Around Thanksgiving, I had the opportunity to go and observe one of my former teachers for two days. He teaches business and sports management at Kent Roosevelt High School. After being a student in his class, it was very strange at first being on the teaching end of things. I talked to him for a while during lunch and after school, and it was interesting hearing him talk about his teaching strategies. Once he started explaining his strategies, I remembered some of the things happening. He is a very nice and laid back guy, and many of his students respect him most for the way he relates with his students.
When the first class started on the first day, there were a few kids that walked in a little late. Being generous, he did not mark them tardy. The class was his business and career class. He had the same class for the first two periods of the day so that they could have a longer time together. The class was working on a virtual business simulator, something that allowed the students to experience what it would be like to own their own business. The simulator makes you start from scratch, starting out by picking a location. Obviously this is working to get kids to distinguish a good location for a business from a bad one. After they get their business name and location, they have to go through the process of hiring employees and ordering the goods. Once the business is up and running, the students have to manage things like employee strikes and late shipping. I was able to walk around and talk to students while they were working. Most of the responses I got were engaging, showing that the project was serving it's purpose. Mr. Dunlap told me after class that it was going to be a project that lasted them all week. The students were able to work on this for the first period of the day, but when the second period began, the students were ordered to their desks. They began an accounting lesson. I just observed this part from the back of the room. This involved a lot of note taking as the teacher showed examples on the board. The students asked many questions as it seemed to be a hard lesson. I was impressed by how the teacher would thoroughly answer every question, and would not move on until the student understood the explanation. I believe this is an important part of education. If your students do not understand the curriculum being taught, you should continue going over if until they can comprehend it. The number one priority should always be the students. The rest of the day, he just had sports management classes. These students were presenting a project, evaluating the NCAA rules and regulations. I was not able to do much in these classes but observe. The one thing that I found interesting was the difference in quality of presentations. I'm not sure if this was from a difference in efforts or knowledge, but it was very apparent.
It was very fun for me to observe one of my former teachers for two days. Though both days I saw very similar things, I found it extremely beneficial to my learning. This was the age I wanted to teach, and the subject was relatable to my situation. I also want to be a basketball coach one day, and fortunately Mr. Dunlap is the head coach at the high school. I was able to go in and observe a basketball practice while I was there also. Overall this was a great experience for me, because I was able to see my future career in action.
Monday, December 14, 2015
Friday, December 11, 2015
Field Blog Post: Gearity Elementery
On Thursday, November 12th, I had the pleasure of visiting Gearity Elementary school with my Intro to Education class. Before arriving, I had though about this visit a lot. I'm planning on being a high school history teacher, so this was almost the opposite of what I thought my future holds. I was anxious to see what I thought of the kids though. I wanted to be sure to go into the experience with an open mind, because maybe I would like it more than I expected.
Walking into Gearity Elementary was more intimidating than I thought it would be. There was a security lady sitting at the front door. We had to sign in with a source of identification. This was not the only intimidating thing I saw. While we were standing and waiting at the front door, we could see all the little kids scrambling through the halls, and they seemed to be extremely loud. I was placed in a gym class for the time that we were there. The teacher I was shadowing was very nice. She had been teaching at the school for many years. She made me aware that they were having some kind of a fair day, so there would be a few more kids than normal. A couple of minutes after the first bell, kids began filing into the gym. The line of kids seemed to be never ending. There ended up being about 40 kids there at once. The kids were doing relay races that included stacking cups. The cups were larger than normal, to make it easier for the kids. It was interesting watching them play. Every single kid there had the most competitive spirit. It was as if they were all afraid to lose. I also noticed that while they were playing, it became extremely noisy. A combination of yelling and laughing filled the air.
When the teacher blew the whistle indicating the game was over, a lot of arguing started. They were split into teams of three, and it seemed as though every single team was arguing with one another. I don't know if I agree with how the teacher handled this. She blew her whistle once more, and those who continued to talk were sent to the hall. I don't think this is the best way to punish young kids. As we read earlier in our Educational Foundations book, there are endless ways to punish students. But certain ways will teach them a lesson, and others will serve as a useless penalty that won't effect their behavior. I believe that the teacher should have pulled those students aside, and told them that it was not the appropriate time to be talking. After a short little bean bag activity, the kids all lined back up. When their teacher arrived to walk them back, they all got very quiet. I don't know if this was because they were more intimidated by their regular teacher, but she seemed to get all of their attention immediately.
When it was all said and done, I reassured myself that I did not want to get into elementary education. I enjoyed the experience, and I'm glad I had the opportunity. I learned that it takes a lot of patience and creativity to work with young kids. It was hard to keep up with their energy level at all times. I believe this trip was great for me, because I learned how the foundation of education in a child's life works.
Walking into Gearity Elementary was more intimidating than I thought it would be. There was a security lady sitting at the front door. We had to sign in with a source of identification. This was not the only intimidating thing I saw. While we were standing and waiting at the front door, we could see all the little kids scrambling through the halls, and they seemed to be extremely loud. I was placed in a gym class for the time that we were there. The teacher I was shadowing was very nice. She had been teaching at the school for many years. She made me aware that they were having some kind of a fair day, so there would be a few more kids than normal. A couple of minutes after the first bell, kids began filing into the gym. The line of kids seemed to be never ending. There ended up being about 40 kids there at once. The kids were doing relay races that included stacking cups. The cups were larger than normal, to make it easier for the kids. It was interesting watching them play. Every single kid there had the most competitive spirit. It was as if they were all afraid to lose. I also noticed that while they were playing, it became extremely noisy. A combination of yelling and laughing filled the air.
When the teacher blew the whistle indicating the game was over, a lot of arguing started. They were split into teams of three, and it seemed as though every single team was arguing with one another. I don't know if I agree with how the teacher handled this. She blew her whistle once more, and those who continued to talk were sent to the hall. I don't think this is the best way to punish young kids. As we read earlier in our Educational Foundations book, there are endless ways to punish students. But certain ways will teach them a lesson, and others will serve as a useless penalty that won't effect their behavior. I believe that the teacher should have pulled those students aside, and told them that it was not the appropriate time to be talking. After a short little bean bag activity, the kids all lined back up. When their teacher arrived to walk them back, they all got very quiet. I don't know if this was because they were more intimidated by their regular teacher, but she seemed to get all of their attention immediately.
When it was all said and done, I reassured myself that I did not want to get into elementary education. I enjoyed the experience, and I'm glad I had the opportunity. I learned that it takes a lot of patience and creativity to work with young kids. It was hard to keep up with their energy level at all times. I believe this trip was great for me, because I learned how the foundation of education in a child's life works.
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