Classroom Observations #3

What surprised you?
        While observing at school "D", I was surprised to see how involved the students were both with each other and with the school at large. Student interaction appeared more genuine and tight nit which in part may be due to how the school is operated. According to the art teacher, D school is known as a Democratic School, which means that students play an active role in the school government and can speak up on certain matters. Students also participate in community service projects. It's interesting to see the change in interactions between student and teachers when students are given more power to speak up since it is both the same but also different. The similarity can be found in that expectations of what a teacher and what a student do are still played out except in a more informal way. Interaction between all parties was not as structured and the teacher appeared to be learning alongside their students so that comradery and trust could be better established. This makes me wonder of the opportunities other schools could find at least when it comes to teaching the students if they were given some power in how they were taught.
 
What did you learn?
         Things I learned during this day:
  • This school has students who applied to attend here
  • The school has students who also attend the local high school as well, with students walking between schools as their schedules dictate
  • Said high school seems to offer more advanced (AP) course unlike D which was regarded as a more "general" arrange of classes by the supervising teacher
  • Student use of electronic use seemed to be generally accepted as long as they didn't interfere with teaching or activities 
  • At least in the art classroom, students and teachers talk to each other on a first name basis
  • Along with this, the classrooms and the student counts were both relatively small which was noted by the teacher I was supervising. Their art classes averaged around 14-16 students a semester with the highest at one point only being 18.
What would you have done differently?
        I would have liked to ask more questions of the students and how they view the school, their peers, and the teachers at large. The class I observed was just finishing up and lunch was next so there was only a small window to see what they really thought. 

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