March 10, 2011

Yesterday we went to the elementary school for the first time in a while. It was good to see all the students again and how excited they were to see me in return. My teacher gave me two students to take out in the hall and work with. The objective was along the lines of with color coded picture cards the students will identify matches and put the pieces together. The students did a good job at that and then were sent back inside where they had other obejectives. The class went through a series of tables they rotated between and had a different objective at each table. The teacher did not say the objective just how we have seen it done on paper, but she explained what the students were supposed to do and gave examples on how to accomplish what she wanted done at each table. Objectives can come in handy in a classroom, but when the classroom is a kindergarten class full of 6 year olds, the job of getting the objective across becomes a little harder.

February 17, 2011

Yesterday we went to the elementary school again and I helped the students in groups of three with their "beginning sounds" through a game.The student teacher for the class was back and now she is head teaching the class by herself. It was interesting to see the difference in how the two teachers taught the class and had authority over them. It took a while to get used to the shift in teacher and handle the students there after. I got to help the same kids I usally do but then also help some of the students that I don't usually get to help or see their progress. Again, it was interesting to see the differences in levels of knowledge.

February 11, 2011

1) My class has a procedure where if the teacher needs the kids attention she says "froggy" and they respond "pop pop pop", well during the Valentine's season she switches it to "valentine" and they respond "I love you." It was very cute and got the kids interacted and acknowledging the present holdiay season. I played a math game with the kids two at a time. It was interesting to see the differences in level of math knowledge they already have and just how far the children can be on opposite sides of the spectrum of knowing their numbers(1-10) .It must be hard for the teacher to teach all the different levels of the curriculum that the children are at or having trouble with.

2) The new tardy policy. From a teachers perspective this new policy can have many different sides and reactions. First, it can help students who are usually late and missing parts of class to come on time and be able to recieve the full lesson. Second, it helps the lessons flow more as the teacher will not have to stop whenever a student comes in late and catch them up or change their attendance. But on the other hand, if a student is late to class now, they will be taken into the cafeteria for the entire day. Making them miss the entire class period. As before they would have only missed some of the lesson maybe, if any, and would have been able to pick up the lesson when the arrived at class that day. This way they will not miss just part of class but the entire class period and not be able to make it up until the following day or after school. This can hender a teacher's learning environment and make it hard for lessons to conitinue as needed. If five kids are tardy to class, now the teacher will have to take time out of her schedule/lesson time of the next day to catch those five kids. This policy may get students to get to class on time, in fear of missing the whole day, but students who can't help but be late will suffer and have to make up classwork leading to the classes full potential not being as high as it can on a daily basis.

February 3, 2011

Last week we went back to the Elementary School. In the class I am with, the teacher has a difficult job of controlling an entire class of 6 year olds. In order to get their attention while at stations, if they are getting loud or not, in a normal level voice she says "Froggy" and the children respond "pop pop pop". Her classroom is the frog classroom, therefore everything is decorated with frogs. So she says "froggy" to get their attention, and they know as soon as she says that they must stop what they are doing, respond "pop pop pop" and stay quiet to listen for further instructions from her. She has been using this technique since the first week I was in her classroom and it has worked every single time. The children know this direction and know exactly what to do when they hear it. The children also know that when the teacher's phone makes a certain beeping sound it is time for her to take attendance. They all shout out "attendance!" and then quietly go back to their work, but sit in their seats to make it easier for the teacher. If they know someone is not there, they inform the teacher so she can know if she had not noticed already. It helps the attendance taking process go by more quickly and gives the students a chance to use responsibility in helping the teacher. Those are the two techniques I noticed my teacher using while in the Kindergarten class.

January 28, 2011

Yesterday we went to Westwood again. My class began working with laptops in the classroom. The laptops were at one of their stations they rotated through and had a game pulled up where they had to type the letter they saw coming down the screen. It was interesting to see the different actions the kids went through to find the right letter and type it in time. Some were pretty good at it, while others had a hard typer controlling the keyboard and how to find the letter. I got to help the kids start up the game and show them how to play. It was really cool to see them using technology that way in the classroom. I also helped a few of the students outside with their addition. We played a game where they spun two spin wheels that had the numbers 0-5 on it and then they had to use ladybug models to show each seperate number and then add up the numbers. I am leaning towards being a math teacher so it was cool to get to help these students with their math and see the tools they use to practice their addition.

Jan 21, 2011

1) When we had the fire drill on thursday we were all in the auditorium and had to go outside to be safe. Everyone rushed out of the seats and went outside. We all went out to the front of the school and across the parent drive. After listening to Mr. Fernandez on tuesday, I felt the need to tell everyone to get on the grass and out of the driveways to be safe. I also began to think about how everyone was going to be accounted for and how the teachers would know everyone was out of the building. I realized how much work and effort actually goes into making sure everyone is safe and out of the building. Especially when the entire senior class was not with certain teachers and role sheets to be checked off.
2) Stereotypes. As a senior in high school, I have seen many stereotyping and judging throughout the four years. Asians are seen as smart students who should exceed at everything and be at the top of the class, which does not always prove true. Cheerleaders are stereotypically snobby and preppy students, but actually they are all different and unique in a way that that stereotype does not fit them. Football players are judged as jocks who only worry about football and not grades or schoolwork. But in our grade, a good amount of the football team is in the top 10% of our class, some even in the top 5%. White kids are seen as nerdy quiet students, but actually they are smart, athletic, and lots of other things as well. Stereotypes can take over a school, but I think as the four years have gone by judgy actions have dwindled to a minimum and become less than that of a stereotypical school. In the lunchroom, people do not neccessarily sit with their sport group or race, everyone is mingled in with their own friends who are usually in a different group or are a different race than they are.

January 14, 2011

Yesterday we went back to Westwood Elementary to begin our second semester. I was assigned to the same class again. The children were all very excited to see me and glad that I came back. It was cool to see how they still remembered me. I got to take a few of the kids away at a time and work with them. We worked on certain letters that are tricky and difficult for these specific students. I could see that the children had grown and worked on their letters over the break. It was amazing to see the progress some of them had made since the last time I worked with them, they almost didn't need me anymore. Although they were succeeding in all their work, the students did not want me to leave and asked me to stay and work with them all day. That made me feel important in their learning environment.