Field Post 1

Descriptions	interpretations	Parking lot
Students were being taught about phonics, specifically the    -th sound	Children are struggling speaking those words.	Children who are younger struggle with pronunciations and need to learn what sound those letters make
The students are practicing spelling by having the teacher say the word.	They do not know which word to spell. If there are 3 forms of the word there, their and they’re
The teacher has a stop light for behavior	Some kids are misbehaving badly	Some of the kids I thought were misbehaving were not listed as in the bad zone
There was a woman who walked in and focused on one child	She is helping the kid who is struggling in the class	I have witnessed in my old school that specialized help means the child is behind
Students were pushing chairs and calling names	The kids were bullying the other child	The boy who was pushing the chair and calling names was in  the red zone meaning he was in trouble. I am presuming he is causing this.
Students are reading to themselves	Students are not comprehending	The teacher says they are not doing it, but from what I saw, they were.
The students read out loud as a group but you could only hear a couple voices	The students are still struggling with reading	They are in second grade so I do not know what level they need to be reading at.

My Reflection:

This past Thursday, we visited Noble Elementary School. It was very interesting. I am from a suburban public high school and I have little experience with urban schools. Observing the class opened my eyes to a whole world outside what I perceived as school. When we walked into the school, we had to have our licenses for identification. My old elementary school was very lenient. To enter the school, you just had to sign in. We listened to the principal of the school describe the school and give us information about the school. We then went and observed classes. Chloe and I observed a second grade class. Being in this class helped me realize that I do not want to be an elementary teacher. I do not have the patience needed to teach phonics and teach kids how to read. A special kind of person is needed and I am not that person.  I also observed a teacher giving special attention to a boy. He seemed to be struggling paying attention and with basic reading. I also know that I could not be that kind of a teacher because even more patience is needed. I know that teachers need to be patient, but I would rather teach harder concepts. I also enjoy science more than teaching others how to read. We went back to the principal and learned that Noble Elementary School is a focus school and has to pay $5,000 dollars to families who send their children to private schools in the district. I think that that is wrong and the school should not be forced to do that. I also learned that there is a third grade reading guarantee. This means that in order to move to 4^th grade, you have to pass a reading test. I think that stresses teachers out but it is a good rule. This makes sure everyone can read.