First Observation

The first observation I did took place on Wed February 21st. It was an interesting first day for me because unlike other students who were returning to a familiar class I was starting fresh with a new class at a new school. I had previously been in a fourth grade class at Greenbrier and now I would be observing Mrs. S' fourth grade class at Greer. Though they were on the same grade level it was a much different class. The previously class I had observed was run very strictly and required the students to be in their seats at all times and allowed for little talking. This method produced order, but I felt as though it may have taken away from the fun of learning for the students. Mrs. S' class is run much more loosely. She allows the children to sit in table clusters as opposed to the rows in the previous classroom I was placed in. The students seem to enjoy being in the class and doing their work much more because they are free to talk quietly in their groups as long as they stay focused and on task. This allows the students to build their understanding through discussion of what they are learning. I was also surprised that even though the class was run much more freely than the other class there were no more discipline problems. This taught me that if you have the respect of the students and they understand what is expected of them you can give them more leeway. Overall, this first day of observation gave me a two contrasting views of the classroom and gave me a better idea of how I would like my classroom to function in the future.