generation next
Summer job taught me valuable lessons
I'm a better teacher because of experience in Migrant Program
Migrant Education Program Video
“There are three good reasons to be a teacher— June, July and August.”
That’s a familiar saying, attributed to some unknown author. But it might as well be my motto, but not for the reasons you may think.
I spend my summer teaching in the Summer Migrant Program in the West Ottawa Public Schools.
Being a part of the Summer Migrant Program has been the most rewarding experience of my professional career.
Prior to coming to West Ottawa and being a part of this program, I never knew the story of a migrant family.
The week prior to the students’ arrival, we talked with staff members who are former migrant workers themselves, learning about migrant life and visiting the camps where many of the migrant families would live.
Visiting the camps made a deep impact on me personally. Some of the camps were decent apartments, while others were rows of substandard trailers that would house more than one family for the summer. I was saddened by seeing the places where some of my students would live. I was also concerned about how moving from state to state would affect their attitude about coming to summer school.
My concerns were delightfully put to rest once school began.
My class was the nicest group of students. Most of my students were there every day and enjoyed being in school, which was surprising for the summer. As with any class, their academic performance varied. I had some students who were working well above grade level and others who spoke limited English.
But the thing that set this group of students apart from my previous classes was that they understood the value of doing well in school. The students who spoke limited English worked hard to learn to read and speak English. I tried to speak to them with my limited “Spanglish,” and they responded to me in English. This showed me how serious they were about learning English.
Community is important to my students. Most of them had gone to Migrant Camp together for years. They helped each other in the classroom as well as on the playground. When they were allowed to pick partners for group work there was never a student or two looking sad because no one wanted to work with him or her. They often talked about seeing each other on the weekends and after school.
The students valued the school community I wanted to establish for us, which was key. Whenever a problem arose in the class, they were honest and truly wanted to solve the problem. This made for a great learning and teaching environment.
As an educator, the time that I spend working with the students in the Migrant Program is very fulfilling. I am a better teacher because of my summer experience.
Migrant Education Program Video
Shalonda Owens is a teacher at Great Lakes Elementary School in the West Ottawa Public Schools.
Over the summer, teacher Shalonda Owens worked in the Migrant Education Program.
Teacher Shalonda Owens accompanied her students on a field trip to a nursery where many of their parents worked, part of a lesson to help students understand their family heritage.