Jefferson Elementary School Observation Report

During the months of September and October this semester I spent time at two different schools in four different classrooms. Being able to observe different classes and teachers at Westside Junior High and South Live Oak Elementary was a very new and exciting experience for me since I can’t say I’ve always wanted to be a teacher. My experiences at these schools gave me a better insight into the differences between schools, classrooms, and teachers. The purpose of this field experience was to get 10 observation or tutoring hours in an elementary or junior high setting. I chose to observe a

To set the demographics, Lacy Elementary School is a 60-year-old neighborhood school. Originally built to accommodate 500 students, the school is now over capacity, reaching a high enrollment of 650 students. Located in an urban school district, a majority of the students qualify for the federal breakfast and lunch program. The district has recently experienced a new rezoning, and in result there are buses now bringing 200 students from the surrounding neighborhoods to the school. Lacy Elementary opens its’ doors at 7:30 a.m., although school doesn’t begin until 8:30 a.m. Teachers are not required to report to school until 15 minutes prior to school beginning, however, teacher assistants or paraprofessionals are paid a stipend to supervise students before and after school. Although they have this opportunity, there are only two individuals who have chosen to supervise in the breakfast program. To provide additional assistance, PTA volunteers and administration are currently helping supervise when able.

I have had the pleasure of teaching Fantashia Felder during her sophomore year. It is because of students like Fantashia that I prefer teaching tenth grade over any other. What makes this year so special is that teachers can truly see the transformation of their students from children, to young adults. It's a pivotal moment in a child's life where they must decide if they want to become focused on their academic and professional careers or become super apathetic. Fantashia chose to turn her life around and I am so happy I was able to witness such a beautiful transformation.

On Thursday, June 16th all 4th grade classes from Hanscom Middle School got their Every Kid in the Park passes, learned about the Centennial and met park rangers too boot. A neighbor of Minute Man National Historical Park, Hanscom Middle School is located on the adjacent Hanscom Air Force Base, located in the towns of Bedford, Lincoln and Lexington, Massachusetts. 50 students were awarded their passes as well as peppering rangers with questions about the National Park Service.

Saginaw High School is a co-ed, public school in Saginaw, Michigan. SHS holds classes for students in grades 9 through 12. There are about 600 pupils enrolled and the student-to-teacher ratio is 15:1. The gender divide is 51 percent female and 49 percent male. It's part of the City of Saginaw School District. The graduation rate is 81 percent. State assessments show 37 percent of pupils are proficient in English and 24 percent are proficient in Mathematics.

Naperville North students who have taken school lunch this year dislike the policy of having low quantity of food in their meals than last year.

When I began the search for which college I was going to attended I never thought about Montana State University. I got a letter in the mail from the school telling me to apply. I began researching the school and became more interested. I knew the only way I would know if it were the right school was if I toured it. My mom and I came to tour in February of last year. As soon as I toured I knew it was the right school for me. It gave me a feeling as if I were home. While spending the next four years at Montana State University I hope to obtain a degree in sociology. I also want to have new experiences. I choose an out of state school to push me out of my comfort zone. I want to make life long friendships and enjoy what the school has to

One day in middle school, the whole 8th grade class got to go to the gym because their teacher was out for the day. Everyone knew the gym was were the bullies came to harass the other kids. The 6th graders were sitting across the gym just minding their own business, no one really ever bothered them, unless they came to the 8th graders side of the gym. There were always a few of the kids that would happen to linger across sides and the inevitable always tended to happen. They never really saw a big deal with it, other than it being sitting with the older kids. Two of the older girls were sitting at the top of the bleachers, while the younger two had come over and sat almost at the bottom of the bleachers. Even though the 8th graders were supposed

Welcome to Mrs. Gayle Harmon’s classroom! Mrs. Harmon has been teaching in a classroom since 1994, and has taught in many different states. Mrs. Harmon is a graduate of Concordia College and is a very proud educator. She currently is teaching second grade at Matoka Elementary school in Virginia for 8 years now, and is the team leader of her section at Matoka. Being that Mrs. Harmon has taught for quite some time now my first question was “How have your teaching skills evolved since first teaching a class?” Mrs. Harmon chuckled and smiled before responding, she says that “With time, comes wisdom and learning”. She is not nearly as naïve as

During my second year of middle school, my parents thought moving to Mexico would be a marvelous idea. A month later I found myself in a small hamlet called San Cristobal. My mother mentioned how much she loved attending middle school there and that pretty soon I would too. My first day of school I noticed strange behavior among the teachers; they were all gathered near a vehicle scoffing at the students. I disregarded the incident thinking it was simply a bad morning for them. Once class had begun-for the whole seven hours-my teacher did nothing but teach us fourth grade math. The level of progress in which the students were in baffled me because at their grade level the adequate math would have been Algebra. Once the students were dismissed,

Hi, I'm as of now an understudy at Murrieta Mesa High School. I have lived in Murrieta my entire life. I've been included in the class of 2017 club. One occasion specifically that has intrigued me is the football games.

As a newly graduated teacher, I was beyond grateful when I received that phone call asking if I would like to accept the position as a Hubbard Middle School sixth grade English Language Arts and Reading teacher. After accepting the position, I spent weeks planning for those bright faces to walk into my classroom door and for my world to be forever changed. How would I manage their behavior? Would I allow them to go to the restroom during class? Throughout the summer, leading up to the first day that I would go from a student to a teacher and be in charge of one hundred budding minds and personalities, I lined out everything I needed to have a successful first week. Supplies were sorted into bins, lesson plans were submitted, and copies of get-to-know-you games were made.

Upon receipt of an email from Ruth Ann Ponten, a 7th grade math teacher, Maya Thomas, the district staff development and instructional consultant, immediately took action to help support the struggling teacher. Ruth Ann was located at a school within a rural community that was undergoing a major transition. The community of farm workers and working class families was transitioning to a community of educated professionals that were being attracted to the community’s strong, tight-knit feel and impeccable older homes. With the change of families, new expectations regarding education started to emerge as well.

When working at Wade King in Mr. Denton's fourth grade classroom, I found that the students were very excited to have Nicole and me as guest teachers for their math hour. I had never worked with fourth grade students before, so their warm and inviting attitudes help calm my nerves. The lessons went well and I was surprised by some of the students' connections that they had made throughout our lessons. For example, there were several students that would bring up things that we hadn't talked about yet, but we were going to at the end of the lesson. Like the connection that certain fractions were larger than other fractions and this connection tied into the end of the lesson where we would place fractions on a number line by smallest to largest. It was so exciting to see students making these connections on their own and understanding the content that was being taught. I also felt like I was able to support the students very well when they had questions or difficulty with the lesson. I must admit, I was intimidated by the new fancy school and the fact that the students knew Chinese! Also, never having worked with fourth graders before, I didn't know what to expect or if I was truly prepared. Then we began teaching and the students had questions that I could confidently answer! Everything that I had learned paid off and it was such a good feeling to be able to support students learning. Something else that went well was teaching to Bridges. Bridges is so easy to follow and the

To conduct this research, there have been six teachers selected from Mena Middle School. Two of the teachers are novice teachers, having less than three years experience in the classroom. Two of the teachers are experienced teachers having more than three, but less than twenty years in the classroom. The last two teachers are veteran teachers. They have at least twenty years of experience in the classroom, and often have a set way of teaching that does not very much from year to year. These six teachers teach in the tested areas of Literacy, Math, and Science.