First Day Observations

PART I

I observed in a seventh grade classroom at Brandon Middle School. Mrs. Diane Baer is an Accelerated English teacher and has over 25 years of teaching experience. Her classroom management skills make her an incredible teacher and her students and colleagues love and respect her.

Before the first day of class, Mrs. Baer had to prepare her classroom, lesson plans, and paperwork for her homeroom students as well as her Accelerated Language Arts classes. She created bulletin boards that displayed school news, classroom rules and procedures, and hung posters and fliers around the room to create a cheerful and welcoming environment. Paperwork for her homeroom class was delivered and she organized “First Day Packets” for those students. These packets included waivers and forms for parents to sign and the district handbook outlining student behavior and conduct. Mrs. Baer also made seating charts for each of her classes and set up her books for recording grades and assignments.

When the students arrived for homeroom they were given the folders prepared by Mrs. Baer the day before. She gave them instructions about the information inside the folders and asked that they have their parents/guardians complete the paperwork and return it by the end of the following week. Before the students were released to their 1^st Block class they were each given their schedule and a map of campus. She spent several minutes explaining schedules, giving directions to different classrooms, and answering other questions about the day’s schedule and school rules/procedures.

Brandon Middle School uses block scheduling; each day students attend four classes. On “A-Days” they go to 1^st, 2^nd, 3^rd, and 4^th blocks and on “B-Days” they alternate and go to 5^th, 6^th, 7^th, and 8^th blocks. Mrs. Baer explained that according to her experience some students struggle with block scheduling. Seventh grade is often students’ first exposure to changing classes and having multiple teachers. When all questions were answered and paperwork was explained in detail, the bell sounded, signaling the beginning of first block.

When Mrs. Baer’s first block students arrived she directed them to specific seats that she assigned before the first day. The desks were arranged looking away from the door to limit distractions from outside the classroom. They were facing a whiteboard and the teacher’s desk. Bookshelves and tables with materials lined the walls and the television and Smartboard were both in easy to see places for both the student and the teacher. An easel with a large pad of paper on it was positioned near the podium at the front of the classroom. Each morning she posts bell work on the pad of paper. She also used lamps with colorful shades and rope lights to create a more fun and welcoming environment and to contrast the bright fluorescent lights in the ceiling.

The daily objectives were written on the board and as each task was accomplished Mrs. Baer marked that the class had completed it. The tasks were listed with upcoming assignments including a test on the students’ summer reading book and a spelling test.

Classroom rules were posted in clear sight for the students and on the first day of class Mrs. Baer discussed the rules and their consequences in full detail. The rules were designed to eliminate distractions within the classroom and teach students’ to respect one another’s thoughts and belongings. Students are responsible for their work and their belongings. They are also responsible for following school rules as defined in the handbook and exhibiting proper conduct while on school property and at school events. While discussing rules Mrs. Baer also gave students an outline of the daily schedule and classroom procedures. She told them where to find makeup work and how to turn in assignments. Students also learned that upon arrival to each class period they should sit in their assigned seats and begin their “Bell Work.” Bell Work would relate to the previous day’s activity and is aimed at reminding students of what they learned the day before, reinforcing the lesson and principles that students would need to build on in future lessons. After Bell Work they would begin the tasks listed on the board. The day I was in the classroom students began by making “Parts of Speech” booklets and learning about nouns. They discussed the six types of nouns (common, proper, concrete, abstract, compound, and collective) and after compiling a list of examples and discussing the difference in the types of nouns each student worked several workbook pages aloud, in groups, and individually. After reviewing the workbook pages, Mrs. Baer explained the Sitton Spelling method to the class and they began a spelling lesson.

Textbooks are not issued, rather students use a classroom set. Students each pay a “supply fee” and are given workbooks that include grammar and literature lessons. Students were responsible for bringing other supplies to class and Mrs. Baer gave them a detailed list of what to buy and how to arrange their notebook. She had her classes bring tissue, paper towels, and hand sanitizer for the class to share and use as needed. She had classroom sets of crayons, colored pencils, markers, scissors, and rulers for the students to use for projects and in class assignments.

A bell dismissed students after a ninety-minute class period, however, they knew they were to sit quietly until Mrs. Baer gave them permission to leave and make their way to their next class. Mrs. Baer set a very firm, but cheerful mood in her classroom from day one. She smiled and was encouraging to her students, but also enforced the rules she had set up to guarantee good behavior. She was patient with students and welcoming.

PART II

On the first day Mrs. Baer reviewed the daily steps that students would take to complete assignments in a timely manner. She taught them how to behave in the classroom, where to find makeup work, how to organize their notebook, etc. Rules were clearly explained and students were informed of consequences and expectations. Mrs. Baer was fun, but very serious. Her students understood that she means business when she walks in the classroom, but they know that she isn’t boring and loves to laugh with her class. When students begin talking among themselves rather than yelling she gently reminds them that if they don’t stop talking they will not be able to learn. Her tone was strict enough to make an impression on students, but her body language and facial expressions were excited and happy.

