Observation #1
This observation took place at Central Falls High School
in Central Falls, RI. This is the only
high school in the City of Central Falls and the school’s population is just
over 800 students from the 9th grade to the 12th
grade. The student population is
diverse, but the majority of the students are of a Hispanic ethnicity.
I have been in Central falls for a few weeks now as I am
taking SED 407 also, but the first time I saw the building I never realized the
age of the school. It looks like it was
built around the 1950’s in order to take a nuclear attack. I think I saw an old fallout shelter sign on
one side of the building. When you walk
in you can tell the building is old, it just has that style. The paint is old and chipped and there are
needs of repairs. However, I think it
has a welcoming feeling. The halls are
decorated with upcoming events, Warrior (the school symbol/mascot) art and saying,
a calendar in colored chalk that is changed and redrawn with the new month,
student art, student successes and various art and information is posted
throughout. On the outside it looks
harsh and drab but the inside, at least in the halls, is more welcoming.
I went into an 11th grade social studies class
to observe for a period. This was a
self-contained class that had students with learning and behavioral
disabilities. The class was a small
class of five students, but today there was only four as one of the students
was not there but had to return after school to what the teacher told me was PM
school. I learned later from the teacher
that was when a student has discipline issues and has to come back after normal
school hours to take his or her classes.
There is also a teacher assistant in the room to help the students and
the teacher. The class is not arranged
in a typical way. The teacher’s and the
assistant’s desk are in the back, while the students desks are arranged in a
semi-circle facing the “black board” with the computer, projector and the ELMO
in the center of the semi-circle. The
teacher generally teaches from the center of the semi-circle so she can help
the individual students when needed. It makes
it easier for her to keep an eye on the students and it lets the students
always see her. I asked her about the
arrangement and she stated that the students like it this way so they can focus
on her as she teachers from the center and it is easier for them to watch her
when she goes to the board. It is also
easier for her and the assistant to keep an on the students also. For the rest of the room it looks like a
typical class room, there are rules posted, examples of student work on the
board, posters that deal with different time periods of history, plus you can
really see that age of the building in this classroom. Floor tiles are broken, the heater was making
a noise throughout the whole class, but it seems the students and the teachers
were able to block it out and the ceiling tiles really need some work. It did however feel welcome. I like how the seating was arranged for I
think it promotes help between the students just has a closer feeling.
In the class today, as I stated above, there were only
four students. Three were Hispanic, all
male, and one African-American female.
The teacher did inform me that all are on an IEP and come from a challenged
economic background. The class I saw was
about how to write an essay using the SEE (statement, evidence, explanation)
method. The students were using a
graphic organizer and were basically copying from the board the work the class
did the day before. The teacher did try
to get all of them to participate. One
student just did not, no matter how much the teacher and the assistant tried, want
to cooperate. He played on his cell unit
it died and he asked the teacher why it died.
She tried to get him on track but he did get frustrated and just left
the room. He eventually came back but
was still disruptive and he left after the assistant called for a discipline specialist
to come into the room to take the student out of class. One other student did not participate in the
answering questions or talking but she was very locked in on the
assignment. The teacher and the
assistant did check on her just like the other students to make sure she was on
track, and she was. When they asked her
a question if she was “ok” or if she understood what she was supposed to do she
gave a thumbs up but did not respond verbally.
They all had the chance to participate in the exercise as the teacher
would try to get to each other, but not all would respond, some did, and some
did the work but kept quite. From what I
saw all the students had the ability to do the work, some more than others, and
the teacher would spend more time with the ones that need the help with the assignment. The teacher, in this setting, is the one with
the power. Given what I saw I think it
has to be that way. She really tries to
keep them focused on task which is hard given the dynamics of the class.
I think for me in would be difficult to be in this kind of class as student. There are many distractions, mainly from other students and maybe a little from the heater, which must bother them more and distract them more. I’m saying that from the point of view as a student without an IEP or never experienced a class setting like this before. These students, for the most part, seemed to have really been engaged, in varying levels, even with the distractions. They have a routine that they are set in and follow. If that routine is disrupted that is one that is more of an issues for the students not the interruptions. I think it is hard work to be a student in this school. They have a lot of challenges in and out of the school. The students know of the recent issues with the test scores and the teacher firings. They understand they need to get better and it put a lot of pressure on the students. However, I also see that many of the students are trying and trying hard. The school spirit that I have seen so far has been great, the students really care about their school and their school community.
No comments:
Post a Comment