Classroom Reflection Essay

When I first got accepted into Stuyvesant High School, I heard countless of rumors stating: “Oh the workload is terrible”, “The competition is so fierce” or “Out of schoolwork, extracurriculars, or sleep: you can only pick two.” I found it hard to let it faze me, since I graduated from one of the most prestigious middle schools. However, the rumors transformed into reality when I stepped into Mr. Nieves’ Freshman Composition Class. The workload at the beginning of the year was brutal, coupled with assignments from other core classes that seem unaware of the workload of other teachers. Reading assignments were a regular, and there were journal entries and occasional quizzes to keep us in line. What made it bearable was the friends I made in that class; everyone had their own opinion about the topic we were talking about, and listening to other perspectives really broadened my horizon and enriched my learning experience in Stuy. Another thing that this class has taught me is the importance of time management, a skill that I will carry on for the rest of my high school career and life. When I choose to sign up for Mr. Nieves’ AP American Literature class in my Junior Year, I was hoping to relive the discussion-based lesson plans and meet more outstanding peers. I was not disappointed, to say the least, reflecting through all the experiences at the end of the course. The lesson plans he laid out for us were an interesting mix between small lectures and class output, and what I

You’ve reached the classroom now, the right one, you’re sure, but there’s already people inside and you’re early, so you lean against a wall and wait. You keep your mind perfectly blank as you watch the students, now your peers, go by. You notice the rock in your shoe again, and you contemplate it’s and then your very own existence for a while, very heavy but not unpleasant before class thoughts.

The whole class is in a controlled setting. He mainly used a clock alarm to keep the time track on every activity.

In December of 2013, I was told that I was not considered for the full-time temporary faculty position in political science on South Campus by Dr. Sonia Nieves because I was not able to teach international relations even though I have graduate level coursework in international relations and Political Science degrees do not specify a focus. I later found out that, this requirement was false and inconsistent with Broward College’s Faculty Credentialing Manual and that Dr. Nieves hired an adjunct faculty member from another campus who had the same degree as me. This left me in the middle of December with no classes for the upcoming spring term despite my ability and record to fill my classes and outstanding reviews by students and supervisors. Dr. Neves also mentioned to me, on several occasions, that it was always a major scheduling “hassle” to be forced to find a downstairs classroom in order to accommodate my ADA needs.

Our objective this week was to observe classroom procedures. Miss. Williams expects her students to always stay on task even when she is not in the room. She anticipates that the students are quiet when they work independently and to not veer off onto another direction by talking to one another.

It was 1:00 pm when I arrived at Wanamaker Elementary School. Patiently I waited outside the door. When I was finally let inside the classroom, I was welcomed by a mixture of bright smiles and blank stares. Mrs. Stark then introduced me to the class of twenty third graders. After she introduced me to the whole class, I quietly made my way to the back of the room. As I looked around the classroom, I saw twenty occupied desks. Mrs. Stark decorated her classroom with many motivational posters and some of the student’s artwork. During my observation of the classroom, I was able to see how the teacher interacted with the students, how gender roles were apparent between students, and lastly see the how the students interacted with each other.

“Who are you? What school did you come from? Why are you here?” I look up to see a tall girl with black glasses and a pencil skirt. I ignore her, not worth my time. I get out my English books and place them on my desk, the bell rings and a flood of students come in.

There are seven tables in the centre of the classroom, each table consist of four students. Each chair has the student’s own seat sack to put and organize their study materials and works. The teacher

I nervously walked down the colorful hallway decorated with children’s art projects and posters with cliche quotes. I approached the room labeled 208, took a deep breath and opened the door. Instantly I felt the intense glare of 25 4th grade students. Their teacher introduced me and explained that I would be helping out once a week because I would be studying education in college. Giggles and whispers filled the room and even some comments about my above average height. After quieting the rambunctious children, the teacher proceeded to give the class a math assignment and then gestured me towards her desk. “Could you take Maya into the hallway and help her with this fractions worksheet?” She asked. I was shocked I didn't expect to be working

“Give me a second everyone, there’s someone at the door.” The teacher said, stopping his lessons to walk over to the door. The whole class quiet down to listen in who the teacher is talking to.

The hallways an endless channel, the doorway a snowcapped mountain, indomitable and tough. Prim and proper with a shiny buckle, the heels of my mother’s penny loafers clack loudly on the scuffed floors. The classroom is empty, there 5 desks in a semi-circle at the front of the room with a podium in the middle. Mrs. Mellinger smiles at me, asks me if I’m ready to go. I tell her that I sure hope so. She laughs, and I take my seat in the front of the room. Shortly after, the other kids filter in, some sit with me in the front, the rest take their normal seats.

A shot of excitement washed over me like a wave washing onto sand, as I stepped into my fourth hour of the day for the first time. Stopping in the doorway, my eyes took in the small space that was in front of me; the long wooden desks with bright orange, metal chairs resting at their sides, to the small black bookshelf that was covering the back wall. In between was the long black table protruding from the left wall and dated couches with floral print in the back. As I finally stepped into the classroom, I saw the teacher. She was an older woman with short, boyish style gray hair, she had a plump frame and was a little bit taller than my 5’5 frame. On the bridge of her nose rested a small pair of circular glasses. “Hello class, I’m Ms. Naz,” her voice boomed. I scrambled to take my seat that was, thankfully, near the front. Scanning the classroom once more I hoped that I would find some of my friends. Seeing a girl who was in my second hour class, I made a mental note to try and talk to her later; beside her, I couldn’t find any of my newly made friends. I’m just going to love this class, a sarcastic voice in the back of my head exclaimed.

When I began this course and I completed the first writing assignment and the first observation, I was not sure what I was supposed to achieve and what I was supposed to observe. After the third essay and the third observation, which are linked down below, I was able to understand more what the purpose of the class was. Through the observations, I was able to take what I learned about biological, cognitive, and psychosocial development and see them in the children that I currently work with. Before this class, I believed children misbehaved because they wanted attention. After this course and through the observations and essays I was better able to understand that people, specifically children, are more complex than I

This class has taught me many skills that I will use in my future classes. In this communication and information literacy class I have learned about the writing process, citations, peer reviewed articles and more. When researching I should look for more reliable sources and to make sure the resources does not fake information. However, with all of this being said I still have a lot to learn especially when I am to write my essays.

Without a doubt the lessons and exercises on time management were the most meaningful to me. They brought insight into why I seemed to be constantly working yet still never really got anything I wanted to accomplish throughout the day finished. I realized the majority of the activities I had been spending the most time on didn’t reflect my values of hard work and self discipline and long term academic goals to be successful in college. This motivated to completely change the way I managed my time by effectively striking a balance between my maintenance, committed, and free time.