Field Blog Post 1

I enjoyed my first experience visiting Beachwood Middle School. I was assigned to observe a 7^th grade math class and a 6^th grade language arts class. The first teacher, Mr. Miller seemed like a great teacher because of the way that he interacted with his students. I could see that his students admired him and his teaching style, which was very straightforward. He was teaching them about linear equations and was mostly reviewing information from previous lessons. I could see that Mr. Miller wanted to ensure that his students understood how to solve linear equations by how much he encouraged them to refrain from making mistakes. I admired how laid back of a personality Mr. Miller had, he came across the least bit intimidating which made for a comfortable learning environment. The second teacher, Miss McLaughlin was a little bit more strict with her students but courteous and kind. Her students were working on constructing essays and used the class that day as a silent workday. From what I could see the students were working in pairs to write their essays and had been doing collaborative research on their topics. Miss McLaughlin informed me and a few of my other classmates who were also observing her class that the students were writing argumentative essays, which allowed for the kids to have the opportunity to take a position on an issue. I found it impressive that sixth graders were learning how to construct a formal essay because I certainly do not recollect writing one at that age. I could see that Miss McLaughlin truly cared about her students because she was willing to take the time to move around the classroom and check on each individual student’s progress. She made sure that all of her students were on task and fully aware of the expectations for this assignment. Even though there was not a lot of communal interaction to observe throughout the class I still observed the side conversations that were occurring between the teacher and students. I noticed that both classes had a very diverse group of students and both teachers treated each of their students with equal respect. It was interesting to see which students were friends with each other, especially in Mr. Miller’s class when he allowed for the students start the homework for that night. Every clique scattered throughout the classroom in a different section so they were separated from the kids whom they were not as close with to work together. Overall, the environment at Beachwood Middle School was completely judgment free, I got the sense that all students felt comfortable enough to be themselves around their classmates.

Initially, I did not have high expectations for this field experience because I was unsure what observing would be like. I think it was definitely better that I went in with an open mind and a sense of curiosity of how it would feel to be in the classroom setting from a different angle. Since this was my first experience I did not exactly know what I was supposed to take note of during my time observing so I mostly focused more on just observing and listening. I wish I could have talked more with the teachers about their personal experiences as teachers and have received advice about pursuing a career in the field of education. I also would have enjoyed it more if Miss McLaughlin’s class was not doing silent work because it could have given me a better perspective of her teaching style. In sum, I found this first field experience to be a little bit of a challenge but I gained a better understanding of how I should approach the next field observation.