From the other posts people have had some interesting experiences at their schools So I thought I would share some of mine. At the school I was at they had a couple of interesting program set up that I would like to hear people's views on. The first was free fresh fruit was put in classrooms for the students to eat, thus encouraging them to have a healthy snack. I think this is a good program but based on budgets these days I am surprised they can afford to do it. Another program they have in place is that at the start of the last period of the day everyone, students and all staff, are suppose to silently read for 20 minutes. Now in practice this is done with most of the junior student’s, grades 8-10 at this school, but is not done with the senior students and basically none of the staff actually read during this time. I think it is a good idea that is not working the way it was originally planned.
Another experience I got to do is going to a staff meeting after school. It was interesting to see all of the teachers acting like students sitting in their chairs doodling while people were taking. It was interesting to see all of the various programs that the school had running and to hear people talk about the progress of these programs. Since I went to the same school district I imagine many of these similar programs occurred at my school but I was totally unaware of them. This could show that all of the programs available to students are not always made clear.
I am also curious how many people got to actually stand up at the front of the room and teach. For one day I got the run all of my mentor teacher’s classes. I made up the notes for the day and gave all the directions for the students. My mentor teacher just watched and forced to the students to come to me for questions as I was in charge for the day. I feel that the students did respond to me and my mentor teacher told me I did very well. This is encouraging and I was glad to get the experience at the front of the classroom.
The school I was at had a program to promote Literacy. At the beginning of each block the students had to silently read for 10 to 15 mins. The teacher and myself also read, it was rather pleasant. Then when the reading was done, the teacher would select random students and ask them what book they are reading and a bit about the plot. From what I could tell the students actually enjoyed reading and sharing their book with the class. I think doing the reading at the beginning of the block helps to settle students down! It is definitely something I would consider doing in my classroom!
ReplyDeleteHi, The school I was at also did some silent reading at the beginning of class, but it was definitely not across the school, just in certain classes. During the one class I saw this take place the students spent most of their time fooling around, not reading!
ReplyDeleteThey also had a breakfast program at my school for those who couldn't afford it and gave out apples during the day. I also questioned how they could afford the daily apples while staff was getting cut due to the budget???
Unfortunetly, I still do not know for sure who my mentor will be. It was changed a few times while I was there and they finally told me not to worry as it will get sorted. I took this chance though to go and watch as many different classes and teachers as I could and one invited me to talk to his SS 9 class about my experience overseas. It was a great experience as I had to prepare and I successfully had the students engaged for the whole 90 minute class.
Still wish I had a teacher mentor, erhh!
Hi! I voluteered in an English class last year that had 15 minutes of silent reading time everyday and it worked really well. The students were expected to read 4 books over the course of the term and after each book they had to hand a plot summary. The students also had the option of reading only one book but it had to be Moby Dick by Charles Dickens. There were actually a few students who chose to read Moby Dick but when I asked them what it was about they really did not know. I agree with Lindsey, the 15 minutes of reading time settled the whole class down. Also, it gave the teacher the oppurtunity to get stuff ready if he was not quite prepared. If he was prepared he read as well. I also like the idea because it gives the students the oppurtunity to read what they are interested in which I believe promotes reading as a lifelong activity. I have a few friends from high school who never read a book in high school. These individuals managed to be successful by copying notes or looking up sparksnotes but their learning experience, if not their marks, definately suffered. I think that if given the chance to read something of interest these individuals would have liked reading at least a little bit more.
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