I. Introduction
• What do you think the cartoon provided below is illustrating? Why? Answer briefly.
Misinformation. People who prefers to receive information from TV and the media, and not check the reality of things by themselves. It is not necessary for them to look for information, these are people who doesn’t questions what happens outside walls; to me their opinion of things is not meaningful.
II. Reflective writing
• Taking into account the information you collected during the observation stage,
1. Reflect on the importance of the initial observation period in final practicum.
It is a very important stage; during this time we have the chance to meet the students, their interests, background, knowledge and personality. With this information we can create our lessons thinking about the students, and motivate them with matter of their interest.
2. Refer to the observed issues in assigned school, and explain if these issues caused a change on the expectations you had about this particular period.
One important issue is that the administration of the school is not taking serious by the students. At one occasion three students arrived one hour late to class, and when asked for a pass they decided to stay out in the schoolyard. The school inspectors did not took matter in hands, and the students were allowed to stay out of class, hanging around in the schoolyard. The lack of authority in the school causes problems between the student and the teacher. For the teachers is not meaningful to call the roll or to annotate the students because there are not consequences for bad behavior. I think school administration is of importance to maintain order in the school.
3. How did you feel? Provide one example you consider most relevant to support your answer.
During my time as an observer I felt welcomed. The students were glad and excited for a change. They asked several times when I was starting as a teacher, I felt comfortable and eager to start with my classes and make them more interesting and motivating for them.
Team teaching stage
I. Introduction
I was asked to do a test and a graded activity for the students. The content of these activities was primarily grammar, and the students were learning it for only two classes. The students were highly challenged with the activities I created, even so, they worked individually and a few students worked together and they completed the activities with no major problems.
II. Reflective writing
For what I observed in the first stages of the practicum, the students of this class were not considered to be excellent students, due to they are in the lowest level of English. They were not challenged by their teacher and their classes were mostly daily life conversations. When I started doing my team teaching stage I informed the teacher about the activities I wanted to do in my teaching stage, but his answer was “that is too hard for these students, they will not able to do it”. With the first activities I created for the class I was able to see that the students can do it, they are just not challenged enough and they stay on a “lazy stage” through out the class.
For what I have red and seen in different educational websites, teachers need to develop academic language and literacy. Teachers need to be committed to high expectations and high standards for all students. Teachers need to show students how to face change; life; difficulties; education; and how to face success. Provide them opportunities for real academic language.
"No one rises to low expectations,"...
http://blog.dispatch.com/edblog/2008/11/students_need_high_expections_and_tlc.shtml
Teaching stage
I. Introduction
On the second week of November I arrived to school, signed my folder and walked to the class. On the schoolyard there is a stage that blocks the entrance to the English class, there are also numerous students outside their classrooms; I walked across the yard and enter the English class through a second entrance. In the class the students and the teacher stand in a circle talking. I enter the classroom to begin the lesson for the day but the teacher stops me. There is a strike in the school. The stage in the yard was to perform a goodbye ceremony to the students from 4th year of high school. An incident happened and the ceremony did not take place; the teachers decided not to teach and the students not to enter classes. The English class was in their classroom talking about the events and people who may cause the strike; this conversation lasted all 45 minutes. There were no classes that day.
II. Reflective writing
This event was highly uncommon, during my teaching stage and as an ex-student from this school I can say that this situation never happened before. A possible strike and a day without classes in the school reflect the changes that the establishment has gone through, and how different the students from these times differ from the students from 10 years ago. Situations do happen inside schools and classrooms, which may end up in a day without teaching.
The conversation that took place inside the English class reveals how the students feel about the school, its teachers and administrators. It was clear for me that they do not whish to study and that they do not feel respect for adults.
I was able to see the changes of the students and teachers and only in a period of 10 years. This event helped me realized that I am going to be a teacher of teenagers but they certainly do not think as I did when I was 16.
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