To begin with, the neighborhood in which the school is located is quite friendly, quiet, with closely-knit houses and not too much traffic. The school itself is simply a small rectangle in a small parking lot. I was a little surprised to notice there was no playground. I haven't seen much of the school itself besides the office and two classrooms, so it is a little difficult to describe the space and structure of the school. What I can explain is that, beyond the main office, there are several younger classes in one hallway, separated by two main doors that lead to more classrooms and the gym. This makes sense to me, because the younger classes tend to make the most noise, and a little separation might stop the noise from leaking into other classrooms.
One of the first things I noticed while walking to my classroom was a painting in the hallway of two smiling children, one white and one black, with a sign over their heads that says something about acceptance. This really explained that the school values diversity.
When walking in to the classroom I tutor in, the first thing that hits me each time is... the noise. The students are running around, stepping on each other's books, and there is always a guaranteed fight. The teacher explained to me on the first day that, when I arrive, the students are in "transition" time, transitioning from one activity to another, which explains the craziness. The teacher always seems like she's running around trying to control the class with her voice. The class is semi-diverse, with 4 white students, several hispanic students, 2 asian students, and the rest are black students. The classroom is set up so there is a rug for reading time, a half-circle for science experiments, and three groups of desks, with some desks around the teacher's, which is set off at one side of the room. I like this set-up, because each part of the room has a particular purpose and feel. Besides the set-up, the classroom looks fairly old. The windows are made of gigantic slabs of wood that look practically antique. Yet the teacher makes the room look fun; there are posters and alphabet lists hanigng up all around the room.
It is clear that good behavior is valued in this classroom. Behind the teacher's desk is a board with an envelope for every student in the class. In the envelope is either a green [good behavior], yellow [warned once], orange [warned twice] or red [bad behavior] slip of paper.
Overall, I do like the school I am in tutoring in. I discovered I had nothing to be really anxious about after all and it is a great place and opportunity for me to gain experience in a classroom.
1 comments:
Alaina, by reading this post I can definitely get a feel of how your first experience went. While reading your post, I found myself saying, "Me too", often. Although I do my service learning in a bilingual kindergarten classroom, there are many similarities in the structure and values of our classrooms.
Good behavior is also valued in my classroom. There is a similar chart hanging on the cluttered wall which I immediately noticed. It has all the children’s names on it and above their name, in a slot, and 3 square pieces of paper, Green, Yellow, and Red, in that order. When the children first enter the classroom at 9:05 am, one of the first things the teacher says is "The colors?" (In Spanish of course) and the children immediately tell her who needs to change their color. This morning behavior must represent who was misbehaving before class either in line or outside on the cement before the bell. During the course of the day, the children are also told to change their color depending on their behavior. I think it's a great method and I would like to incorporate it at the preschool I work at. Not only do the children get disciplined by their actions, but they will visually see how they are behaving and that anxiousness to not get a red card will help them to behave correctly.
In conclusion, by reading your first post, I can relate our experiences. I am happy to hear that you are less nervous than you were the first day, and I feel the same way!
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