During spring break I was able to have the amazing experience of going on the Collier County Field Immersion Trip. This experience allowed me to travel to Florida to experience a week in the Collier County Public School District. Each day we experienced a new school and were able to observe many amazing teachers.
Another part of this trip was learning about domestic abuse and trauma. We visited an amazing domestic violence shelter, which provides incredible resources to domestic violence victims and works to raise awareness about the issue. Throughout this trip, I was also able to live in a house with many of my peers from Cabrini who have similar interests to me. This meant that throughout the trip we all were able to learn from each other and have fun along the way.
One of the major things that I took away from this experience was the impact that equalizing the funding throughout the district had on each school we visited. Each of the schools had equal funding and therefore had very similar resources. This meant that all of the students were given the supplies they needed in the classroom. One other thing that really stood out to me was all of the non-educational resources that were made available to the students. Each of the schools worked to benefit the whole child and acknowledged that students need to have their basic needs met before they can learn. The students were given shoes, breakfast, lunch, dental services, glasses, and many other resources. These resources help to ensure that the students are cared for and are able to learn.
I really enjoyed this experience because I not only got to experience many different schools and grades but also many different teaching styles and techniques. I think this experience allowed me to gain a greater appreciation for all of the things schools provide for students and the importance of schools and teachers on each child’s life. This experience has truly taught me many things that I will remember as I as become a teacher and have a classroom of my own.