Observation # 2 Westpark Middle School

The morning air was frosty but the atmosphere within the school walls at Westpark Middle School was frostier and chilled me to core...

After reporting to administration, I began my observations in Ms. Leah Deschenes' Grade 6 English Language Arts (ELA) class. The class began with a review of the five points about quotations. During the review, Ms. Deschenes repeatedly reprimanded students for speaking without raising their hands. Following the review, the teacher further reprimanded students regarding incomplete/missing assignments. Students did not seem to respond favorably to the continual scolding from their teacher, as noise levels remained loud through out the lectures. I felt that the teacher's method of dealing with disruptive behavior and unfinished homework was ineffective and negative. Although it may have been too late for the teacher to implement strategies to prevent such behavior (best done during the start of the term), I felt that there were more effective methods of intervention. Instead of wasting her words and energy repeating her command for students to be quiet, perhaps she could have stood by the talkative students and conducted the lesson standing next to them. A more direct approach could have been to stop speaking altogether and wait for the class to quiet down on their own before commencing with the lesson. If such strategies failed to calm the class, I think it would be acceptable to employ an extreme strategy such as leading a serious discussion with students as to why it is inappropriate to conduct themselves in that manner, and reiterate the consequences of continuing with their behavior. Brainstorming ways to handle disruptive behavior with students ensures that the consequences for breaking the rules are clear and understood by all students.

Once the Ms. Deschenes finally regained control of the class, she had students break into groups of five for group reading, also referred to as Literary Circles. Students took turns reading passages of their novels to the other members of their group. While conducting their reading, students were required to identify various figures of speech, recording their findings in their Literary Circle booklets. Prior to the commencement of group work, the teacher reviewed the figures of speech the class had studied up to that point in the course. Students worked diligently, occasionally seeking assistance from the teacher for clarification on specific figures of speech. Noise levels seldom reached the level witnessed at the start of class, although it was necessary for the teacher to remind a handful of students to focus on their work instead of chatting about unrelated nonsense.

I spent the next two classes observing a grade 6 and 7 math classes. Both classes experienced disruptive behavior similar to that in Ms. Deschenes grade 6 ELA class. I did not observe coping mechanisms that differed greatly from those employed by Ms. Deschenes. It seemed to me that there was a massive lack of classroom management skills on the part of the teachers I observed. I felt that the teachers had either given up on trying to control their classes or had simply become burnt out/detached by their previous efforts, and let the class descend into chaos. I did not feel that their repeated shouting at students to be quiet was effective nor appropriate since the cooperation on the part of students was limited and short-lived. There was a definite absence of respect between students and the teachers.

My observations at Westpark Middle school were not positive nor useful in developing effective teaching skills, expect to perhaps exemplify how NOT to manage a classroom.