I’m getting a better feel for the class and the teacher’s style as the semester progresses. There is definitely a attitude present at this school that is evident everywhere, and I don’t mean that in a negative way. The kids here seem not as interested in education as most of us probably were, but at the same time most are mature for their age. The atmosphere seems to be non-combative; as in their aren’t many behavior problems, but an overflow of enthusiasm isn’t present either.
The only reason I mention this subject is that it’s necessary to properly understand my cooperating teacher’s style. She doesn’t push the kids to hard, she can’t. As the Professor said, “as a teacher you must pick you’re battles”; and an uber strict teacher would not survive at this school in my opinion. She would spend to much time involved in disputes which would detract from learning. With that said, learning does take place, but it’s in a manner which best suits this school. I know one or both of our Professors will disagree with this, and I will undoubtedly be more strict in my classroom, but I don’t think I could educate these kids using my style as much as she can hers.
She knows the subject, a definite bonus. But she has a knack for shrugging off minor problem behaviors, and doesn’t allow them to distract from the lesson. Major problem behaivors haven’t occured, and I don’t anticipate they will. My cooperating teacher uses PowerPoint a lot and groupwork. I like powerpoint to supplement lecture in small doses, not as the primary source to communicate the material. But I do like how she uses groupwork for a variety of reasons. Thats all for now.
