Field Blog Post #4

The Agnon School

Our visit to the Agnon school was unlike any visit I have been on. The school was a lot different than any I had gone to in my life, it had very unique characteristics. One thing that really jumped out at me was how laid back the school itself seemed, whether it be the rules enforced, the way the teachers choose to educate their students, the open space throughout the whole building, and so on. The most interesting thing to me though was how the students address all of the teachers and administrators by their first names. I have never seen anything like that and it was interesting to hear young children get the attention of their teacher by saying their first name. I was always taught to call someone older than me by "Mr." or "Mrs." so it was just really interesting to see this not happen. The room I observed in was a second grade class where the children were really focusing on their reading skills. Each table was a different station and every fifteen or so minutes, they switched to a new activity. They were in groups of four or five kids, but something that struck me was that they rarely made any conversation with each other. All of the kids were very well behaved, but it seemed a little odd. They are so young and usually children at this age are excited and kind of rowdy, but these kids never even made a peep; I don't think the teacher ever had to discipline them one time. Hearing about how the school was private and was able to teach the curriculum any way they wanted was interesting. Ideally, I would want to teach in a private Catholic school, so it was cool to hear how truly open the possibilities are in the classroom. One last thing that really was new to me was how there was Hebrew written all throughout the school and how so many students were already able to speak and read it. Never have I been to an elementary school were a new language was taught and so stressed, but here, it was a vital part of their educational experience. It seems like the children that go to this school are being shaped into great students at such a young age, and that will help them in life as they grow older.