Field Notes 3/30
First Day, Yellow Cars, That’s Too Hard, & Building Blocks
Wednesday was my firist day at my field placement. When I walked into the classroom, children were still arriving for the day. Two of the teachers asked me what my name was and then told me that I could just go anywhere. I ended up in the room with the blocks were the boys were building rocket ships and forts. At first I just stood there because I did not know how to join in on their freeplay time, bu eventually I made eye contact with one of he kids, I’ll call him Matthew, who was playing with cars. He asked if I wanted to play and I ended up spending most of my time there playing with him. We sorted the cars out by our favorite colors, watched how far they went once they came off a ramp, parked them, and then destroyed castles that we had built inbetween car games.
One of the things I found interesting was that during the orientation I was told that the they try to have little adult interaction, but the entire time I was there, there were few moments when the teachers weren’t talking to each other. I even overheard two of the teachers talking about me and asking what praxis was and what my role was – I was only in the next room over (but still in eye sight of both teachers) so I thought that was a little odd. I also noticed that the teachers are oftentimes talking about the children, there seemed to be a few that they kept special watch on, and others that if there was a conflict they had a conversation about while the children continued to play.
After Matthew and I finished playing with the cars, we went into the art room and he started on a project that involves using thumb tacks to put shapes on a board. I thought that Matthew and I were going to put the shapes on the board together, but then another teacher interrupted and started telling Matthew that he tends to give up when he thinks things are too hard. At first I was shocked when the teacher interrupted us, but it turned out fine and Matthew finished the art project. I felt kind of out of place at that point because there wasn’t much I could do to help him finish the project with the teacher doing so much guiding.
Generally I’m confused by what my role in the classroom is supposed to be. I noticed that I interact with the kids more than the teachers do during the playtime, like I would be sitting on the ground playing with the toys joining in on the games. Other times I did what the teachers seemed to be doing which was standing off to the side and watching the children play. Every now and then a teacher would interject and ask questions or encourage a student to play or stop a student from doing something, but overall they seemed to be pretty hands off. There were moments when I wasn’t sure if I should say something to a child (e.g. one of the hildren climbed up on the shelf and was sitting there and I didn’t know if they were supposed to climb on the shelves).
Field Notes 4/1
April Fools, Cherry Cake, Let’s Switch, and Show & Tell
Today was my second day in the placement. I spent a good chunk of time outside and then there was play inside and show and tell.
Outside – When I got there kids were still arriving and a large portion seemed to be outside so I went outside. The boys were playing in the mud and the girls were playing in the sandbox. One of the teachers, Teacher J, was outside with the kids and I asked if I could go over to the sandbox with the girls while she went over the the mud with the boys. At the sandbox the girls were playing house (I think) and two of the girls had made a cherry cake for the third girl. About 15 minutes into their play I was invited in to try the cherry cake (which was made completely of sand) after that they went back to playing as if I wasn’t even there. I thought this was interesting compared to my experience on Wednesday. The boys I played with on Wednesday were more willing to bring me into the loop on what they were playing and talked to me and asked what my name was, told me their names, and asked how old I was. Then a student, I’ll call him Alexander, went over to the swings and Teacher J asked me if I could go over to to the swings, see if he needed a starter push and keep an eye on him. Alexander talked to me the whole time that he was on the swing about an event he was going to on April 10. A few minutes into him swinging the girls ran over and hopped on the other swings. I talked to Matthew and Meghan (another pseudonym), and then the girls left and Matthew stayed on the swings. The same teacher that interrupted yesterday came over and started talking to Matthew. It turns out that she is Matthew’s “shadow” and follows him around throughout the day and helps him interact with other people because Matthew is “specil” as she called him. I talked to this teacher a lot and she told me about Matthew being shadowed, she asked what praxis is, she asked if I was an athelete among other things. I was stil shocked that one of the teachers/shadow was talking to me so much because the orientation made it seem like the teachers don’t talk at all.
Inside play – When all the children were back inside, one of the boys told me that I was standing in fire so I pretended to be on fire and he had the hose but wouldn’t put the fire out. I found a hose and put my own fire out but then he took my hose and then somehow I ended up chasing him around the block room. Once he ran away, another student tried to play tag with me, but everytime I didn’t tage him he would say “miss me miss me now you gotta kiss me”. I thought that this wasn’t appropriate, but I didn’t know how to respond to him, I also didn’t think it was that big of a deal but Teacher J tol him that that wasn’t a friendly way to play so he stopped. Then the boys were holding up traffic signs (like yield, stop, and do not enter) and pointing them at each other and chasing each other with the signs. I didn’t think there was a problem with this but Teacher J stopped them again and saif that they should point the toys because they look like weapons and asked if we could switch rooms. So, I ended up in a room with a few girls who played with the chains, teddy bear hide-and-seek, and kitty cat. I thought that this was particularly interesting because I didn’t see a problem with the way the boys were playing, I also didn’t think that they were being too rowdy, but the teacher thought that they were and decided to stop how they were playing and have them play something else. This left me wondering what is appropriate play? At this point it doesn’t seem to clear.
