Field Experience Week 1

What?

What did I learn this week? Wow... I learned that you are never really prepared for what is to come when it comes to field in the Education Program. It has been an interesting three days in field. Sarah-Jane and I are in Mrs. O'Very's sixth grade classroom at Fox Hollow Elementary School. The class is full of 34 students who are full of energy. There are 21 boys and 13 girls. So many boys in the class give it an interesting dynamic.

So What?

Interesting dynamic is how I'm putting nicely that the teacher has her hands full! There are several boys with ADHD who either are on or probably should be on medicine. I normally don't think it's good to medicate if there are other ways to work around it but our first day in class about scared the pants off of us! There was a student that was dancing in front of the class while Mrs. O'Very was teaching. He is actually such a problem that the school is sending him for 10 weeks to a school in Provo where they teach students to behave and be able to control themselves. Generally, the girls don't cause any problems in the classroom. There is some talking that is distracting but overall, they are easy to handle.

We got to teach our first lesson on Thursday! We actually put together a "get to know you" game so that the students would feel more comfortable with us and so that we could get to know them too. It went well. I think we had a pretty good handle on classroom management. I thought that I could handle pretty much anything that came my way but this class has opened my eyes! I still feel that I can handle what comes my way but maybe now with a little more preparation, I will be able to do a better job of it. Our second lesson was Friday and I feel that we did a great job. Mrs. O'Very uses a microphone clipped onto her shirt so that she is heard but Sarah-Jane and I aren't comfortable with using it yet. Sarah-Jane noticed that the class has a way of quieting down that we have been using and it works great so far. If it's too loud in the classroom, the students begin to raise their hand. As the other students notice, the room quiets down. So, we've been using the same method when we teach. When Sarah-Jane is teaching, I am helping with classroom management and visa-versa.

Now What?
We will be teaching everyday that we are in field for 30 minutes. We are teaching Social Studies and the subject is World War I and II. We have already shown our digital story and the students LOVED it! They asked many questions about it and learned a lot. It is so great to see that their interest was peaked. We also are using a Power Point Presentation that the teacher already had made and we are enhancing with pictures and music.

So far, so good! The class is a hard class but that doesn't mean that the experience has to be a hard one! It's so great to be out teaching in the schools! What I learn now will help me to be a better teacher.