School Experience #1: Day 01
- Giovanna C. Theme
- Sep 10, 2018
- 5 min read
Updated: Oct 21, 2018
I managed to secure two weeks worth of work experience at an international school in Japan. It was equal parts exciting and completely unknown to me. I approached the school as an alumni, so thankfully, I already had contacts there that could pass on my information to the visual arts teacher, who agreed to welcome me into her classroom (for the purposes of anonymity, I will be referring to her as Ms. L) . The following series of posts are a day-by-day breakdown & reflection of my first week there!
The art teacher and I agreed to meet the Friday before I could potentially start on Monday of the following week so that we could discuss any specific questions I might have, and to get to know each other a bit instead of having to meet for the first time just before her classes start the next week. It was bizarre walking into an art room that used to be where I spent several 55-minute class periods in my final two years of secondary school. Not much had changed but this time, it felt as though my approach to the classroom environment had begun to shift from navigating it as a student, to observing it as a teacher-to-be. Ms. L very kindly and patiently answered all my questions and was very open to referring to her own past experiences as a teacher to add to her answers. I also found myself to be very fortunate that Ms. L teaches grades 6-12, so I would be able to observe and choose between teaching a class to a wide range of age groups, and class sizes.
WEEK 01 : DAY 01
PERIOD 1 - Department Meeting with Music, Choir, and Drama Department
This was a bi-weekly meeting that took place first thing on Monday, and I was glad to be able to come along, since I wanted to learn about what goes on beyond the classroom, what other duties and responsibilities would a teacher be required to take on? Within this meeting, the teachers discussed what arts-related events would be taking place this semester, and specifically which ones this school would need to host. Event logistics, requirements and concerns were all discussed during the meeting, as well as beginning discussions about school plays and festivals. All in all, the meeting gave me a glimpse into the bureaucratic side of teaching, and the process that needs to occur for plans to be approved. The hierarchy within a school's staff became much clearer.
PERIOD 2 - free period (included an earthquake drill)
As a student, drills were, more often than not, welcome distractions since they could sometimes fall during a class I did not particularly enjoy (i.e.: maths). However, I had never really stopped to think about how staff deal with drills, so having the chance to go through a drill and experience it from the teachers' point of view was very interesting. I spoke to Ms. L about how teachers are informed of drills well in advance of when they are due to take place, which is useful for them to be able to plan their class on that day accordingly. While this drill took place during a period of class where Ms. L was not teaching, she advised me to follow the instructions announced over the PA system anyway, since it is not only good practise, but also because other members of staff might occasionally check classroom while the drill is taking place to ensure that the teachers and students are following proper procedure.
PERIOD 3 - Grade 9
In hindsight, the grade 9 might have been my favourite group of students. They were a small class of attentive, respectful students. During this class, Ms. L briefed them on a new project they were to carry out as a partnership with the Drama class; they were tasked with designing a poster to promote the play that the Drama students would be practising for. This brief was delivered in the form of Powerpoint slides that were mainly visual, with textual information only when necessary. Most importantly perhaps, was how Ms. L provided the students with additional resources to refer to beyond the imagery she presented to the class. Thus, the students are encouraged to conduct their visual research for references in the style they would like to design in, while taking into account factors such as, audience, context etc. To ensure the students were understanding the brief, Ms. L would occasionally ask questions, inviting the students to participate and engage with the brief, never making it seem like they had little to no choice in what to do and how to go about achieving their goals for the project.
PERIOD 4 - Grade 8
What a difference a year makes! The grade 8 class was much more lively than the grade 9s (that is, before I had the chance to observe the grade 6 class). Most of the students were quite talkative, and the boys sit separately from the girls by choice. Throughout the class, I noticed Ms. L would spend more time trying to re-direct the class's focus, because they would become restless if they were expected to sit and listen for too long, or left on their own to carry out the goals set out by Ms. L for the class on that day.
PERIODS 5 + 6 - Grade 12
By far the most quiet of all the groups, and also the smallest. With a class of just 4 students, and all of them being girls, they all sat around the same table and spoke very little. Ms. L did not have to give a presentation at the start of the class, because at this point, the students are expected to be able to work very independently, to set their own deadlines and write their own briefs. However, Ms. L would still make herself readily available to answer any queries or give advice. I also noticed that she would often ask, "What's your reasoning?" to prompt students to reflect on their process and the development of their final pieces, to ensure they are meeting all the necessary criteria, as well becoming accustomed to discussing their ideas with others. Ms. L also spoke to students about trying "something new" for the next class to maximise their productivity and make the most progress within the short amount of time they have at school. I this kind of conversation stood out to me, because it showed how the teachers themselves have to be constantly reflecting on the progress of their individual classes, and adjust accordingly to ensure students are benefitting as much as they can from the class structure.
AFTER SCHOOL - Photography Club
In addition to teaching 5 periods of class that day, Ms. L also helps run the after school Photography Club from 15:30-16:30. The club meeting itself was primarily student-led, with Ms. L taking more of a backseat and serving more as an advisor and monitor, than as a full-on teacher.
All in all, the first day was full of interesting observations! Ms. L asked me if the classes met or defied my expectations, and I hadn't really thought about this, but upon further consideration, I found that I approached this first day with very few expectations, I simply wanted to come in with an open mind and observe as much as I could. I can't say I would even know what to expect, since the students that she is now teaching aren't familiar to me, seeing as I graduated from that school several years ago, and any faces I might have recognised have since left for university.
On my next post, I'll discuss the classes for several other grades that I did not get a chance to meet during this first day!
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