What to Look for in a Classroom
While reading the article “What to Look for in a Classroom,” I was able to make a connection. Last semester I was in an internship with two different teachers at a high school. I realized as I kept reading the signs that one of the classrooms looked more like the “Good Signs” and the other classroom looked more like the “Possible reasons to Worry”. In the class that looked more like the “Good Signs” column, the ambient was a beautiful learning environment in which students liked being in. I remember students telling me that was their favorite class and that was their favorite teacher. In that class, the teacher was never at her desk. The teacher was always on the front board or helping students with their classwork. I remember on the wall she had her students’ birthdays, and she would bring a small gift for them on their birthday, she would put her students' work on her wall and on the hallways as well. In that class, we also had fun activities like bingo, watching a movie, and listening to music while students did their work. The students felt comfortable asking questions, participating, and engaging. The teacher's attitude was always cheerful and positive, and always looked out for what was best for the students learning. The students spoke little to no English, and she spoke no Spanish. Even with that language barrier between them, she could teach them and make them feel comfortable in her classroom. She made her classroom a fun learning environment. In the other classroom, the teacher was always sitting on her desk, teaching the lesson from her desk. The only time she would get up was to write on the board or if a student needed her help. I remember that class feeling a little boring. There were no fun learning activities involved in that classroom, only assignments from a textbook and a package. The walls were blank beside commercial posters from different countries. The atmosphere in that class was not exciting at all. The teacher was not a mean teacher; she was actually nice and calm, and I think she needed to add some enthusiasm and spice to her classroom to make it a fun learning environment.
I wrote my blog about the same idea! I also have witnessed both types of classrooms and it is amazing how much of a difference it makes in the children's motivation and excitement about learning. It is evident that in the classrooms that have worry signs, kids are less interested and the moral is very low! Kids needs a happy and welcoming environment around them in order to learn.
ReplyDeleteI really resonate with your experiences in the classroom. The classes that I enjoyed the most were the ones where the teacher was engaging with the students the best they could. Where one class the teacher just handed out packets and sat at her desk the majority of the class was unbearable to where the kids resulted into forming mini groups to stay active.
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