Show&Tell – From what I noticed, show and tell is split between Thursday and Friday with half of the students going on each day. Today a students shared a dog collar from her dog who died of cancer earlier this year. Another student’s mother came in and together they sang a song/opera that was in Italian. After each person presented their item, the children were allowed to ask questions. After one of the students presentations of a snow brush, Teacher J asked a “silly” question about if it came with a snowball launcher. The kids thought it was funny, but after that, a student tried to ask a “silly” question (as opposed to a serious question) and the Teacher told him he couldn’t ask anymore questions. I thought this was interesting because it seems clear that they have a rule about the kinds of questions that you can ask after show & tell, but because the teacher broke that rule, the students anted to follow suit. In this setting I think it is even more important to notice how the teachers behaviors influence the students. I think it’s also important to understand how to navigate a situation where a student is mimicking the teacher and the teacher did something that is against the rules.
I still feel like I don’t know where my place is in the classroom.
Field Notes 4/6
Just Another Day with Matthew
On Wednesday, my time at the field placment was spent the same way that it was the Wednesday before. I spent the majority of my time playing with Matthew, who had again ased me if I wanted to play. What I’ve noticed in playing with Matthew is that when he plays with the other children, he usually isn’t the person who is deciding where the game will go next and he will oftentimes be playing along with the other children but off to the side. For example, the kids had made a rocket ship and Matthew was also playing rockets, but he and another student had built smaller rockets off to the side. However, when he plays with me he takes on more leadership and directs our play. I also noticed that there wer a few times when we would be playing something and then he wouuld see the other children playing a different (or sometimes similar) game and then he would get sidetracked (not sure if that’s the right word) and then evetually get up and go over to the game, play for a few minutes, seem disinterested, and then come back to the game we were playing. This happened a few times, like when one of the students brought out the balance beam and trampoline or when they other children in the room started playing with the traffic signs.
I find this interesting because even at this young age, I’m able to see kids be leaders or followers in play. With this child in particular, he has the abillity to direct play when in a smaller group, but in a larger group (3-5 kids) he seems to disenagge. I wonder what’s leading to this. There are definitely some strong personalities in the children that Matthew normally plays with, but I wonder how they interact when I’m not around. Does Matthew get a chance to direct the play? I think the question of directing/leading the play is important because it gives students the opportunity to share their ideas and also to get buy-in from other people.
Field Notes 4/8
You Always Pick on Me –
This day was particularly off for the students. There were many instances of the children not listening to any “adult” in the room. At first when I tried to intervene with some students I thought they weren’t listening to me because they weren’t used to me being in the classroom, but then I saw multiple layers of the students not listening. So at one point I decided to attempt to intervene when some of the boys in the classroom were playing a game thar seemed like they were using the toys as a weapon. So, using the strategies that I’ve seen the teachers use I tried to intervene. I started by asking the kids what they were playing (the teachers usually start with this to see if they need to further intervene) and they ignored me. Then another teacher (who is the shadow for one particular student) called out to the students and said “a teacher is talking to you”. Eventually the students responded to me and said that the were playing missiles (or something of the sort, either way it involved them aiming at one another and shooting) and I told them that it sounded like they were playing a game that involved weapons and I suggested that they play another game. They then turned the toys they were playing with into rockets and started crashing into eachother. I suggested that they tried a different game because they could hurt themseles. Then the shadow teacher told them they could no longer play with that toy and then she told the other teacher, Teacher J, and she came in and ended their play time earlier than theo ther students (there was still 5 minutes left before clean-up time).
It was really interesting seeing how the students responded, or didn’t respond to the teachers on this day. I also thought it was interesting that the shadow teacher referred to me as a teacher when talking to the kids. At first when the students weren’t responding to me, I thought it was because I’m not a teacher in the classroom. This led me to wondering about who the students expect to be authority figures in the classroom, especially when their are field placements there and an endless rotation of college-aged students in their classrooms.
