Despite its modernization, Aztec maintains strong ties to its agrarian and natural gas industry bases that sustained its residents in the past.  The natural gas industry is the primary employer for its citizens.  Because Aztec acts as the county seat for San Juan County, many of its residents are also employed in local, state, and national government jobs that are located within the city limits.  The retail sector and construction figure prominently in the second tier of economic opportunities for Aztec residents.  On the outskirts of town and the surrounding area many small farms are still in evidence as well; most of these produce vegetable crops and raise dairy, beef, and poultry products to sell in local or regional markets.  The median household income for the typical Aztec resident is higher than the county average, but still low when compared to the national norms.

This is but a small snapshot ofthe community that Mosaic Academy serves.  At approximately 138 students at any given time it is a very small school.  The grades are arranged in blocks of three.  The population is divided into Kindergarten to second grade, third through fifth grade, and sixth through eighth grade.  Each of these classes are not housed in traditional brick and mortar buildings; rather the campus consists of a series of six portable buildings.  Each portable building is subdivided into two small rooms that offers room for twenty to twenty-five students.  There are nine traditional classrooms, an Art room, and a room dedicated to serve its special education students when they are not in their traditional classroom.

Within this campus is the classroom that I have come to call my home away from home as I have worked toward the completion of my Bachelor of Science in Education K-8 degree.  The students are a diverse group and very representative of the community from which they come.  Within this classroom I’ve focused on two students who have done a great deal to help me become a better teacher.  They are the ones that I look at when differentiating lessons, activities, or modifying assignments to meet their individual needs.  I can truly say that every student in this class has taught me a technique, approach, or given me a thought on how to become a better teacher, but the following two students are the ones I focused on.

The first student, R.,  is a towering eighth grader with carrot-red hair, a face full of freckles, and a good sense of humor.  More often than not, I see a smile on his face.  Other times, as he is doing group work with his tablemates, I’ll hear his low laughter just after a short conversation.  He walks into the room most days with a smile and a “hello Mr. T.” for me. He is always extremely respectful, often using “sir” or “ma’am.”  He also is a bit overweight, but seems to care about what he eats and how much.  He came in past week and told me in his slow, determined voice, “Mr. T. I am on a diet and it’s going very well.” 

Oh, did I mention that he is taller than me?  At the age of fourteen, he stands at about six-foot, one–inch tall—easily the tallest student, and person, in the classroom.   Despite R.’s outward cheerfulness, he also is good at hiding his true emotions.  As a very tall teen with red hair and copious freckles he is often an easy target for jokes on the playground and common areas.  I’ve even heard whispered comments that were bullying and mean in nature, as he has worked with others.  As any teacher would, I put a stop to them and had a conversation with the offender outside the classroom, but as is the case with too many misbehaving middle school students a single talk from the teacher doesn’t necessarily end the misbehavior.

There is one other thing I haven’t mentioned.  He is also identified as a special education student.  He doesn’t have Down’s syndrome or any obvious labeled birth defect or disease.  He is considered to be OHI in “eduspeak.”  In layman’s terms, he is Other Health impaired.  That is the broad category students are often placed into when they are struggling in their studies and falling behind and it can’t quite be figured out why. 

On top of all of these challenges, he is dealing with a traumatic life-change.  His parents have separated in the past year and divorce is imminent even as I write this paper.  Despite the many difficult situations he shows up to school each day, faces his challenges, and tackles his schoolwork each day.  Each day is different in terms of the success he has or feels.  I often reflect on whether it is due to his family struggles.

R. is behind in language arts and mathematics to a certain extent, but he is always willing to attempt every assignment.  Things may take longer for him to do and my cooperating teacher and I are always reminding him of important due dates, to stay on task, and to work on assignments one problem at a time until they are done.  My standard line for R. is, “where is your assignment?”  I’ve also heard my C.T. ask him where something is regularly.  One month ago his eyes would roll into his head and he’d say, “I don’t know.”  He’d receive directions to check his tub, locker, backpack, and any other loose item around him.  Usually he would find it. Through the C.T.’s patient reminders and our structuring organization into each assignment he seems to be doing a little better.  But diligence is required!

There are many adjustments I think about for R.  I often allow more time for work, take the time to clearly read the goals or the rubric of an assignment, and try to spend a minute of time with him for each new activity in order to start him off well.  I also like to put him in flexible groups and to design a small part of most of the lessons introduced to be done in small groups in order to help scaffold into the learning. 

Among many things R. has taught me, the largest is to better think about what the end goal of an assignment is and where it goes when it is done.  I’ve noticed him working diligently and, more often than not, effectively.  He would finish a part of an assignment, or the entire assignment, only to lose it the next day because he isn’t well organized.  Every assignment and task that I create as I lesson plan I spend asking myself, “where will the students put this when it is done?”  With simple instructions to “prong” the assignment in a writing folder, put it in Mr. T’s manila folder when done, or to put it in their permanent writing journal, every student, not just R., has an organizational system in place that helps them to not fall behind.

Student L. is the “smart” student.  L. always has an answer for everything.  I have jokingly referred to him as my Cliff Clayburn in private.  Cliff was the mailman on the sitcom Cheers.  He ALWAYS had something to say about every subject—even the ones that no one cared about.  He often shared his expertise in excruciating detail.  L. is precisely this type—only thirty years younger.  Just yesterday, after having a system of grading explained and shown a card that helps figure out the percentage grade on an assignment, he said, “Oh, I already know how to do that!”  He was told that this was a way to make it easier and quicker, he responded with, “That’s okay.”

He always likes a challenge, even if it takes him longer to do something.  As long as he is challenging his brain he is quite happy to do so.  He is labeled as a gifted student by the Aztec School System.  He also is considered to have some psychological issues related to his gift.  He can be a hypersensitive child; reacting strongly and inappropriately to what seems to be very minor situations.  Something minor can quickly become a major issue.  He also often attempts to dominate class discussions if he is allowed, so requires close management when trying to help all students understand and feel free to share new concepts in attempt to engage.

As a seventh grader, he has one year under the cooperating teacher’s tutelage and guidance.  He is of average height with a shoulder length mop of coarse jet-black hair.  He is also uniquely from a half-Navajo-half Middle Eastern Indian family heritage.  His family is a very close and supportive one, whose religion is very important to them.  He is currently attending catechism classes on Wednesday evenings.

The largest adjustment to my lesson planning for L. is to keep his schoolwork challenging and engaging.  He attacks any assignment and new concept with voraciousness and explores the topic deeply.  I thoroughly enjoy his passion for learning new things and exploring ideas in a meaningful way.  As I create my lesson plans with L. in mind I always ask myself, “what’s the next step?”  I know that he will accomplish the general goals I have in mind for the class and then be ready to dig deeply into the concept in order to understand it from its many alternative viewpoints.

These two students do not necessarily represent the extremes of my classroom.  A few face harder challenges than R. and a couple of my other students are gifted in other areas.  These two students hold a nice place in my heart however.  They are excellent models and interesting challenges to consider as I attempt to meet the many various needs of all of my students.

Pablo Casals, a famous Spanish conductor, states that, “the child must know that he is a miracle, that since the beginning of the world that there hasn’t been, and until the end of the world there will not be, another child like him.”  As a teacher, I have learned to embrace this concept for its incredible profundity.  It is something that we as teachers must never forget. It is truly the key to maximizing the learning for every student we have.