Observations: 10/26

Today was an average day in Mrs. M's classroom. The normal routine was followed and there were no major mishaps or extremely entertaining stories to tell. The morning started out with the fifth grade boys working on their social studies worksheets. They finished up their work and headed out in time for three students to begin working on their math tests. Mrs. M read some of the problems out loud to the boys, while others she let them to do their own. During the testing time I was wondering if maybe Mrs. M was giving the students too much help on their tests. It is a test mind you. I also was thinking about how nice it is that Mrs. M has another teacher in the room to help her. They make a good pair, and while Mrs. M was giving and helping with the test, the other teacher could work on getting ready for upcoming lessons along with other preparation. This has got to help them not have so much out of school work to do, which must be very nice. Also, I realized I don't know half the answers to the things these fifth graders are being questioned on. Not good. Next in the classroom came the third graders. They got into their reading groups and starting in on the program they follow. It's very similar to the reading program we watched in one of our modules. Very directed, repetitive, and practiced. There is such a big, notable difference between the third grade students and the fifth graders. After the students were done in their collective reading groups I quizzed them each individually on recognizing their words. These words are in baggies and each child has their own. Some students were able to recognize their words very quickly, while others really struggled. One boy only had three words in his bag: want, pretty, and funny. Every time I'd show him one of the words, it would be like he had never seen it before even though he'd seen it just two words back. Finally after quite a while he got a bit better with the words and I had him use them in sentences and work on the spelling. The fifth graders came back in after the third graders left and got into their collective reading groups. They are on the ball compared to the third grade students. I personally don't know how I feel about the reading program. It seems so extremely directed. I learned to read just fine without ever using that program. Working with the students individually today made me totally second guess my decision not to continue with the Elementary Education major. I love kids and today made me remember just how much I enjoyed my interterm field experience in inner-city St. Louis last year. I honestly think all the tests and requirements of this major may have scared me away. Also, I wasn't sure I'd be smart enough to teach the subject content for all grades. I had no idea I would be second guessing myself already, and it's rather stressful. Today was a good day in my classroom and it turned into a very reflective experience for me.

At-risk Learner

K is one of the boys in the classroom I am doing my field experience in. He is struggling in math. He actually comes to this classroom because he has a learning disability in math and needs extra help. He doesn't always get the one-on-one help he probably needs due the fact that there are other students coming to the classroom at the same time for the same reason. One of the days I was observing, K turned his math homework in and as the teacher was checking his answers, he got answer after answer wrong. The entire page of math problems ended up being wrong, so the teacher had him start completely over. This time K was working one-on-one with the teacher.  The teacher laid out each problem step-by-step, reading the problems out loud. She would remind him of certain key things such as that he needs to keep his rows lined up and other things along this line. She used memory recall in which K would fill in the blank to the questions she was asking. At one point the teacher asked if K was understanding what was being covered on the homework a little better now that she was doing it with him, but she got no answer back from K. From my own personal observation it seems like the teacher was doing too much of the work for K. Once K had left the classroom the two teachers were talking to themselves. Mrs. M asked the other teacher, "is he figuring out how to do it on his own?," in which she replied, "I'm having to help with with every one." Mrs. M told the other teacher that the next time he really needed to try doing it on his own. Intervention was taking place, but I think in order for this intervention to be helpful in the long run, more emphasis needs to be put on K figuring out the problems more independently.

The Classroom Without IDEA

In reality, the classroom I am doing my field experience in may not exist at all if IDEA did not exist. This classroom is designed as one in which students can go to outside of their normal classroom. Individualized help and attention can be given to each child within this classroom. Children who come to the classroom may not all have an IEP, but they are all struggling with their grade level curriculum. IDEA stands for Individuals with Disabilities Education Act. This law ensures that services are provided to children with disabilities throughout our nation. Without this law ensuring that these services are provided, they may not be provided for at all, hence the fact his classroom may be non-existent. These children would then have to simply learn to get along in a normal classroom setting without any additional help. For some students this is just not possible. Thankfully this classroom does exist and these students can get the help they need and deserve. This classroom has benefited from the law by the fact that it is even a classroom to begin with. These children needed extra help, so a classroom was needed and provided. Schools must educate children with disabilities and provide services for them.