Observation from Friday, September 17th

I am in a middle school in my town. I went in and right off the bat, I can tell my teacher is going to be wonderful. I am in an 8^th grade class, but the room looks so bright and decorated I feel that I am in a 5^th grade class. This at first I thought was a little odd, but her classroom felt warming compared to others, and I think that this put the students more at ease. There were messages around the room from students from the year before telling the current students how to succeed in the classroom. Most said “be on time” and “do your homework” which is good advice in general. The room was very colorful also; the teacher had matching tennis balls on every desk so they wouldn’t make noise. But it was not just green tennis balls; they were pink, purple, blue, and red. I thought that was a great idea instead of hearing desks moving, and because my teacher does a lot of group work, she thought it was best. My teacher is also very organized, she had the students put their quizzes in a quiz/test folder and each student has a grade sheet in their binders that they can record their grades on. This is a great idea because the students can then average their own grades, and parents are able to see their grades without calling the teacher. My teacher is very outgoing with the students, and even though it is only the second week of school, she already knows their names and has a friendly joking going on with them. Her classroom atmosphere is friendly and I enjoyed sitting in her classroom. The day went quickly and there were minimal disruptions. The few disruptions she had were from students that called out and were disruptive but after speaking to them, they settled down. I felt her classroom management overall was effective, but there were a few times I noticed she would stop class to address a disruptive student. I am unsure if that was the best course of action, but it is only the first two weeks of school. Overall, I am excited to be in her classes, and I can not wait to see what will happen next time. Middle school keeps you on your toes more than high school!