Wednesday, September 16th, 2015 I did my observation of Paul Dunbar Middle School. Some of the first things I noticed when I entered the school was how enormous the school’s population is and how the school was mostly Hispanic and African American students. I arrived at the front desk and was asked by the assistant principal what was my preference of classroom. She then proceeded to take me the section of the school where the ESE classes are held. ESE stands for exceptional student education classes.…
Like so many, I felt an undeniable call to action after watching Davis Guggenheim’s film Waiting for Superman. The film poignantly illustrates the imperative need for a long overdue paradigm shift in American education. In the film, activist, educator and founder of the Harlem Children’s Zone, Geoffrey Canada, shares the disillusionment he felt as a child upon realizing that Superman was not coming to save him from the perils of his impoverished South Bronx neighborhood. His message in the film is that we must become our own superheroes.…
All teachers performed great jobs at creating a unified classroom of learners. The students have favorable moments to act as chiefs and helpmates with individual responsibilities; their jobs are placed in a pocket folder on the wall. Students could participate in classroom activities in a variety of ways. Ms. Atkinson, Bell, Waldoky, and Gullekerson used a rocking chair during their teachable moments. I noticed around the classrooms, the teachers modeled supportive interactions with the students, and encouraged prosocial behavior.…
I appreciated the observer noticed: Anne noticed that I have become more confident in my teaching which was something I did not ask her to watch for during her observation. This meant a lot to me that she noticed my growth and the student’s growth. She said the reason why my explanations were so clear was because of my confidence. I have been struggling this semester with having confidence when I teach in tutoring and during practicum. It definitely comes and goes.…
I walked in Mrs. Turner’s Kindergarten class today is my last day observing this classroom. Mrs. Turner was going over the words sentences that the students formed the last time I observed which was on Monday about what they liked to do with their families. The students are sitting on the carpet; she had to tell the students to behave on the carpet. Mrs. Turner is handled each student a dry erase board where she wrote a word from part of the sentence on it. She split the class in half having half the class with board to stand up and the other sitting down.…
On Friday May 13 I was able to observe two P.E. classes at Mt. Stuart Elementary. There were two sections which I observed, first group was a 1st grade class and then a kindergarten class. It was a very cool experience, since I don’t remember P.E. classes back when I was young. One thing I enjoyed was the teacher’s enthusiasm when the students walked into the gym. He welcomed each student with a smile and with excitement.…
Over the course of the past three weeks, I have had the pleasure of observing and teaching Junior Achievement lessons in Mrs. Kristin Murphy’s second grade classroom at Central Elementary in O’Fallon, Illinois. Through this experience, my instructional skills have grown, and my understanding of and respect for the teaching profession has also been greatly enhanced. In teaching the Junior Achievement lessons, I accomplished many of the goals the program had set, along with several goals that I had in mind for myself. By encouraging the feedback of both the students and Mrs. Murphy, I was able to modify my approach to become a more effective educator.…
I did my observation in Mrs. Cameron’s kindergarten class at Valley View Elementary School. I went over spring break, so I stayed for three days in the classroom and got to experience what it is like throughout the whole day. Mrs. Cameron’s classroom had five tables for the students to sit and a rocking chair at the front for herself; although, she hardly ever sat. Mrs. Cameron did not have a teacher’s desk, but instead she had a chair at one of the tables with the students. There were posters on the wall that together made the alphabet, and others which displayed vocabulary words.…
The Family Tree to My Dreams In my eyes, my culture is all the aspects behind my family and the people that help define who I am. This may include the events that have happened to past generations, behaviors of my relatives or beliefs that have been passed down to me. In the book, Is everyone really equal?, the authors, Sensoy and DiAngelo, define culture as “the norms, values, practices, patterns of communication, language, laws, customs, and meanings shared by a group of people located in a given time or place”, expressing that culture can be seen on the outside of a person such as how they dress or the language they speak or underneath the skin such as attitudes toward certain situations or body language (Sensoy and DiAngelo). I believe…
Hopefully, in doing this, my students will be productive and be flexible in my classroom. Although most of what I observed in the classrooms was good, I…
I am here to encourage students to be motivated to learn. As well, I am here to provide a strong foundation for a lifetime of learning. Motivating learning through problem solving and critical thinking exercises to improve student’s level of awareness and understanding. This philosophy of teaching statement reflects my core belief that learning and teaching is best accomplished through positive collaboration…
For this class we were required to go over to the elementary school and help in the classroom that we were assigned. I was assigned to kindergarten teacher of 24 years experience. She had me working with several students but one in particular that was very low. Each and every day I would go in and pull that student aside to work on her basic skills. When I first started working with her she did not even know how to hold her pencil correctly.…
Although I am in a kindergarten classroom, I feel as though my teacher prepares the students for the upcoming test filled years of their lives. I am impressed by how much academic growth I have witnessed in the past couple of months in Ms. Wills classroom. Especially towards the end of the year, students are involved in more rigorous course work. For instance, for their morning routine, instead of just reading site words and tracing letter, students are working on word problems. The teacher differentiated by assigning each student a number that is not difficult or easy for them to work with and answer prompts.…
In addition, I plan to always give my students a “heads up” about what is going on. If the schedules, routines, and transitions are planned beforehand and students know what to expect, I will be setting myself up for a classroom with much greater success. Lastly, I was again reminded of the importance of relationships. In my own classroom someday, I will strive to develop connections with each and every one of my students. If this is done, managing my classroom will come much more easily.…
Introduction: During my time at James A. Whitaker Elementary School in Buena Park Unified School District, I was able to observe Mrs. Solomon’s fourth grade class. Mrs. Solomon makes sure that her class is a very welcoming place. She does so by standing at the door in the morning and personally greeting each and every one of her students. Once each of the students have entered the class, Mrs. Solomon opens the class session by enthusiastically saying, “Welcome back!”…