Student Teaching - Fall 2014

by Rogelia Pena - Cooper Dual Language Academy

I clearly remember one of my Judson professors asking my class, “Honestly guys, when could you ever afford to live in Chicago’s Gold Coast if it is not through this program?” I won’t deny that living in the city sounded very tempting when I heard about the Chicago Semester Program (CS). However, after talking to one of the CS representatives about what my teaching experience would be like in the city, I was more than convinced that I wanted to do the Chicago Semester Program during the fall semester of my senior year. A CS representative told me that in the city I would find diverse students with urban problems…just what I wanted!

My name is Rogelia Pena, and I am an international student from Caracas, Venezuela. Even though I have been in the U.S. for over three years now, I have not fully adapted to living here. Something was just not right. At first, I did not know what it was. I mean, my native language is not English but language is not necessarily a barrier for me. I know my family is far away, but I have never felt lonely here either. Judson University’s international community has given me a very special place to belong to. What was it then? Then it hit me: I simply missed the city life too much. Judson is great, but it is still located in the suburbs. In the city, I have met people that have very different cultural, religious, and political backgrounds. But we are still in the same boat: we all experience urban problems and yet we are in awe of the hidden secrets that the city embraces. The Chicago Semester Program exposes young adults like me to this paradoxical reality of the city (specifically Chicago).

Cooper Dual Language Academy

As a student teacher who believes that education has a great impact in social issues, I chose to student teach in the Chicago Public Schools (CPS), which is a very challenging school districts. It is the third largest school district in the nation, as well as one of the most diverse. Since my concentration is on English as a Second Language (ESL) and bilingual education, I was placed at Cooper Elementary Dual Language Academy, a school with a student population that is over 95% Hispanic. I am in a 4^th grade bilingual classroom, and I am teaching Language Arts and Science. Even though the students are very limited in their English proficiency, they have rich cultural backgrounds. I look forward to getting to know them more, and I can’t wait to start teaching them full–time in a few weeks.

By the way, I decided to live right across the street from the school at La Casa, an awesome building for college students located right in the heart of the Pilsen neighborhood. I am not living in the fancy Gold Coast neighborhood like I originally wanted. However, every day I am grateful for choosing Pilsen whenever I meet a friendly neighbor in the street, get some fresh bread at the bakery, or stand in front of a colorful mural. There is so much to do and see in this rich neighborhood!