Observation Blog

What? One thing that I strive to do as a teacher is to reach every kid in my class. I do not want to give up on any of my students, even the ones who may be very reluctant to complete assignments or engage in discussion. I want to make sure everyone is learning, especially since that is a major responsibility of being a teacher. During my observations of a ninth grade inclusion ELA classroom, I noticed two students who were not engaged in the lesson. These students we not sitting near each other, but I noticed both displayed the same behaviors. These students were not disruptive to the class, but rather they sat at their desks looking down without completing any of their assigned work. These students were supposed to be completing a worksheet on definitions in the text, but when asked to fill out their worksheets, they said nothing and continued to do nothing. I was surprised by this because the rest of the students in the class seemed to have a good relationship with their teacher, and they followed the directions the first time they were given. So What? At first I thought that these two students may have been having a bad day or maybe didn’t have time to wake up yet. This was an 8am class, and I related this to when I was in high school and I often had a hard time concentrating when I was running on very little sleep. However, when I spoke to the teacher and asked if this behavior was typical of the students she replied with a yes. She then went on to tell me that these students in particular do not complete any of their work and that she has already tried all year to get them engaged, but they still do not participate, or hand in work in her class. I got the feeling from our discussion that she has given up hope for these students, and does not expect anything out of them. This was hard to hear. I’ve witnessed her teaching, and I feel that she is a great teacher, and she absolutely reaches the majority of her students. So why are these students not included with the majority? From my own observations I would guess that a bigger issue is causing these problems in the class. Maybe these students are having problems at home, or maybe they are not placed at the right ability level. Whatever the case may be, I believe that something must be done, these students cannot simply go through the remainder of the school year like this. Now What Although I do not know the history of these students, or the steps their teacher has already taken to help them improve and participate in the class, I do not think it is right for these students to be left in the dark. I’m sure it is a little easier as a teacher to simply forget about these students and teach the students who act more willing to learn, but I do not agree with this decision nor should any educator. I believe that these students have likely picked up on the fact that their teacher does not expect much from them. This is a problem because if these students feel that their teacher is giving up on them, they will be likely to completely give up on themselves. These students need to be held to the same expectations as the rest of their peers. If I had students in my classroom who did not complete assignments or participate in class, I would take several steps to help understand them improve. I think it is important to know your students, and if I talk to these students privately I will have a better chance to find out what the issue is, and what we can do to fix it together. Teachers have a responsibility to teach, but students also need to hold responsibility for their learning as well. I believe that communication would be a key role in resolving this conflict, or at least finding out what the underlining issue is so that it can be addressed. Also, if you go out of your way to speak to the student, the student will know that you care and this could motivate them to do better in your classroom. I think what it really comes down to is communication, and learning about your student and what techniques will help these students get involved. For example, you may learn that these students have shut down because they find the material too challenging. In order to reach their zone of proximal development, we need to differentiate the material when necessary. I believe every student wants to learn, and if these students are shutting down in class then we as teachers need to work to understand why so that we can get through to these students.  We need to have patience, be there for all of our students, and never give up on them. http://www.eschoolnews.com/2013/11/22/science-students-brain-138/