My second day
visiting Mrs. Parisi and Mrs. Schueler’s kindergarten class at Gesu School was
just as exciting and chaotic as my first visit. Fridays seem to be one of the
quieter days for the kindergarteners, which seemed fitting to me because I
think they deserve to have the opportunity to play and relax. When I arrived
that morning many of the students recognized me from my visit the other day and
a few kids even came up to me and gave me a hug. The students once again began
the day by completing bellwork. That day their bellwork involved cutting and
pasting pictures that correlated with “sh” sounding words. It was interesting
to see how diligently and focused each student worked on this assignment. After
the students finished their bellwork they went to the computer lab for computer
class. During computer time, Mrs. Parisi centered her lesson on numbers and
shapes where the kindergarteners had to find a certain number of different
items and place them on the screen. I like that she incorporated a math lesson
into an assignment that the students were completing in computer class. All of
the activities that I witnessed occurring in this kindergarten class were very
familiar to me and refreshed memories of my own kindergarten experiences. I
realized that I was being taught moral lessons at that young of an age but in a
way that I was able to comprehend. The time that I have spent observing in this
kindergarten class has changed how I see teachers who teach students of this
age group and challenged my feelings towards teaching.
Intro to Education 100
Monday, November 17, 2014
Sunday, November 16, 2014
Field Blog Post 4
I thoroughly
enjoyed my first day observing at Gesu School. I spent a few hours Wednesday
morning observing Mrs. Parisi and Mrs. Schueler’s kindergarten class. The time
spent in their classroom offered me a glimpse of what it is like to work with
young children. The students began the day by completing bell work, which were
timetables that they had to fill in and color. After that, they read a note
that Mrs. Parasi wrote to them explaining what activities they would be doing
that day at school. I noticed that Mrs. Parisi has the students cite words,
punctuation marks, and overall sentence structures of the note as a form of
review and practice. That particular day, the students were going to three
specials: library, gym, and Spanish, which meant that they were going to have a
super busy day. When Mrs. Parisi finished this activity it was time for the
students to go to visit the library. During the kindergarteners library visit
the librarian read them two stories that related to snow and winter weather
because that was what the weather was like on that day. I was amazed by how
engaged and quiet the students were during story time. After their story time
ended the students were allowed to check out 1 book to take home for the week
and read. I couldn’t believe how excited they all were to take out books from
the library! Next, the kindergarteners were off to physical education where
they were able to release some pent up energy by running around the gym. Most
of the activities were fun and easy for the students to understand which I found
to be a good way to introduce sportsmanship and teamwork. After spending only a
few hours in Mrs. Parasi’s classroom I could see that she was a great teacher
who was a big advocate for teaching her students about responsibility,
self-control, and ownership of actions and behavior.
Saturday, November 8, 2014
Field Blog Post 3
I absolutely
loved my experience at The Agnon School because it offered me an excellent glimpse of the level of education that I am interested in teaching. I was placed in Inez, Michelle, and
Beth’s kindergarten class with three of my classmates where we all became
mesmerized by everything that we observed. The first thing that I noticed was
the form of communication that was conveyed between the teachers and students,
which was very conversational and comfortable. The students addressed their
teachers by their first names rather than addressing them with a formal title,
which made the environment seem super casual. I thought this was so fascinating
and challenged the traditional teaching style that you usually see in most
schools. Another thing that I found interesting was how the Jewish faith was
incorporated into the curriculum. Every student in this kindergarten class was
almost completely fluent in the Hebrew language that I thought was so cool
because I had never been exposed to this type of learning environment before. I
noticed that every child was able to remain focused despite the distraction of
guests in their classroom because their teachers knew how to keep them engaged
and interested. Another thing that was interesting to me was how the three
teachers in the classroom successful collaborated their teaching tasks between
each other. I would have thought that having three teachers in a classroom is
too confusing and overwhelming for students, but I was wrong. To conclude, I
admire the amount of value that this school has for the Jewish faith and the
emphasis that is put on the religious traditions and practices. I am also moved
by how much passion and dedication all of the teachers and administrators have
for the students of the school
Thursday, November 6, 2014
Blog Post 10
Over the past ten weeks I
have learned so much from my experience in this education class. My perspective
of teaching has definitely changed because of everything that I have been
exposed throughout the semester. Between the readings from Bill Ayers, To Teach and An Education as well as the in-class projects and class field
observations I have formulated my own opinion of teaching. The readings have
made me develop thought provoking ideas and consider that there are many
different ways to teach in an academic setting. I have also benefited from the
group projects that we have worked on in class because I enjoy collaborating ideas
with people who share the same passion and interest for teaching that I do. The
field observation hours that we have completed as a class have also served as
an advantage to me because I have bee able to witness firsthand what it is like
to be in a classroom as a bystander rather than a student. By being exposed to
different levels of education I have realized which kind of setting I would be
most comfortable teaching in. By taking this class I have gained a profound appreciation and
admiration for teaching because it has offered a strong introduction to the field.
Thursday, October 30, 2014
Blog Post 9
Based on the
readings from this week, in-class school design project, and my own lived
experiences I have developed a better perspective of the numerous
characteristics that make up good schools. I believe schools should be places full
of opportunities, not only for students but for teachers too. If you are not
learning from your experiences as a student or as a teacher than you do not
receive any benefits. A good school requires teachers who are willing to be
creative with their teaching style and willing to invest in the future of their
students. When my partners and I were
discussing the school design project we reflected upon our own personal
experiences as students, and the factors that we thought contributed to
developing a good school. We talked a lot about whether structure in academic
curriculum served as an advantage to students and the influence that a more
restricted curriculum can have on students. Ensuring a balanced curriculum
among all schools is important because students deserve to have a standard,
well-rounded school experience. Another thing that we discussed was the use of
discipline and the impact that it can have on students learning. We also talked
about our feelings towards Summerhill School and if we could imagine ourselves
teaching or attending at a school like Summerhill. Lastly, although I do admire
Neill for his passion for his school system, I am not sure if I would consider
Summerhill a “good” school because of the type of learning environment that it
provides for students.
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