we were able to hear from

the principle about the school and different facts about the schools population. The principle of

the school that I was working with discussed how there are many students who are English

Language Learners who attend that school. They are not to give that information out so I was

expecting to not know if any of my students were learning or have learned English as a second or

third language. As I was getting to know my students on the first day of C.H.A.M.P., one of my

students spoke a sentence in Spanish to me. I know a little bit of Spanish and I was able to

respond back to him. As I spoke back to him in Spanish, he had the biggest smile on his face and

described how that was the only time any adult had spoken Spanish to him at school. He told me

that he has been speaking Spanish his whole life until he started school and began to learn

English.

The most interesting thing that caught my attention during this encounter was that he said

no adult had ever spoken to him in Spanish at school. The joy that was on his face from the

simple gesture of me speaking to him in Spanish showed me how much that meant to him. It

showed me the importance of keeping a students native language alive and respected while also

learning English.

I would observe this particular students work after each C.H.A.M.P. session. He always

did very well on his written work that we would do together and independently. In fact, he

usually finished first and always volunteered to share his answers and thoughts with the group.

One thing I did notice was that he would sometimes write an answer in English and then write

the same sentence, but in Spanish below the English sentence.

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Through this experience of working with a student whose first language was not English,

I was able to speak Spanish with him sometimes and learn from him as well. As a teacher, it is so

powerful when we are able to learn from our own students who we are supposed to be teaching

and guiding. His love for Spanish and English was seen through his work and I was so inspired

to see how much he knew of both languages.

Discussion

Implications for Future Practice

This experience will affect the way that I facilitate learning in my classroom in so many

different ways. I will be aware of the concept of equity versus equality and make sure I do

everything in my power as an educator to provide equity to all of my students. There is no way

that equality among all students will satisfy every need of every student. I want to be able to

provide the resources that my students need to be successful and learn in the environment that is

best for each of them individually. I will do my best to provide these resources to every students

that walks through my classroom.

Another aspect of this experience that will affect the way I teach is the group of students

in my classroom who may be learning English as a second, or even third language. I want to be

able to have the proper training and resources to be able to help these students succeed in their

education. I also want to make sure to get to know my students and lower the affective filter to

the best of my ability. I want them to have the capability to learn and not feel as though they

aren’t good enough for one reason or another.

These are the two topics that I experienced first hand in my C.H.A.M.P. group. I know

there will be many other aspects of diversity that will come my way. I want to be aware of these
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different topics and be prepared to help my students and support them through their academic

and non-academic journey. I am excited to be in this position and use my knowledge to help

students learn to the best of their ability. I am truly thankful for this experience and excited to see

how I will use the tools that I learned to equip me to to be the best educator I can possibly be.

Christian Worldview

Diversity is a very large topic that can be very hard to talk about in many different

aspects. Diversity in the classroom can be an even more difficult topic to discuss because we are

talking about the students that we have the ability to teach and encourage throughout their

educational journey. I think the most important part of diversity is the idea of “Imago Dei”.

Every single person is made in the image of God. The complexity of diversity can be

overwhelming, and it is important to know how to be support students who may be facing

different barriers and situations. If we treat our students like they were made in the image of

God, I think it will allow for them to grow and learn to the best of their ability. Another aspect of

the Christian worldview that will affect how I view diversity on and outside of the classroom is

to remember that every person plays a role in the body of the church and everyone brings

something different and important to the table. Every student plays a special role in my life

contributes something unique to the classroom and that is truly the beauty of diversity.

Conclusion

The first time I met the five students that were in my C.H.A.M.P. group, I never thought

they would make the impact that they did on my life. Throughout my many weeks with these

students I learned about their individual needs and group needs. As I thought about how the
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course content was merging with my experience with C.H.A.M.P., two topics continued to come

to my mind. Equity versus equality and English Language Learners were two topics that I was

able to observe in my C.H.A.M.P. group. I am amazed at the growth of my students from the

first day of C.H.A.M.P. all the way to our final day together. The different diversity topics that

we discussed in class were directly impacted by my service learning experience. It taught me

many different tools that I want to take into the classroom with me. While working with these

students, I was able to experience that every individual is truly made in the image of God and

diversity is a beautiful thing to embrace.

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References

August, D. (2018). Educating English Language Learners: A Review of the Latest Research.

American Educator​, ​42​(3), 4–9. Retrieved from

https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=eric&AN=EJ1

192670&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=azusa

Lingenfelter, S. G., & Mayers, M. K. (2016). ​Ministering cross-culturally. ​Grand Rapids, MI:

Baker Academic.

Ortiz, A. A., & Robertson, P. M. (2018). Preparing Teachers to Serve English Learners with

Language- and/or Literacy-Related Difficulties and Disabilities. ​Teacher Education and

Special Education,​ ​41(​ 3), 176–187. Retrieved from

https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=sso&db=eric&AN=EJ1

185511&site=eds-live&scope=site&custid=azusa

Safir, S. (2016, January 21). Equity vs. equality: 6 steps towards equity. Retrieved from

https://www.edutopia.org/blog/equity-vs-equality-shane-safir

Teach for America. (2006). PLAN 9 Planning instruction to meet the needs of English language

learners [PDF document].