Fourth Observation

I went for my fourth observation on February 23, and I didn't realize until I got there that it was job shadow day and early dismissal. I think that job shadow day is a great experience for students, because they are able to go to work with a relative and see what it is like to have a job. The majority of the students had chosen to go to work with a family member, but there were many students who opted to come to school instead. I first went to an 8th grade English class where there were 8 students. The students were playing games on the computer, talking, listening to music, and playing on their cell phones. The teacher explained that this was only because it was early dismissal and also because it was job shadow day. I was surprised to see that students were allowed to have cell phones at school, but the teacher said that they could only bring them on dismissal days and on Fridays. One good thing about going to observe on this day was that I was able to talk to the teacher. She talked about her smart board and mentioned that she is still trying to get used to it because this is her first year having it. I was surprised that she hadn't been sent to any teacher training classes to learn how to use it, because the elementary school next door sends its teachers to smart board training classes. The teacher also mentioned that due to budget cuts the school had completely cut the teachers budget for the year from $250 to $0! This was shocking because that is the only money given to teachers to use for their classroom supplies for the entire year. This is probably one explanation for why the classrooms I have been in are so bare and lack many supplies.

The next class I observed was a 6th grade science class. From the moment I walked into this class it felt welcoming and visually stimulating. The classroom walls were covered in colorful educational posters and projects. I really liked the look of the class because it looked more like an elementary school classroom, which I find to be a more enjoyable atmosphere for learning. Unfortunately, on this day the teacher only played episodes of the Magic School Bus for her students to watch. She explained that she thought they were great learning tools because the episodes she played were about electricity, which was what they have been learning about. One thing that surprised me about this classroom was that there were no computers in the class.

Overall, I am glad I got to observe on this day because it allowed me to have more interaction with the teachers, and it also allowed me to observe what a non-typical day is like.