One Word: Bittersweet

         Overall, I completely loved this experience. It was an opportunity that I would not give up for anything. I met so many great students and teachers that really inspired me and cemented my dream to become a teacher filled with compassion, encouragement, and pride in my student’s. Along with learning from the student’s and teachers I learned from myself the things I would have to offer my classes in the future, and the things I needed to work on. I realized that there is a lot more to teaching than just walking into a classroom and teaching students. The job of a teacher is to show the students what they are capable of, to help them discover and pursue their dreams, and to allow them to explore the many different experiences life has to offer, and gain knowledge about themselves and the world at the same time. I truly took a lot away from this experience and it has made me even more eager to complete my future observations throughout the next few years of college and through my career. My journey has just begun, and I cannot wait to see where this path leads me!

No Fist Fights in This Room...or you Flip a Card!

As much as any teacher would like to think that all of their students will be perfect and obedient there, it is practically an unreasonable expectation. In my class there was an outbreak between to boys that could have ended bad if it weren't for my teacher thinking on her feet. It was not surprising to me when the student who got in an argument during reading circle was the one who started this little rumble. 

Two little boys had been arguing over something that happened on the school bus the day before. Neither of them had told anyone and it was a small argument that grew into something they thought they would settle in the classroom. All of the students were working in their center's when one of the little girls in the class yelled for the teacher because one of the boys had grabbed the other. Before she could make it over there, the boys had attempted a few punches but neither got seriously hurt, just a small bruise on the arm of one of the boys. Just as soon as it had began it was over, and thankfully everyone made it out alive. 

I took a lot away from this experience and realized that even turning your back to the class for a second can result in something that could end up a catastrophe. It's important to keep your focus on your students and to be on the look out for any possible outbreaks of anger or hostility.

Even 2nd Graders Need an Office

            On a test day in class I found a very interesting field artifact that I truly thought was an awesome idea! So when my cooperating teacher told the students to put everything on their desks away except for their pencil and their mini office, I was surprised to find that a second grade student’s office really can be mini! This mini office was a great resource for students while taking tests. In my second grade class the kids were starting to learn how to write not only stories but also answer short essay questions. In their mini office it gave them a few different checklists to go through to make sure they remember all of the different important points. So as they unfolded there mini office made of two manila folders taped together, I could not help but to take a peek and see what was inside.

            At the top there was the alphabet both lower case and uppercase just in case they needed a little help. Then there were 5 different checklists. The checklists were; Revise and Edit, Writing, Punctuation, Story Words, and How to Write a Paragraph.  I really liked this artifact because it was a great resource for the students to follow. I think that second grade is very busy with a lot of information that students need to remember. This mini office is a great way to keep them independent but still help them remember all of the important details. This way students will not lose points because of silly mistakes and it will help them practice for writing essays and papers in the future.

Pods Please!

            The students in the classroom were arranged in pod seating. I thought this was an idea with both pro’s and con’s. The pro’s of this set up was that the students would be able to bounce ideas off of each other and work together to solve things. This will play a huge part in my classroom because I feel that it is important for students to not only learn from the teacher and themselves, but to also learn form their peers. This will help them create strong relationships with their peers and will also challenge their ideas. Along with the challenging of ideas it will also help them to keep an open mind. This will not only help them initially but will also help them in the long run when they are working on group projects or trying to come up with creative ideas.

            Although there are many positives to the set up of the student’s desks, there is a few downfalls of the idea. One of this is the amount of chatter that would go on between the students. Although socializing is good for kids and important for their relationships, sometimes it can be a distraction from the things they need to focus. This is a problem because it could take away from the students learning experience and even be disrespectful to the teacher. Another con to the set up of desks this way is that students tend to get into petty arguments. I saw some of this during my observation and I realized that even though it was great for the kids being able to work together, there would always be some type of disagreement or difference of opinions.

            I really did like the way the desks were set up even if there could be some conflict. I feel that in a classroom with so many different types of students, there will always be different opinions and thoughts that could result in conflict. The best way to deal with this is by working together, and you cannot get much closer than when you are working in your pods!

Come on Class, Let's Focus!

