Re: Observation

Today I worked with a totally new group of students, as they were on B schedule. The classes seemed much more mellow than the classes on A days. More of the students were focused on the teacher, and they were not as disruptive. I worked specifically with one student, S, who requested to work with me when Ms. H offered my help to the class. The students were working on a poetry unit, and Ms. H reads them a poem and asks them to write in their journals and answer some questions. S really enjoyed the poem, "Blackwater Pond" and seemed taken by the diction and beauty of the images. I did a poetry unit my senior year of high school, and I remember feeling so overwhelmed by all the intricacies of poetry. I think it is excellent that Ms. H is incorporating poetry into the curriculum, because I believe students are more likely to feel confident when it comes to poetry if they have more exposure to it early in their education. While I wish there would have been time to delve deeper into conversation about the true meaning of the poem, it was a good exercise for the children to become familiar with poetry in general.

One of the more interesting things I noted in class today has to do more with the social aspect of school. I think because I was new to the classroom last week I didn't get a chance to take note of the conversations between students during class or before and after class. One boy in class today was busy writing a note and drawing on himself rather than participating in teh class activity. I did not feel comfortable approaching him, so I observed him instead. I noticed him writing a note to another girl in the class asking her if she would 'go out' with him. At first I smiled to myself, but then realized the significance of relationships in junior high. While it may be too early to have a significant romantic relationship, it seems to me that dating in junior high is all about validation. Looking back I remember how important it was to me for boys to notice me, and how strong the rejection was when I realized they didn't even know who I was. While I know it isn't right for interactions like this to happen during class activities, I believe that we shouldn't discourage these kinds of interactions. Relationship skills are life skills, and relationships help us learn about ourselves and our interactions with others. What better place to experience these relationships than in school where we spend the most time with our peers?