Reflection 3

I just got done with my first observation at a junior high. It was an enlightening experience. I wondered what it would feel to actually be out in the schools, because in practicum I was too nervous to adequately enjoy it. I don't know if it's like this at most schools, but it had a really positive vibe. The kids were really well behaved and everyone seemed pretty happy. Unfortunately we didn't get to see Ryan teach much, because the councilors came in to do team building activities. But it was fun watching the kids (and helping them a little). They're so cute in middle school. So while the councilors were leading the class, Ryan showed us the other classrooms he uses. He teaches a lot of different things and his classes switch every quarter!

His classrooms are really nice, they're huge, roomy and he has a lot of good equipment. Tara and Rashel mentioned how in California the funding had been cut for things like this. I was in a pretty technology friendly school and we didn't get new computers all the time, but I can't imagine my school without them. I also notice the amount of Macs... I finally figured out why I hardly used Macs in my school experience, a lot of parents of the students worked at Microsoft and I know they donated stuff all the time. Honestly, I don't see a difference besides Macs having Final Cut.
But anyways, Ryan teaches communications using Gimp and that free version of illustrator (Ink something) and Blender. I love how much free software there is now. He even teaches a little Flash! It's crazy the amount of things he teaches. He also said he sets the curriculum. That would really freak me out my first you to not have a big overall plan ahead of time. But he's been teaching for 6 and a half years now and the kids seem to like him. He said it goes fast. I bet some of his former students have started graduating from high school, that would be weird.

He has a really good classroom set up you can easily get to any desk. It's hard to describe so I'll have to make a little diagram.

-------------------front-------------------
-------x-----x------------x-----x---------
-------x-----x------------x-----x---------
-------x-----x------------x-----x---------
-------x-----xxxxxxxxxxx-----x---------
-------x-------------------------x--------
-------xxxxxxxx-------xxxxxxxx--------
-----------------back---------------------

I also liked something in the school, their hallways have so much color and they have cool quotes on the walls, the whole school felt very inviting. I also liked the plaques next to every classroom that had the teacher's name and their picture at eye level (for the 7th graders anyways). Overall I just got a really positive feeling radiating from the whole school.