Classroom Observation

        I don't know what I was expecting, walking into a high school for the first time since my graduation 6 years ago, but I had to take a step back to soak it all in when I walked through those doors. Scenes from Mean Girls didn't seems so farfetched anymore as I remembered what it was like to be "in the jungle." After being in college for several years I forgot what it was like to be in a place that isn't well funded, highly regulated, and privately operated. Public school is a completely different ball game...perhaps not even baseball, maybe even hockey.
        The first thing I noticed was the interaction between the teacher and the students. There were two women alternating teaching a class of 40 or so students. Both seemed to be in good terms with their students and didn't seem too strict. The classroom itself was different from the norm as well. It was held in a theater practice room so there was plenty of space and no desks to be seen. All the chairs were stacked in a corner and as the students filed in through the door they would pick up a chair and sit down literally anywhere they wanted. The lecture was based completely off a slide show and handouts were given to each student with the names/pictures of important people that would appear in the slideshow. When a person from the handout came up, time was given to write down notes about that person. The teacher would say something like, "you need to know these exact words and spelling to get it right of the test! Write this down."
         I can't say that I agree with this style of teaching. Instead of the students wanting to learn more, I feel like this approach leads the pupils to ask "What do I need to know to pass your test?" Although I must say, the students seemed very engaged in preparing for that test. most everyone was righting the information down. Perhaps in a public school setting this style is necessary for participation, or maybe there is room for improvement. It's hard for me to decide.
         Questions were rare, but when the floor was opened up the pupils readily volunteered answers. I feel like the relaxed environment (lack of seating arrangement, cool teachers, and interesting subject) lead to this willingness to participate. I think that a big reason that people don't want to answer is the fear of being wrong and appearing less intelligent in front of your peers. When the classroom has a more relaxed feel, as this one did, that pressure lessens and people are more open.
         The experience was extremely nostalgic and enlightening at the same time. Public schools systems might not be the perfect structure, it may even seem like a crazy hockey game sometimes, but I feel with proper treatment education and inspiration does take place. I walk away from that experience with two major concepts that I want to incorporate in my teaching philosophy and those are; Creating a stress-free atmosphere where failure is not their biggest fear, and avoiding the tendency to expect the students to simply regurgitate information for a given test by opening up discussion more often. I feel those two concepts could help clear some of the hierarchy many classrooms have found themselves in where the teaching is simply depositing information to the students.