Field Notes 4/13
Snakes, Running Out
So each week it seems like there’s a new trendy game to play in the block room. On Wednesday, the kids decided to build a fort/hide out for snakes only. If a student did not have a “snake” which was really a clothespin, then they weren’t allowed to go inside of the hide out/house/fort. The students spent a lot of time slithering on the floor pretending to be snakes and arguing/discussing which snakes they were and which ones were bigger or poisonous. (E.g. one student decided that their snake was an anaconda while another student wasa rattle snake). While the kids wer playing there were two children who were suposed to be sharing (Matthew and Luke) some toy (I think it was Star Wars). The teachers were timing them and then asking them to pass the toy along. During Matthew’s turn, Luke wanted to play with the toy but Matthew still had time left in his turn. (I think it’s important to note that Matthew has a teacher that follows him around as a shadow that keeps him on track in communication and Luke is starting to learn English but is very proficient in the language he uses at home) When one of the student teachers tried to explain to Luke that it was still Matthew’s turn, Luke got very upset. At one point he ran outside of the classroom and Teacher J had to bring him back in. He tried a few other times after that to run out of the classroom but Teacher J and the other student teacher kept stopping him from leaving.
I thought that this entire interaction was interesting. I wasn’t quite sure about why Luke had gotten so upset while waiting for his turn. It is also interesting to see how the teachers (and other students) interact with Luke. The days that I’m are also the days that the other student (who helps translate for Luke) is there as well. When I first started going to this placement, she translated a lot and it seemed like Luke really depended on her support. But now that Luke’s parents want him to start learning English, the main teachers asked the student to stop translating so much. I’m wondering if there was a miscommunication in this instance or a deeper misunderstanding or frustration. However when I came in on Friday, one of the teachers mentioned that Luke had a muchbetter day on Thursday.
Field Notes 4/15
Fire Drills, No Teacher Windows Allowed
On Friday the students had a fire drill (it wasn’t a full fire drill with sirens, instead the director rand a bell in the hallway). When the bell was rung students got up and walked out the back door through the play ground and lined up on the fence. Then the director asked each teacher how many students were in the school today and how many were on the fence. Once the drill was over, students were supposed to walk quietly back into the building.
The students were stil playing the snake hideout game and had built a pretty impressive hideout with the blocks. They also had a door that they closed so it could be completely dark inside the hideout. WHen Matthew decided to play this game, his shadow went to one side of the fort and opened up a “window” to make sure that he was doing okay. The students didn’t want a window or for the door to be open because they wanted it to be completely dark inside. The teacher told them that sometimes teachers are going to open up a window to make sure that students are safe. Once the shadow teacher left the room, I decided to go sit by the window that she had made. The students kept closing the window and one of the teachers told them again that teachers (in this case meaning me) open windows to make sure students are safe. Then the shadow teacher told me to keep an eye on the students because there was a “pants pulling down” incident earlier this year and two of the students who were apart of that were inside the hideout.
This made me think of the training I had to go to when I was a camp counselor for the YMCA. We were told not to allow student to be in enclosed private spaces with each other, or even under tables or in corners playing closely. So, when I saw that initally the teachers were pretty hand-off with this game I wa shocked. Then to also hear that there was an incident earlier in the year, but the students were still able to play with a completely closed door fort I was shocked. One of the teachers told me that if there was any similar incidents then they lose the closed door privilege. This left me curious about what the threshold is for losing the privileges to a certain game and if the students know these limitations. I’m also curious about how that earlier incident was dealth with.
Field Notes 4/20
Book Readings & Outsiders
So this was my 7th visit to the site and I still feel like an outsider when I’m in the classroom. Even though I go twice a week and it’s proabbly easier for the kids to recognize me when they see my face more frequently, I still feel ike I don’t have a place in the classroom. On Wednesday when I was there, I guess Teacher J noticed my discomfort or that I wasn’t really playing with the kids and had first suggested that I go to the room where the kids were playing with the legos. I sat on the floor and asked some of the students what they were doing, but beyond that I was just sitting there. The other teacher that was in the room, Teacher K, was building her own lego thing and didn’t seem to be interacting with the kids that often. Then Teacher J came over to me again and asked if I would read a book to some of the kids who were sitting on the couch. I ended up reading a book about a frog. Then I asked the kids if they wanted me to read another book and they picked out a second book for me. This book had chapters in it and after the first 3 or so chapters more kids joined in on the couch. After I finished reading the second book, Matthew said that he missed the first few chapters and asked if I could read them again. I asked him if I could ask the other kids if they wanted to read another book first and then we could go back to the beginning. After I asked the other kids I told Matthew that I would reread the first few chapters. Matthew’s shadow then commented to him that he had a good conversation with me. After I reread the second book, I read a third book that the kids had picked out.
