First Day of School Observations

During my observations, I noticed several things about the first day of school. The first thing I found a bit strange was the fact that there were announcements calling students down to get their picture taken. According to the teacher I am working with, this is a new practice they are doing so that the year book committee has more time to esemble the year book. The only issue with this was the fact that it seemed as though the majority of students were unaware this was happening today. Also, the teacher I was working with was worried it would put students behind on introductions and course expectations and make it harder for them to get settled in.

Another thing that I noticed was that the teacher I was working with was trying to build good relationships with his students. With each of his classes he had them sign off on the rules and have another student be a witness and sign the paper too. He let me pass these forms out and collect them which was fun to do. He also tried a different approach with cell phones than most teachers do. He has a charging station set up at the front of the room with all different phone wires for students to use if they need to charge their phones. He also told students they can keep their phones on their desk and he is okay with them checking them here and there but he said they cannot abuse this by scrolling through their phones or being on it constantly. I found this to be a great idea, as it allows students the freedom to check their phones if they need to. It also seems to make phones less tempting to be using throughout class. The teacher also told all of his students that he has a closet full of snacks incase they miss breakfast or lunch and get hungry. I love that idea because you never know whether a student is even able to afford food in the morning, and it is very important for them to have the opportunity to get something in their stomaches before they start their day of classes. Typically when students are hungry they will be focused on their hunger instead of class, so by providing them with food, they are more likely to pay attention as well as develop a positive relationship with the teacher.

Another strategy that I saw my teacher use with all of his classes, was telling them a story about how despite how he starts the year with seeing all of the reasons each student has ever gotten in trouble, he will not use it against them in any way. He tells the story of how a girl who prior to having him as a teacher was a known trouble maker, but at the start of his school year with her she asked him not to judge her previous history because she wanted to turn over a  new leaf in her life. She ended up being one of his favorite students that year, and she worked her butt off to do well in his class. He tells this story to give other students hope that they can always turn things around for the better and that he won't hold their past against them.

Overall, I really enjoyed my first day at the school there and I am hoping that I will be able to complete my student teaching their in the spring. The kids were very polite, and even though all of the classes had between 24-28 people the classes didn't get too rowdy.