I expected the first day of school to be much “rockier” than it appeared. Mrs. Baer handled every situation with ease; she told me that it took years of experience to learn how to handle the first day disasters that are inevitable. She was easy going whenever she encountered something unexpected and did not focus on the little things that weren’t vital to getting through the day. She said that the most stressful and important thing about the first day of school (for her) is ensuring that students are on the correct bus for their ride home. A student missing their bus creates stress and confusion for the student, teacher, administration, and parents. Her goal the first week of school is to have as little stress and confusion as possible. After observing Mrs. Baer I learned that if something goes wrong, often the students don’t know. As long as the teacher remains calm and controlled the students will be obedient and well behaved. On my first days as a teacher, I will strive to remain focused on putting my students at ease and creating an environment conducive to learning.

Spiders and Snakes and Seniors, Oh My!

When I was a senior at Brandon High School my friends and I knew it all. There wasn’t a problem in the world we couldn’t solve; in our minds we ran the school. We had no respect for the “know-it-all” college students who wanted to be our teachers. While they were practicing their lessons we did our best to ignore them and paid them little respect. We did everything in our power to make their lives more difficult.

Based on my experience as a student, I expected the same of my students at Lafayette High School. When I was assigned to a senior classroom I called my mom crying. In my opinion, there could be nothing worse than teaching a class full of sassy seniors who wouldn’t listen to anything I had to say. When I contacted my clinical instructor she reassured me that her senior classes were well behaved and hard working.

I must admit I was skeptical on my first day. I was certain they would have their spitballs ready to attack as soon as I stood up to introduce myself. But to my surprise, they were smiling. Smiling? What? They were supposed to be glaring at me and planning ways to ruin my life! Instead they were asking me about my life and telling me my skirt was cute! My first day was better than I could have ever imagined and as I left the building I breathed a sigh of relief. I am going to survive my senior practicum. Praise the Lord. I might even dare to say I’m going to enjoy these seniors!

Change of Heart

Growing up, I was always unsure about what my future might hold. My parents always encouraged me to find something I was passionate about then find a way to make a career out of it. Both my mother and my father hold graduate degrees in their fields of study. My father, a total biology nerd, found a way to incorporate his love for biology and the way the body works into his career. He worked in the medical field for over twenty years and it was always clear to me that he loved his job at the hospital and the people he worked with. When I began looking into different fields as a senior in high school, I decided to follow in my mother’s footsteps as an accountant. Even though I had never taken an accounting class, I saw incredible benefits of becoming an accountant. Along with the stable income, job security, and the opportunity for advancement, I saw the flexibility my mother had in her working hours. While I was young, she worked part time and was always present at school parties, musicals, and after school activities. The more I looked into starting salaries and job placement rates from the Ole Miss School of Accountancy, the more appealing a career in accounting became. And so I began my first year of college, determined to become an accountant just like my mom.

The summer after my freshman year I was hired to work as a counselor at a summer camp in Branson, Missouri. The six weeks I spent at Kanakuk literally changed my life. I realized that I absolutely love kids. I finally, after 19 years, found what I was passionate about. When I finished at Kanakuk and moved back to Oxford I realized that accounting was not for me. Halfway through my sophomore year I changed my major from accounting to education. My outlook on classes changed completely. Rather than the business classes that I dreaded, I was enrolled in history classes that I enjoyed attending.

I would have never fallen in love with history if it weren’t for my US History teacher, Mrs. Tullos. Her goal as a teacher was to prepare us for life, sneaking in a little bit of history here and there. She wanted to teach us how to be successful students in the future, so she ordered college textbooks and treated us like college students. She lectured about different topics, but expected us to read the chapters and be prepared for discussions and quizzes based on the readings. Mrs. Tullos also wanted to prepare us for life outside of school. We discussed what being a citizen of the United States means, and the responsibilities of being an American. She also taught us life lessons that we could take with us beyond high school in college. I learned more in her class than I have from any college professor. She not only inspired a love for history, but she taught me about the real world.

“Social Studies” is the study of people groups, past and present, and how they interact with one another and the world around them. It is how people respond to world events and behave as citizens of a state or nation. Social studies include lessons on citizenship and civic duties as well as economics and geography.

Even though my change in major will result in a significantly smaller salary, I know I will be happy. As a teacher I want to show my students the importance of these lessons and teach them how to apply these ideas and concepts to daily life. I want to be active in the lives of students, not only in the classroom, but also in the local community and extra-curricular activities. Hopefully, I will be able to invest in my students the way Mrs. Tullos invested in me.