The school that I have been assigned to overall has a good surrounding neighborhood. When I first got to the school I was a bit skeptical because I was not used to parking in the street. I was uncomfortable leaving my car there. I was nervous at first but once I walked through the doors the secretary at the front desk was very nice and welcoming, she showed me just what to do and walked me to the classroom that I was assigned to. She described the tests the students take every few weeks to calculate the reading scores. She explained that I would probably be working with the students who are on a lower level of reading. The school really values the scores of both reading and mathematics and success of their students.
On a negative note, once I walked into the class room my emotions changed. I was overwhelmed. The students were screaming and jumping all over the place. The teacher looked surprised that I was there. I felt very uncomfortable and unwelcomed by him. He did not ask me my name, introduce himself nor did he introduce me to the class. As I proceeded to sit down at the back table to observe I noticed that the students’ desks were split up into four group sections. In my opinion I don’t think this is a good set up because the students were too busy socializing rather than paying attention to the teacher. Along with the hyperactive children I noticed immediately that the teacher had no control of the class. This upset me at first because I have had a lot of experience working in another school system and have never seen a teacher this unorganized with second graders.
After the first few minutes I was there I could already pick up on who the teacher liked and who the teacher disliked in his classroom. It was hard to tell what was valued in this classroom. He was always yelling at the same three little boys. The boys were hyperactive but from observing I could tell that they wanted to learn but did not feel welcomed in that teacher’s environment. One of the little boys cried out loud to the teacher “I don’t want to pay attention because I don’t understand what we are doing.” Instead of the teacher explaining what was going on he yelled at the child and made the boy stand. This upset me because I thought there could have been a hundred different ways to approach this situation as an adult and especially as a teacher.
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Ashley,
ReplyDeleteThough I am not in your blog group, I am posting a blog on your "prompt #1" because it caught my eye and I felt as though I could relate to you with us both going into a new school as the "visitor." I felt quite overwhelmed as well, when walking into my classroom for the first time.
The teacher in my kindergarten classroom was not very welcoming just like yours, but at first, I did not think much of it since I was interrupting her while she was teaching. I began to feel overwhelmed when I sat down on the carpet with the students and got a chance to see how the teacher handled her classroom. It was not enjoyable at all. I began to get uncomfortable when the Teacher (instead of the students) began yelling and screaming. It scared me a little to hear a teacher yelling at the top of her lungs "Be QUIET and SIT UP NOW!!” to a young boy who was lying down on the carpet humming to himself. I am sure neighboring classrooms could hear her loud and clear. But the worst part was, that this boy definately was not the only one! I observed at least 90% of the class fidgeting, picking on others, or falling asleep. They were so bored and uninterested! It sounds like you had a rough classroom to go into, yourself! If the teacher has no control of the class, and is so unorganized I believe this is not the students fault, it’s the teachers! I believe it's the teacher’s job to actively involve students so that they pay attention, and learn. I do think desks should be in groups, so that students can interact with each other. I know from personal experience that many children have an easier time speaking if asked to work in small groups. If students are out of control in the first place, I don't think having them in rows will make much of a difference.
It sounds like your teacher has a lot to learn, and would benefit from hearing Ira Shor Speak, and many other theorists we learned about this semester. Your teacher is not practicing unilateral authority (being open to the needs of and connecting with, students). Obviously, right now there is not much we can do about it, but we will both have to remember our experiences, and make sure that we encourage active participation in our classrooms, and create activities that take into account all learning styles. We also must have patience and know/learn skills that will keep our students happy and under control! It's a sad sight to see!
Ashley, after reading your post it sounded much like the first day I had at my school. I was also not welcomed very warmly by the teacher. She too looked very suprised that I was there. The class was very noisy and she didn't seem to have much control over them. She was yelling but none of the children were listening. So I kept thinking to myself that maybe she should try a different approach, but then again she does have way more experience than I do. I'm not sure of her exact age but if I had to guess I would say probably around early to mid 50's. I didn't want to judge her based on the first impression alone, but I can honestly say I didn't see much improvement over the course of nine weeks. I kept getting the impression that she no longer had a passion for teaching. She seemed like she was just simply going through the motions waiting for retirement. I hate to sound negative but how much positive impact can a teacher like this really haveon her students. The two students that I tutored made several comments about her also such as "she's always in a bad mood" and "she never smiles." Now I know that I should take into account that maybe she has some issues going on outside of school in her personal life, but I was always told that no matter where I worked, to leave my personal problems at the door. I know that this is easier said than done but when your working with children everyday it makes a huge difference. Children are amazing when it comes to sensing what kind of mood you're in. They can pick up on an uneasy feeling better than most adults. It's almost like they have a sixth sense for it. Everyone is entitled to a bad day now and again, however, what kind of influence are you really being to a group of 24 third graders when you "never smile" and you're "always in a bad mood."
ReplyDeleteMy feelings and experiences after my first visit are very similar to yours and similar to others in our class as well. Initially, I had a felt like I was disrupting my classroom when I arrived, because the students had altered their attention from the classroom teacher, and were focusing on the new person that had arrived. This led to the classroom teacher growing angry and maintaining an uneasy mood for the remainder of my time spent in the classroom that day. The lack of welcoming participation and little explanation behind lessons and answers made me want to make a difference in the academic lives of these students when it was time for me to conduct my games and lessons. In a sense I wanted to change the ways of the classroom, a topic Kahne and Westheimer would approve of. Carrying out a critical perspective and having these students engage in active learning was what I wanted to create for my students. In a sense, after spending time with me, I wanted the students to carry over the learning methods back to their classroom teacher and create an open learning environment where participation is welcomed and encouraged. I feel that the students just needed an opportunity to participate, which in my point of view was being deprived by the control of the classroom teacher. If I could change these students to reconstruct the present ways of the classroom, hopefully it would spread throughout all the students while doing lessons with the classroom teacher. Also I feel that my teacher also played favorites, in the same way you described your classroom teacher. It often seemed that my teacher only directed punishments and yelled at the same few students, even though it was clear at times others were acting up as well. I can also agree with you that there are better methods for teachers to approach issues regarding behavior, rather than yelling which creates a negative atmosphere and mood throughout the class. I feel that when the mood of a classroom is in a negative state, it creates less participation, which we both discovered our classrooms already to be lacking.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Ashley. There ARE a hundred different ways to create a positive learning environment. I am hopeful that you have begun to assemble a tool box. The more tools in your tool box, the better.
ReplyDeleteI'm sorry you did not receive a warm welcome. It is a testimony to your commitment to this project that you remained a force for change in the classroom.
Thank you,
Dr. August