A Reflection of Teacher Observations - Essay Example

Reflection of Teacher Observations Reflection of Teacher Observations I arrived at my assigned school at 8 am on September 25, aday before I was expected to report. I anticipated a middle school characterized by widespread disorganization because most of the children at this level are adolescents. The school was peaceful and organized, with teachers having total control of the students. There was no formal dress code for students, perhaps because most of the learners originated from the loyal families that surrounded the school.

There was no security guard to regulate entry into the school compound; however, there were several cameras around the school capturing the happenings of the whole compound. According to Ayres (2010), one of the requirements of good teachers is proper control and management of the classrooms. As I arrived at the middle-level school, I realized that students were well organized in queues, waiting to enter the classroom. While in the classroom, no student talked without the teacher’s permission.

This is a good indication that teachers in this school had excellent skills in classroom management. Discipline and group management in learning contexts ensures maintenance of discipline and affect student performance through instructional management (Oakes & Lipton, 2013). Teachers who have who have an effective connection between management, and teaching develop excellent lesson movement. This can be evidenced by the fact that teachers arrive in the classrooms and wait for students to arrive.

One amazing observation that I made was over-strictness observance of time. When I arrived at the school, it was twenty minutes before the school begins. Students stood were queuing outside the classrooms, waiting for exact time to reach for them to enter the classroom. During the same time, teachers were already in classrooms waiting for students. It is crucial to adhere to time schedules, but I do not think it is very necessary for students to wait outside, further more in queues, for them to enter the instructional rooms.

Additionally, I think there is no need for teachers to wait in the classroom for students who are standing waiting for the bell to ring, before that they are not allowed to teach. I think this time can be used for talking to students on personal academic weaknesses, correcting the previous day’s assignments or allow children to play since playing is crucial during the process of development. Theodorea (2013), in her poem, argues that she is fiercely loyal, multi-ethnic and hates oppression.

Oppression is one of the enemies of the classroom setting. Children should be afforded democratic rights and freedoms of expression if teachers want to create a learning environment characterized by mutualism. Lack of democracy makes educational contexts to be strained because students’ needs are not met. When Ms. English arrived in the classroom, she begins distributing the Benchmark Tests among the students. She did not introduce me to the classroom, although students have the rights of knowing new teachers who are going to spend time with them in classrooms.

One of the girls requested to go back to her first, and she was granted permission. When other students request to do the same, they are denied permission without explanation. I thought that this was an unfair act of oppression that can make the students to develop a negative attitude towards the teacher. Ms. English did not observe Ayers’ myth of teaching, “good teachers treat all students alike" (2010). Ayers (2010) postulated that academicians should be devoted toward the development of an educational vision that is child-centered embracing creativity and socialization.

The school, however, does not allow for creativity and socialization among the students. As the students are entering the class, they are not allowed even to whisper to one another. The silence in the classroom reveals that children are not afforded the time to share their lives experiences. Socialization is a necessary element in middle-age children, according to Albert Bandura’s theory of Social Learning (Oakes & Lipton, 2013). Students in the school were having their benchmark test, although they had attended classes for less than four weeks.

Examinations are crucial in evaluating students, but if they are not well-spaced and planned they can encourage rote-learning. Rote learning involves cramming the material with the core objective of passing the examinations. This could be one of the reasons why children were not allowed to talk; crammed material is usually stored in the temporary memory, and any additional unrelated information can interfere with the crammed material. Good teachers should actually know what is going in the classroom (Ayers, 2010). Ms. English seems to be active in knowing what is going on the classroom during the test; however, Ms.

English misuses this role. It is unfair to announce other students’ progress in teats. For example, Ms. English announces to the whole classroom that one of the girls did not understand the assignment and should report to FLEX for tutoring. It is still unknown how she noticed that Amy had done everything correct, and the test was still in progress. The effect of this mistreatment is that it creates inferiority among students, while others increase their pride. Perhaps, Ms. English thought that she applying positive and negative reinforcement, but she misused the real meaning of the reinforcement function.

I liked the way Ms. History, a new teacher, began her lesson. She introduced a lesson with a song. This tallies with Ayers’ myth of teaching that good teachers create fun (2010). A song is one of the best methods of set induction that makes learners active and motivates them to begin the lesson in style. An opening clue maintains the concentration of learners and focuses their interest on the information that the teacher is delivering. The school seems to be dedicated to excellent performance, but somehow using outdated instructional methods.

There is widespread oppression and unfairness in this school where children are trained to work more like robots than human beings. Posters in the classroom and a computer lab are excellent learning resources, but their use could not be effective considering the negative relationships between the teachers and children. Examinations have a critical role to play; it is critical to disseminate them at the time when learners have covered adequate material for them to be tested. The learning environment is responsible for creating future citizens of a country; therefore, teachers should monitor the forces that seek to dehumanize and standardize the art of teaching.

References Ayers, W. (2010). To teach: The journey of a teacher. New York: Teachers College Press. Oakes, J. & Lipton M. (2013). Teaching to change the world. Boulder, Colo: Paradigm Pubishers. Theodorea R. B. (2013). Student Visibility in the History of Education. Sterling: Stylus Publishing, LLC.