Chapter Six: Middle School Here I Come...

Aaaand we’re off! Another week of observing classes this time it was middle school. To me at least this trip was much more interesting and familiar. First we were all individually placed in a sixth grade class by ourselves, which I was not expecting and made me a bit nervous. Class has already started and you come in and thirty pair of eyes are set on you. You have to introduce yourself to the class, what’s your name, where you’re from, what you plan to teach, when you plan to teach, what grade you plan to teach among other things while you’re kinda awkwardly standing in front of the room wearing a suit. After which I sat down in a chair in the back of the class, the only one not taken. The topic was social studies, which was my favorite and best class when I was in school and now my major in college (history). Every minute or so a student would turn around toward me and smile and wave.

            The teacher, unlike the elementary school, did not use a smartboard but instead used a projector. The technology was sufficient for what they were covering in class but nothing fancy like the elementary school where the students were using iPad. I can’t help but think of what the students going into middle school will think when there is no smartboard or iPad in class. The way this next generation is coming up it might be a little bit of a shock. The students didn’t have text books either, given that Dr. Parker and Dr. Clark already told us that, it still surprises me. I’ve always had text books in every class I’ve had since kindergarten with the exception of EDU 250. The teacher would give the students pages containing maps, questions, and definitions on them that they would glue into their notebooks. The students would answer the questions using the information that they went over in class as well as look over their other notes from the beginning of the year to solve the problems. The teacher went over the answers after a given amount of time when the students finished. The teacher though didn’t just go over the answers but would choose at random for someone to answer and back up their answer. If they got it wrong then it would go into discussion between the students and the one who got the answer right and could back up their claim got their choice from a bag of candy. Rewarding a student with candy for the right answer is an interesting way of how to possibly increase a student’s attention in class. I would assume though that after a while that this would get “old” and lose its effectiveness after the first half of the year. The teacher would have students connect what they’re learning now in class with what they learned since the first day. It would seem that the teacher is tying together everything over the course of the whole semester. The subject no longer becomes something that a student memorizes for one test but that they will constantly be referring back to.

The students would get a bit rowdy every now and then to which the teacher would quite them down and explain that “we have a guest” and should act respectful. I didn’t think about it till then that I felt like she was trying too hard to control the class and I also got the feeling that this was not a typical thing and that she was trying to control the class because they had a “guest.” This is perfectly understandable to want to set a good impression because you’re being observed. I’d rather see the whole thing though the good and the bad. Class rarely always goes according to plan and students are not always on their best behavior. I’d rather see the good and the bad of an everyday class, to know what I’m getting myself into in a few years.

           The class had the lights off but had smaller lights around the room enough that students could see what they’re reading and writing. The lamps were not fluorescent, like at government buildings and Walmart, but were warm lights, like at coffee shops. It felt more relaxed than some other classes I’ve been in. The walls were not painfully bright white. Instead the walls were covered with maps and boards and pictures with warm colors that went along with the lighting of the room. It was not too bright that would make you feel like you’re at the DMV or the interrogation room but it was not too dark that you could fall asleep it was in between where you felt comfortable. The learning environment is one thing that we have not gone over in class that I think is incredibly important to the learning experience.

Overall it was an interesting experience and I preferred it to the elementary school visit. The students weren’t always obedient and things didn’t always go according to plan; which to me made it feel more authentic. Referring back to previous subjects that it stays relevant in the students mind, coming up with ways to help students seek their own improvement, and creating a good learning environment were the three main things I came away with and stuck with me in this class.