Trull 1

TWS 1: Contextual Variables

I am doing my student teaching at Georgia College Early College (GCEC). The students who
attend this school come from two different counties, Putnam County and Baldwin County.
According to the 2013 Census Bureau, the population of Baldwin County was 46,039 people and
the population of Putnam County was 21,371 people. 55.1% of Baldwin Countys population is
Caucasian, 44.7% are African American, 2.1% are Hispanic or Latino, and 1.7% are Asian.
70.6% of Putnam Countys population is Caucasian, 27.2% are African American, 6.7% are
Hispanic or Latino, and 0.6% are Asian. 81.0% of Baldwin Countys population has a high
school diploma and 19.3% have a Bachelors degree or higher. 82% of Putnam Countys
population has a high school diploma and 18.8% have a Bachelors degree or higher. Baldwin
Countys average household income is $35,278 and Putnam Countys average household income
is $40,115. Putnam County and Baldwin County have higher than average poverty rates with
15.2% of Putnam Countys population living in poverty and 28.7% of Baldwin Countys
population living in poverty.
Even though the students that attend GCEC are from counties that have higher than average
poverty rates and lower than average household incomes I will still hold high expectations for
my students in terms of their ability to achieve success. Because I have high expectations for my
students success I must maintain high expectations for myself as a teacher. By learning about
my students culture and the community in which my students live I can shape the curriculum to
make it more relevant to their lives. This will provide a framework that will help students to
become interested in their learning and provide them ways to connect their newfound knowledge
to their present community. According to Jensen (2013), author of Engaging Students with
Poverty in Mind, when teachers remain ignorant of their students culture, students often
experience a disconnect between the school world and their home life and as a result, they give

Trull 2
up (p. 12). I can challenge this notion by making the curriculum relevant to what students
experience in their daily life within their community. An example of how this could be achieved
is through project based learning. By assigning projects in the community that integrate real
world issues it will give students the ability to see the bigger picture beyond the classroom and
where they are currently in life.
The purpose of the GCEC program is to provide the availability of attending college to those
students that might not otherwise have the opportunity and/or means to do so independently.
GCEC functions in collaboration through Georgia College, Baldwin County School System,
Putman County Charter School System, and the Oconee Regional Education Service Agency
(RESA). GCEC consists of grades 7-12 taught by 12 highly qualified teachers. There are a total
of 229 students from both Baldwin and Putnam counties, 110 of those students being enrolled in
the Middle School program. 68.6% of GCECs population is African American, 23.1% are
Caucasian, 4.4% are Hispanic, 3.5% are multiethnic, and 0.4% are Asian. Currently 76.4% of
GCEC students qualify for free or reduced lunch The GCEC program benefits from its location
on the GCSU campus with support in curriculum, facilities, and opportunities of enrichment that
are readily accessible. Due to resources provided by GCSU, RESA, and the local school districts
the following are driving forces that promote student success and learning within GCEC: small
teacher/student ratios, differentiated instruction, performance based learning, reading and writing
in all content areas, science and math across the curriculum, and timely interventions based upon
assessments. Some of the challenges faced at GCEC are as follows: reduced instructional time
due to the length of the school day, classroom and lunch space availability, science lab access,
and GCEC program funding.
Common behaviors and environments experienced over time gradually create expectations
for what is normal (Jensen, 2013, p. 37). The students that attended GCEC have an opportunity

Trull 3
that most other students dont; they are immersed into a college atmosphere immediately.
Because our experiences overtime gradually creates what is normal for us, students participating
on a college campus and in college courses will provide them with an opportunity to make
college and success their norm. GCEC students have a variety of tools and resources at their
fingertips. For example, if I assign a project that includes doing research on the Internet, even if
the students dont have Internet access at home, because GCEC provides them with the tools
they need to succeed, I can encourage students to work around their socioeconomic obstacles.
Even though students are immersed in a college atmosphere and are given the tools to succeed,
they may still come to school unmotivated and disengaged. Research shows that some of these
dispositions can be linked to poor nutrition (Jensen, 2013, p.10). By providing students with a
free and nutritious lunch this can directly affect student engagement thereby increasing student
learning.
I have a total of 58 students divided up into three blocks. All three blocks are gender
segregated; therefore I have two blocks of girls and one block of boys. For teacher work sample
purposes I will be focusing on my last block of 20 boys. Out of my 20 students 13 are African
American, 5 are Caucasian, 1 is Hispanic, and 1 is biracial. 13 are socioeconomically
disadvantaged, 2 are not socioeconomically disadvantaged, and 5 are unknown. 16 of my
students are 13 years old and 4 of my students are 14 years old. Out of the 20 students 7 are from
Putnam County and 14 are from Baldwin County. When conducting ethnographic interviews I
found what interests my students the most and what concerned them the most. What seemed to
interest/is most important to my students are as follows: playing sports, going to college,
football, rap music, their families, their friends, keeping their grades up, becoming rich, and
basketball. What seemed to concern my students most are as follows: death, their appearance,
procrastination, passing school, stress, and not being successful. Our classroom is the smallest in

Trull 4
the building, however, it provides for a cozy atmosphere. The atmosphere is fostered through a
table arrangement that allows for discussions and collaboration. The classroom library is one of
the main focal points in the room; we have over 2,000 books to offer the students. This offers
students the opportunity to increase their literacy development, academic knowledge, and love
for reading.
The lower socioeconomic statuses of my students and the fact that they are separated by
gender will not only affect my teaching but will also affect my students learning. Even though
working in a single sex classroom limits their opportunity to interact with the opposite sex, it
does prevent opposite sex distractions and allows me to implement strategies and curriculum that
are geared toward the gender of my students. For example, when choosing a piece of poetry for
the class to read I might choose a poem written from the perspective of a man rather than a
woman. A way in which the socioeconomic status of my students might affect their learning and
my teaching is through the absence of positive relationships. Students of lower socioeconomic
status tend to have no stable adult role models in their life (Jensen, 2013, p.43). A way to fight
this obstacle and promote student learning and achievement is to embrace positive student
teacher relationships as well as peer relationships in the classroom. This will provide a safe and
welcoming space for students to make mistakes and become engaged in their learning. An
example of how I can foster this in the classroom is by having students work on their learning in
cooperative groups. This will allow students to form these relationships with each other in the
classroom.
References
Baldwin County, Georgia. (2014). Retrieved from United States Census Bureau website:
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13009.html

Trull 5
Georgia College Early College. (2014). GCEC- School Factors Analysis Form. Board of Regents
of the University System of Georgia.
Jensen, E. (2013). Engaging Students with Poverty in Mind: Practical Strategies for Raising
Achievement. Alexandria, VA: ASCD.
Putnam County, Georgia. (2014). Retrieved from United States Census Bureau website:
http://quickfacts.census.gov/qfd/states/13/13237.html