Entry 7

• What are the school rules/classroom rules and how are they enforced?
• What are the procedures the teacher uses to make everything run smoothly in the class?

At Dan Peterson we only have four rules. They are Stay with the group, quiet mouth and body, follow directions, and give people space. Everyday for morning meeting we go over the rules with the class. Throughout the day, if a student is not following the rules, we remind them of what they are supposed to be doing. If they do not submit to following the rules we then will give them a strike. Every time a student received a strike they would be moved to a different stoplight color. One strike, the student would get on yellow which was a warning for them to slowdown and think of what they were doing. Two strikes resulted in the student being moved to red which meant the student had to stop what they were doing immediately and do some work sheets, on strike three the student would be moved to black. This meant that the student would have to go to a seat away from the class and practice being quite for five minutes. After five minutes of being quiet the student would go back to their seat and complete some work sheets. 

     This method was good for some of the students but others did not understand what the colors meant, but for the most part it did its job and was effective. The students really understood the rules though. They could say them all and do actions to remember them. 

   In the other class I worked in, the teacher would have the students write their names on the board every time they misbehaved. If they continued to act out they would get a check next to their names. If they got another check then they would have to make a call (I do not know to who) and admit that they were not following directions. This class was really well behaved. Therefor it must be a good method. 

Entry 6

What strategies does the teacher use to actively engage the students? How effective are these?

The teacher at Barrett Elementary school would engage the students by having them take turns answering the questions asked by the teacher and by having them ask questions about the lesson. Also she would teach a subject and then let the students practice by doing the assignment on their own. The effectiveness of these strategies varied. I could tell that some of the students were involved and learning, but, many of the students did not seem very interested in the lessons that were being taught. They would get rowdy or put their heads on the desk. Honesty, I think the strategies the teacher used was good for the students who understood things quickly but not good for those who struggle to understand. Those who were not engaged in the lesson and the discussions seemed to get left out. If I were to change something about the way the teacher engaged the students, I would have her call on the students who looked like they were sleeping, frustrated or loud. This way the students would have to follow along and if they did not understand, the teacher could help them out better.

     At Dan Peterson the teacher and teacher's aides engaged the students by working with them one on one to give each of the student a chance to work on what they were learning. This was effective, the only problem that would occur was trying to get around to all of the students before they got bored and disruptive. Because there were more students than aides it was hard to make sure all of the students were engaged in the work at once.

    When I am a teacher I will engage my students by doing interactive activities with my students. I have a hard time just standing in front of a class gabbing because that is not an effective method of teaching in my opinion.  I would give my students hands on activities that they could do so that they can learn the lesson in a fun and interactive way. 

Entry 5

• What do you think is the most important role a teacher plays? 
•  Why?What do you think is the most challenging role a teacher plays?  Why?

From working with my students it is hard to say what the MOST important role a teacher plays. I think that teachers should act as role models. Students should be able to look at a teacher and want to learn because of the way they act, teach, and present themselves in a classroom setting. Teachers need to know how to have fun but keep order in the class at the same time. A teacher needs to be a friend and a listening ear to the students. By doing this, students will be excited to learn more. Coming to school should be a pleasure not torture. The most challenging role a teacher has to play is staying emotionally detached from the students while at the same time become a friend and a caring individual. What I mean by that is teachers need to let the students know that they are important to them but the teacher should not get too emotionally involved or else they will burn out. The reason I say this is because at Dan Peterson, the students are disabled. They do not have easy lives and I do care about them but if I let myself get emotionally attached I would go into depression because I would be worried about them all the time. Teachers need to be an example for students. They need to be aware of their emotions and not let them bring the class down. That would be the most challenging role as a teacher for me.