Giving Spring Break
New Meaning

Future Educators Gain Experience
in Diverse Urban Setting

Instead of heading to the beach for spring break, 12 UI students decided to expand their horizons through a service-learning course taught by Prof. Kathryn Whitmore.

The course offered UI students the opportunity to work directly with fourth graders in two Chicago elementary schools, one predominantly African-American and the other predominantly Hispanic. In the course, the UI students helped the Chicago students with reading and writing projects as well as taught them what it is like to be a college student.

Sarah Bergeson said she hadn’t had a lot of exposure working with children from diverse backgrounds. “I learned the importance of not judging children based on their background,” Bergeson said. “These children are so bright and talented.”

Bergeson also showed the Chicago children that working hard in school now, and later through higher education, can help them become someone that they want to be. “We showed them that their individuality and background is an important aspect of their identity, and to be proud of that part of themselves,” she said.

Jessica Weckerly, a diverse student herself, also enjoyed encouraging the children to go to college. “The best part was showing them that it’s not just rich white kids that get to go to college and that they can definitely do it too,” she said.

Weckerly was highly impressed with what the children shared through their writing and discussions. “This experience definitely changed my view of students in the Chicago Public Schools who so often get labeled underprivileged and therefore uneducated, but the children we worked with were brilliant and wanting to learn.”

Caroline Noser agreed, saying the best thing she experienced was seeing the writing that these students created. “Considering the obstacles these students have in life outside of school, the great writing they were able to produce was very inspiring for me as a future teacher.”

Tyson Wirth said he went on the trip in hopes it would prepare him to be a better teacher. “The most important thing I learned was how much a teacher’s success depends on the community students live in. Factors outside a teacher’s control—such as neighborhood safety, nutrition, or just time allotted for physical education—all have a huge impact in the classroom. The best teachers take time to make a difference outside as well as inside the classroom.”

Kayla Otero, an Iowa City native, wanted to see what school was like for students in a bigger city like Chicago. “This experience has opened my eyes and is something I will never forget,” she said.

“Teachers need to be skilled in working with children from all types of backgrounds,” Whitmore said. “Firsthand experiences such as this can accomplish eye-opening, life-changing learning like no course on campus, textbook, or professor can provide.”