As I had mentioned earlier, I still feel out of place in the classroom. I think in part I feel out of place because there are at least 3 adults (not including myself) in the classroom when I’m there. I also feel out of place in part because I’m used to a more structured environement and also knowing what role I’m playing with the students I’m working with. In this placement we’re expected to play but not really talked to about how to enagage with the students. Then there are times when the teachers expect me to intervene, but the ways in which I typically intervene with kids is different than the ways the teachers intervene and even when I caught on to the language that the teachers use with the children, there are times when the children don’t listen to me or see me as a teacher in the classroom.
Field Notes 4/22
5th Grade Band, You’re the Big Kids, & Outside
Friday was a little different because the band from a nearby school was coming to do a concert for the entire school. WHen the teachers announced to the students that there was going to be a special concert and change to the schedule they also mentioned that the class would be outside with the younger class. They emphasized to the students that they needed to set an example for the younger kids and not to play so rough so that they don’t scare the young kids. I thought this was an intersting talk to give to 4 and 5 year olds. We went outside for a little bit while the classroom was being set up for the concert and I ended up with the students who decided to get on the swings. We had conversations about trains (specifically the SEPTA routes) and knock knock jokes. Some of the students from the class I’m in were leading the younger students around playing games and the teachers were watching them closely, almost following them around the playground. After a few minutes outside, the kids were called to line up to go back into the room. The concert consisted of string instruments and the band director talked to the kids about the different instruments. The kids were a good audience, even in the moments when the music was too loud because the instruments were very close to us.
Once the conert was over they had snack and one of the kids grandmothers had made chocolate covered Matza for the students since it was the first day of Passover. One of the teachers mentioned briefly that it was Passover and that Matza was a special kind of bread. I was wondering if this was an opportunity to do more education (talking about different cultures/religions) or if the statements the teacher made were enough for the kids to process in that moment. It seemed that there were other students in the class who were familiar with Passover either through their own practices or through other famioly members and they may have had more to contribute to that conversation. This isn’t the first time that the students hadn’t been introduced to a new culture and it’s interesting the ways in which they talk about it. A few weeks ago (and then again another time I was there) one of the parents came in to do show and tell and was singing a song. The teacher had assumed that it was going to be a Japanese song (I gathert that the family is Japanese) but it turns out that the parent came to sing an Italian opera. I wish there had of een more room to talk about that. In last weeks field notes I mentioned that Luke’s primary language is not English. For the most part students seem to understand that there’s a difference but sometimes the questions they asked start to lean towards insensitivity – e.g. they will repeatedly ask this student if he knows what their names are (he knows the students in the class names, he may be shy sometimes in speaking, but he knows everyone’s name) and the teachers will intervene and say “he knows your name you don’t have to keep asking” but it doesn’t seem like the teachers talk about this.
Field Notes 4/29
Pearler Beads, Sewing, and Caterpillars
This was my last day at the field placement. Instead of doing my normal routine of playing in the block room, I spent my time in the art room with some of the girls. When one of the kids came in, she asked her father to stay and help her make her pearler beads. She decided that she was making a peachish-pink (trying saying that 5 times fast, which we did) butterfly while some of the other students made flowers and cats. Her dad stayed for quite some time but then she ended up deciding that she didn’t want to make the pearler beads and dumped them all back in the container. Eventually her dad left. I thought it was cool that her dad got to stay with her for that amount of time he also seemed to know the other kids in the class pretty well. I’m wondering how much these children interact outside of the school, I had overheard one group of students talking about their play date, but I wonder how often that happens. I was also interested in the parents comfortability with adults in the classroom that they’ve never met before. Most of the days when the parents come in they typically walk right past me, however this dad introduced himself and went on playing with his daughter. Are the parents used to people being in and out of the classroom? Do they ever have concerns about who is coming into the classroom and how they will be interacting with their child?
While I was working on the pearler beads, another girl had been making a scarf with some fabric. I thought this was really creative and she was really excited about the scarf she was making (she also tried to make a hat). I think it is always interesting to see what the kids come up with out of scrap materials. Whether it’s rockets and forts in the block room or scarves in the art room, I’m always intrigued by the depth of their imagination.
I also went to my last show & tell on this day. After show & tell was over, the teacher showed the kids how big the caterpillars were getting. She said that when they come back to school the next week, they may be in their cocoons. I like this science/nature aspect of the classroom. The book that was read during story time was also about a caterpillar who was friends with a baby goose and neither of them recognizing each other when they had matured into their adult bodies.