Tuesday, December 16, 2014

Field Blog #8

Orange High School

For my final visit, I again stayed on the same track as the last few visits and went to two different teachers. For the first period of my visit, I sat in on the class I had been in for the whole semester. This class kind of just seemed like a make up period for anyone who needed to get something done. Some of the students had to give presentations because they did not have time to do it the previous week. It was cool to see the final product of the project I walked around and helped some kids with. They all tied the information together nicely and were able to engage the class in the information they had just researched. When they would finish, the teacher would ask them a question or two, engaging in conversation, and more times than not, they were able to answer it without any problems. It was clear to see that they had effectively mastered the topic that they chose to learn about. The other part of this period was dedicated to studying and working on a review sheet for a test coming up soon. The teacher was available for questions and help if they needed it.


My second hour of observing was spent in the classroom next door, which was a junior psychology class. Right when I walked in, I knew it was going to be different. My initial teacher always talked to me about how this class was very misbehaved and didn't really respect the teacher at all. In all the other times she had me go to other classes, she avoided this class, but she felt I should see it at some point. When I walked in, the students all just started talking to me, drilling me with questions about everything from school to my personal life. The teacher didn't really do anything about it and it didn't bother me, it just seemed like he didn't have full control over the class. In this period, they were finishing a movie and reviewing what had happened. Right when the movie came on, more than half the class either put in their headphones, laid their heads on their desks and slept, or started talking to their neighbors. Two girls actually were talking on the phone and braiding each other's hair, but nothing was done. When the movie was over, the teacher tried to engage the students in discussion. There were a few kids who really wanted to be there and participated in class and I felt bad for them because the rest of the class was such a distraction. At one point, the teacher actually said to a student either keep completely tuning me out or go to the office because you can't sit here and be disrespectful. I felt bad for the teacher because it seemed like no matter what he did, a majority of the class just did not care about anything he had to say.

Overall, I absolutely loved my visits to Orange High School. I am so glad I was placed here because it really opened my eyes to what being on the other side of the classroom is like. These visits helped me look at different grade and academic levels and see how they are different. This school operates in a very different way than the high school I graduated from, so it was good to experience that diversity. When I first came in, I felt very welcome and by the end, I felt like I belonged with them. It was so sad to leave on the last day, but I think that just proves how positive of an experience I had.

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