My cooperating teacher was the queen of getting her students focused. So at first I felt like she was absolutely crazy with the different techniques she used in class. One of the ones that stuck out to me most was her find your aura. This was so funny to me at first. When the kids started to get distracted or wrapped up in something else she would immediately say “second grade class, find your aura!” and then clap her hands above her head and slowly lower them to hip level, imitating a meditation stance. The kids would then follow, copying the same motions the teacher just did.
This is just one of the many things that my teacher did in order to gain attention of the class. Another thing my teacher would do is sing little jingles half way through and then make the kids finish them. This was a great idea because it showed the teacher exactly who was listening for her next instructions. She was also really good at getting the kids up and out of their seats to do things like jumping jacks or bunny hops in order to get their energy out and keep them focused. I really learned quite a few different ways to get my classes attention back on the subject they should be focusing on. These will help keep the kids energy levels up and concentration on task.

Dr. Seuss has a Hat Filled with Possibilities

            My cooperating teacher not only knew but focused on the importance of getting a child ready for their future grades and classes. Her goal was to prepare her classes for future schooling but do so in an interesting and fun way.  My second field artifact was a Doctor Seuss hat that was used as a story organizer. The kids had been reading many Dr. Seuss books and had gotten a good feel for the type of books they were. After going through many different books, my teacher asked the students to write a Dr. Seuss book themselves. To get the kids in the Dr. Seuss spirit she made a Dr. Seuss hat into their thought organizer. She drew a big picture of the hat and told the students to fill it out by putting in their ideas of what they would like to include in their own personal Dr. Seuss story.

            I picked this as my field artifact because it can be changed to fit any type of story or book and is useful in organizing a paper. This can help begin a child’s brainstorming skills and give them a general idea of how to bring all of their ideas together, to form a paper. This is a great tool to use, not only to keep the kids interested in their task at hand, but to also spark their young minds to generate creative ideas.

A Classroom with Many Assets

            The classroom I was observing was a wonderful learning environment based on the children’s needs and accessibility in order for them to be successful. The first thing when you walk in the door on the right hand side is the student discipline card chart. This is a chart/bulletin board type thing that is used to keep the students updated on their behavior in class. It is up to the children to flip their card when the teacher feels they are being disruptive or tells them to. I feel that this is a very effective way of doing this type of discipline because the children themselves must perform the consequences for their own action. It is also good because the student is able to flip it back to the positive side when the teacher feels they are being productive or doing something well. The next thing that stood out to me when I walked into the classroom was my cooperating teacher’s desk. Her desk was kept very organized but was not so organized that it looked unapproachable. Her desk was surrounded with plenty of kid friendly posters and many works of art that the students had made for her. To me this showed that not only did she care about her students, but that she also made sure she had a connection with each student, making their learning atmosphere positive and comfortable. Along with the encouraging posters the teacher had up, there was also her brag board. The brag board was an asset to the room because it added a positive thing for students to focus on and gave each student something to be proud of. The student was allowed to pick which project they took the most pride in and had it posted up on the board. The classroom was overall a great environment for this group of kids. It was not too distracting but it also did not lose its constructive atmosphere either. There were many different parts of the classroom that made the students comfortable and want to work hard.

They May All be DIfferent, but I Am Proud to Call Each One my Student

In my class of 22 students, the ethnicity and racial make up was predominantly caucasian. Although this was the main make up, it was not limited to this race. I had 4 black students in one of my classes with 1 Hispanic child and 1 Native American. There is a small amount of diversity but that does not stop the interaction within the groups of friendships. The students get along very well for the most part. Each student has a different personality that can mesh completely with another student. Outside of the classroom the students are always talking and laughing and I only heard one or two big arguments during the time I was there. Along with the students inside the classroom I also saw a lot of positive interaction between different classes and all grades of children. The younger kids in the school seem to really look up to the older ones and try to feel a part of their groups and friendships. 

In my cooperating class there were quite a few students who would get called out of class in order to work privately or in small groups with a reading tutor or math tutor. From what i could tell the students already knew who went at what time and who they would be going to for help. The kids always seem excited to go to these sessions and would always come back with a positive attitude and what seemed to be more confidence. Although there were many different types of students in my class, they all seemed to get along and work together, helping to create a positive atmosphere.