Field Blog Post 1

My first field observation was in a 7th grade social studies classroom at Mayfield Middle School. It was a very positive experience and further reinforced my decision to become a teacher. Some things I noticed that made the classroom a positive learning environment were: many colorful posters and flags covering up the bare walls, the teacher desk was pushed aside and the teacher stood at the front of the class in order to be able to interact with the students to the fullest extent. The teacher also came up with a creative way to review with the students for an upcoming test. He split the students up into teams and created a game of jeopardy, which made them all very excited to answer questions and participate in the review. The teacher spoke with the students in a way that they could understand, he joked around with them but was also able to control the room; he showed them respect and in return they showed him respect. This idea of mutual respect is something we read about and discussed in class and it was good to see it actually occurring in the classroom setting. It was a very positive learning environment and definitely gave me ideas of how I could someday run my classroom.