here is a few things I observed during my field experience......
-Started going over work in book and grammar review, at the beginning of the block a few students had to leave to take a biology test, this was a small disruption, but class stayed on task.
-On one side of the room two girls shared a book, they dressed similarly jeans, sneakers, sweatshirts...had little side conversation, but for the most part payed attention to the lesson.
- A few students came up to me at the end of class, shook my hand and said thanks for coming. They were very respectful and I was surprised that they did this.
- The teacher I observed was a younger man, maybe in his early thirties, Spanish, wearing a shirt and tie with dark hair.
I wrote down some random things I heard said throughout the day as well:
"If I go to hell I'm taking you right with me."
"How can you do work with no textbooks?"
"If you wanna hold my hand it's OK, you don't have to try and take my pen."
"I don't wanna go to Spanish, it's so boring."
"What would I do without technology?"
"Siempre, uso la computadora. (I always use the computer.)"
Monday, December 17, 2007
Monday, December 10, 2007
Community Service
For my community service work I went back to my high school and helped the Advanced Improv class with their rehearsal for their fall production of the musical, Godspell. I previosly blogged about this experience and how it made me realize how much I missed being part of a theatre program. It made me realize just how important the arts and additional programs are and how much they mean to the students who participate in them.
For my service in Newark I went to St. Johns Church and helped with the soup kitchen there. They serve food five days a week, twice a day and you could tell this was very helpful to those who came. My cousin goes to school in Newark and when I asked him about community service oppurtunities he told me that he had helped at St. John's and they appreiciate any help they can get. I never thought that there would be so many people there just needing a meal, but it was a good feeling to be able to help.
For my service in Newark I went to St. Johns Church and helped with the soup kitchen there. They serve food five days a week, twice a day and you could tell this was very helpful to those who came. My cousin goes to school in Newark and when I asked him about community service oppurtunities he told me that he had helped at St. John's and they appreiciate any help they can get. I never thought that there would be so many people there just needing a meal, but it was a good feeling to be able to help.
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Community Meetings
For my community meetings I attended two events at my old high school.
The first event I attended was the fall musical production of Godspell. During my community service time I came to a full day rehearsal and practice for the show and helped the students and director. Because I got to have this time with the cast I was very excited to see everything put together. I have never seen Godspell before and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The students, who were all members of the Advanced Improv. class had to not only act, like they did in class, but sing and dance as well. Some people may see Godspell as a religious play, but the simple message it portrays is to love and help those around you and that in itself is an imprtant message to give to not only students, but the whole school community.
I also attended a high school football game. When I was in high school our team was never that good. We used to go to the games, not to watch, but to socialize and go figure, not much has changed. I spent most of the game people watching. Sometimes I wonder if I was that annoying at that age. Some kids were sitting with parents, others had rows of friends and some spent the whole game under the bleachers fooling around. There was a group of 5 guys with R A M S ! painted on their stomachs. they had to be freezing, but they were having a great time cheering their friends and school on. Southern ended up winning by 6 and even I was excited. As i walked out I heard talk about weekend plans, crushes and boyfriends, bad teachers and the classes they taught and opinions on who the cutest guy on the team was. It was definitely a learning experience to just sit back and watch the students and how they acted, not in school, but in a school function.
The first event I attended was the fall musical production of Godspell. During my community service time I came to a full day rehearsal and practice for the show and helped the students and director. Because I got to have this time with the cast I was very excited to see everything put together. I have never seen Godspell before and I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed it. The students, who were all members of the Advanced Improv. class had to not only act, like they did in class, but sing and dance as well. Some people may see Godspell as a religious play, but the simple message it portrays is to love and help those around you and that in itself is an imprtant message to give to not only students, but the whole school community.
I also attended a high school football game. When I was in high school our team was never that good. We used to go to the games, not to watch, but to socialize and go figure, not much has changed. I spent most of the game people watching. Sometimes I wonder if I was that annoying at that age. Some kids were sitting with parents, others had rows of friends and some spent the whole game under the bleachers fooling around. There was a group of 5 guys with R A M S ! painted on their stomachs. they had to be freezing, but they were having a great time cheering their friends and school on. Southern ended up winning by 6 and even I was excited. As i walked out I heard talk about weekend plans, crushes and boyfriends, bad teachers and the classes they taught and opinions on who the cutest guy on the team was. It was definitely a learning experience to just sit back and watch the students and how they acted, not in school, but in a school function.
Field Observation
So, I went and did my observation at Arts High School and who would have guessed...it wasn't what I expected. I observed Mr. Freire's Spanish I classes. What I witnessed was a teacher who kept his students interested and used his class time well and students who were well behaved and for the most part attentive. Mr. Freire is also a big believer in using technology in the classroom and this was great to see because our inquiry project is on exactly that. He used a smart board that hooks up his computer to a dry erase board and can be used as a touch screen. Although I have seen these sitting in classrooms before I have never actually seen them used and I'll admit, it was quite interesting. He also used AlphaSmart 3000. I have never seen these before, but they are small personal computers that consist of a keyboard and a very small screen that he can upload quizzes to. I think my experience at Arts was a great learning experience because it helped me realize that my conceptions and assumptions were wrong and since I attended a suburban high school, I had to challenge what I thought I knew about urban schools.
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