Going to school everyday in a one-room schoolhouse was interesting and I occasionally daydream about what it would have been like to go to the traditional elementary school. Slack has always made me wonder what it would be like during recess and P.E, the educational differences, and what the social life might have been like if I had gone to the traditional elementary school.
Slacks location was ideal for anyone that lived outside but most of the kids were either related to you or your best friend. For fire drills we would ring an old cow bell and book it to the mailbox at the end of the driveway. Once we did a tornado drill and the teacher would tell us and we would run downstairs to hide under the extra desks. At the “regular” elementary school a fire drill is organized and kids aren't allowed to run and they don’t usually do tornado drills in Wyoming, they do lock down drills and thats not nearly as fun as hiding under a desk with your best friend. Also, for programs my kindergarten and first grade years we made signs to hang on the communities mailboxes. Everyone in the community would attend and each of us three students would perform in our homemade circus’ or our christmas plays. My second and third grade years we didn’t do as much but in fourth grade we learned how play the recorder. Each year the parents made a haunted house for Halloween. The same people in the community show up for the Fall, Halloween, Christmas, and Spring programs. The “normal” elementary schools do basically the same thing every year with either the same or slightly different songs. The traditional elementary schools didn’t have as many programs as Slack does. Field trips, Slack kids would go occasionally with “the big school” and they would all ta...
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...hey didn’t get to work with the teacher very much. At Slack one year we had three different grades but one teacher which was kinda a problem but we figured it all out. The elementary school has fifteen kids per class, one teacher per class, and three classes. To be honest I probably didn’t learn as much academically but I learned how to cook and other necessary skills that I would need in life. When I migrated into the “Big school” in fifth grade I didn’t know about margins on a paper, how to do long division, and to this day I still don’t know all of my multiplication tables. Those were all things that the other kids knew how to do.
Slack was fun and had it’s great points but the traditional elementary school would have been nice to experience. I’m sure a lot of kids would want to try out the one-room schoolhouse environment coming from the traditional elementary.
They don’t have a play ground to play on outside. Children wonder what its like to be able to have those nice things and go to a nice school like other children do. These kids had a reading class with no books. Chemistry labs with no chemicals and a computer lab where kids would sit around and talk about what they would do if they did have computers.
“The first school I attended was a small building that went from first to sixth grade. There was one teacher for all of the students. There could be anywhere from 50 to 60 students of all different ages. From 5 or 6 years old to in their teens. We went to school five months out of the year. The rest of the time young people would be available to work on the farm. The parents had to buy whatever the student used. Often, if your family couldn't afford it, you had no access to books, pencils, whatever. However, often the children would share” (Interview with Parks).
Our field was a empty parking lot. We would walk around for our break, some kids would play handball on the wall while and some would go to the little Mexican shop two doors down. We would buy chips and sodas and even tacos. After we ate our lunch we would wait to go back to our so called class. We got the news a few months into our school that would no longer be attending La Sierra Community. Another change, which I was not so happy with. One thing about me is that I hate change; I didn’t even want to move to a bigger house when my parents got the chance. Our teacher said we would all be located to Arlington Regional he also mentioned that this school was going to be not only ours, but for a wide amount of others with the same issues we had. We were going to be with teens from different areas, Eastside, Southside, Corona, and Home Gardens. Not to mention every gang from every side. We had contracts to follow and a strict dress code so we don’t spark anything
Some people may say that middle school was the worst years of their life,but in my case middle school was the best years of my life. It changed me, It made me a better person then who I was before. I am wiser, smarter,stronger, and overall just better. So if any elementary kids were
I may have had to go out of class for reading and math, but a lot of kids did, too. I didn't mind that, as much, as the life skills class. I do feel like I am very backwards, a lot, still as an adult. Unknowing was very confusing, as well as frustrating. I still get very frustrated when I confuse dates or times, causing me to miss appointments. It is constantly a struggle.
I completed my final observation on October 15 at the UTC Children’s Center at Battle Academy. When I arrived to my classroom, the students were on a field trip so I quickly went down to the fire hall on Main Street to meet up with the class. At the fire hall, parents, as well as the two teachers accompanied the students. The students arrived back in their classroom around 11:10, and that is when the parents left. After the field trip the children ate lunch in the cafeteria, had a brief lesson in the classroom, and played outside. The class I observed was preschool, with most children around 3 to 4 years old. All the children seemed to be developing normally. There were 7 boys and 3 girls present in the classroom.
