Observation #3

At this point I've completed 19 observation hours at the FAIR Elementary school in downtown Minneapolis. My role has included helping students complete assignments and giving behavioral direction in the classroom along with assignments and observing lessons and activities.

The first time I went to the music class the room was a scene of chaos. Students were playing with equipment that was off limits, running around, and the tape on the ground which marked their spots was being totally ignored. The students even climbed over stacked up chairs and equipment to find the drumsticks so they could bang the drums which the music teacher had pushed back against the wall to keep away from the children. There were also students scooting the chairs that were stacked at the front of the room all around. I noticed students have a break area where they’re allowed to sit or stand against the side of the wall away from everyone else if they don’t feel like participating. There was one student that had a very difficult time doing any class activities and I later found out that she opted to use this break area every single day. She'll even encourage other students to join her. 

My second experience in that room went very differently. At the front of the room stood a large black woman who was there for the sole purpose of enforcing order. Somehow, these students that showed no interest in following direction respected and obeyed her every word. She had a very loud strong voice and spoke in a way that I imagine is very similar to the way that the student's parents might speak to them. They clearly respected her more than they respected the music teacher. Upon seeing this I realized just how important cultural influences and the way a teacher presents themselves is to student engagement. I began to think about what will happen when it comes time to lead my own classroom, and what I can do to better my chances at receiving that respect.

I specifically was able to see some testing for common core standards, particularly in reading and math lessons. The testing at this school appears to be pretty frequent. Spelling tests occur every single Friday - along with a pre-test for the next week just to gauge how familiar the students are with the upcoming spelling words. Math tests also occur every week to determine the effectiveness of that weeks learning. I'm not certain how frequently this happens, but I did witness the teacher testing students individually on their reading levels as well. I think testing at this age is essential but I also think application of the skills they’re learning is important. I think the teacher does a good job of incorporating both. I think for this class of students in particular classroom management is a huge part of what the teacher spends a lot of her time doing but I also have noticed that she can’t constantly be managing every student. I’ve observed students copying each others work a lot and struggling with some of the basic concepts they’re learning. I think the key to them succeeding at mastering the common core skills is practicing but it seems hard to do so when students don’t listen and cause distractions for those that are trying to practice.