Tuesday, September 27, 2011

Observations in the Classroom [Reflection Four]

This past week I had the opportunity to visit a 7th grade (what seemed to be engineering) class. What a fun experience! It honestly got me extremely excited to become a teacher myself, and picturing how fun that is going to be. The teacher had decorated his room with many BYU football posters, which I found hilarious. I started brainstorming ideas in which I'll be able to portray my personality in my classroom as well. He was also very hands-on with the kids. Walking around, checking in on, and helping all of them. He started his class right after the bell rang and I was impressed at how smoothly it all ran.

The 7th grade age was a fun one for me to observe. Not too long ago I was in 7th grade, and I remember all of the drama, heartache, and becoming who you are-ness of that year. I want to be a teacher so that I can help those kids have a great experience in school, learn, grow, and feel good about themselves! Jr. High may not be what I end up teaching, but I know for sure that I'd love it!

My last thought comes from the lecture this morning on standards in the classroom. The comment came up about students doing an assignment to learn, vs. doing an assignment for a grade. After reading "The First Days of School," I keep having all of these thoughts about what I need to do on those first few days to set the bar in my classroom for the rest of the year. To an extent I believe that the first day can make a huge impact, but I also feel like a continued effort throughout the year would be just as effective. One of those continued 'mottos' I would like to have in my classroom is telling the kids that I want them to "grow" for their grades, not just work for them. I want them to push it further, to actually absorb what they are hearing, and learn.

No comments:

Post a Comment