Starting school was a little tough, I would get confused on the basic street smarts of school. Things like how to take notes, how to use a mechanical pencil and getting F’s on my papers for not writing my name tripped me up. But being the chameleon that I am, I adapt, blending
The narrator describes the drastic change from elementary to junior high for example the narrator talks about his new situation with his teachers “…what happened was there were teachers now, not just one teacher, teach-erz...” his confusion by the drastic change of having only one teacher to teach his class and help him out then to having multiple teachers. You also get that sense of abandonment and being overwhelmed. He feels abandoned because now that he has multiple teachers, he doesn’t get the kind of attention and care that he was used to in middle school. With all these different teachers with different personalities and classroom rules he
What I learned during the observation is that have a good layout and a good environment setting children are more willing learn and play with the children around them. They need to feel that they are apart of the classroom. That is part of Maslow’s Hierarchy of Need. You environment the classroom need to make children feel safe because if they don’t feel safe they are always going to be on high alert and not pay attached to what going on they are also not going to play or do anything in the classroom. Having the right environment makes it easy for children to explore and learn everything they need have those center or station is not just their for children to have fun and play that because while they are playing and have fun they are learning.
I lived with my Aunts during the week and my grandmother on the weekends. My grandmother lived in the inner city and my aunts wanted me to have a chance at a better education. So, they moved me to a new school district. It was a new environment, I was excited! New school, teachers, and friends. Opportunity was everywhere. The change was great, but it highlighted something I never noticed, I was different. My life was not like my friends, most were raised by parents, both or at least one. I on the other hand was the product of a village. That village is what gave me the strength to go into school each day, head high, eager to learn, and determined to
For our school visits we went to Barr Middle School in Grand Island, NE and Northeast Elementary in Kearney, NE. My first thoughts about Barr Middle school were it was the biggest school I have ever been in bar none. I couldn’t believe that it had three different levels and each level was for 6th, 7th, and 8th grade. My step sisters and step brother went to Barr during their middle school years and they always talked about how amazing that school was, and that it was extremely big, let’s just say it didn’t disappoint. The other school we visited was Northeast Elementary and I loved the vibes I got from the school. The school was very visual with things like having things on their walls and made me think of my old elementary. The teachers all around were extremely pleasant to be around, especially the teachers I was observing.
Through these fun and challenging times each one of us has built strong relationships. Whether it was with friends or a teacher, we have developed connections and memories that will be with us forever, even if we lose contact with those individuals. Some students have discovered they have a passion for writing through a creative writing class or want to have a career in business from taking Mr. Ide’s inspirational marketing classes. Others have participated in CLIP or summer school to catch up and make it possible for them to be here today. I went to Heights Elementary and have spent the last 12 years with the same group of people. Attending school with the people I’ve known since elementary and middle school, and making homecoming posters with them for four years in a row, has given me a chance to get to know the people around me better than I ever thought I would.
The class I visited is comprised of 24 five and six year old children, a lead teacher and a ‘Para-Pro” who assists the teacher and provides support and guidance for the children. Within the classroom itself, there are 6 tables organized in the center of the room in a grid formation. Children have their own workspace at a shared table. Around the perimeter of the room are ‘centers’ where each day, the children work on tasks such as listening, story development, gross and fine motor skills, math, reading and other important skills that are needed to develop socially and academically. In several places on the walls, there are displays or ‘brag boards’ where children can post their work that they feel best represents their efforts. The walls are brightly decorated and are filled with pictures, letters, numbers and other basic elementary school information. It is energizing and interesting without being chaotic or overstimulating.
Having spent twelve years of my school life in just one small red brick building, the years tend to fade into each other. But the year I remember most clearly and significantly is my senior year of high school, where I finally began to appreciate what this institution offered to any student who stopped to look. Before, school had been a chore, many times I simply did not feel motivated toward a subject enough to do the homework well, and seeing the same familiar faces around ever since I was 5 years old grew very tiring soon enough. But I began to see things from a different angle once I became a senior.
Throughout my field visits to different schools, I encountered all different types of teaching practices and school environments . The first school I attended was Burger Middle School. While at Burger Middle School, I observed many classroom routines and procedures. For example, as a teaching method at Burger Middle School, students were put into groups of three. This method allowed the teacher to observe the whole class instead of students seated in the front. This teaching strategy, created student engagement because the seating arrangement allowed group work that created student discussion and collaboration. While touring the school, I saw a fantastic school atmosphere. There were plenty of classrooms used for subjects that included; art, math, technology( two rooms), a science and even a workout fitness center. As I walked around the school I saw a productive learning environment. There were posters on the wall about important historical figures like Mahatma Gandhi and Thomas Jefferson. Overall, I saw a safe and supportive