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.
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