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.