Observation #5 - Giovanna Todd 1

Thursday, November 7th, I observed two schools. The first school I observed was

Watkins Elementary. The diversity of the school was majority black at 67%, white 16%, hispanic

8% with other at 9% (greatschools.org). The classes overall were well behaved with few

distractions made by students. The grades I was able to observe were fourth and fifth grade. The

environment was calm and the classroom was organized and decentely spaced. The second

school I observed for the day was Olde Orchard Elementary. I have observed Olde Orchard

before, but the age group I had was different. I observed a kindergarten class rather than older

elementary kids. The demographic make-up of the school is 75% black, 10% white, 7% hispanic,

7% two or more races, and 1% other (greatschools.org). My cooperating teacher also told me the

demographics of his class when we first met . He stated that his students were diverse with black

being the majority. There are also white kids and students from Nepal, Mexico, Puerto Rico and

other various backgrounds.

Mr. Sidders’s is very open and transparent about his personality. He made clear to me

early on that he was not an authoritarian and preferred to be more laid back which was made

clear with his methods. Mr. Sidders engages with the whole class rather than taking one on one

time with students. Even though he usually addresses the class as a whole, he does not raise his

voice. The class may be speaking over him and distracting other students and still, he avoids

raising his voice. During class, he will walk around talking to each table and giving students

advice. When Mr. Sidders needs to transition into the next phase of the class he relies on the

clapping method.

The level of comfort that is shared between Mr. Sidders and the students is bad at

Watkins Elementary and Olde Orchard Elementary. At both Elementary schools, he continues to
Observation #5 - Giovanna Todd 2

struggle with pronunciation of names and even fails to remember names at all. He has been

teaching at Watkins for over a month now and was at Olde Orchard this entire year so far but

doesn’t attempt to learn or say their names correctly. Since this is the situation the kids are

placed in, I understand why the students teacher relationship is so low. Along with not knowing

their names, he does not try to interact one on one with each student. It is possible that I have

failed to hear this, but I have never witnessed an encounter where Mr. Sidders considers their day

or their life. He understands the kids that give him trouble and avoids diving into the problem to

find a solution. I believe if he put effort into caring about these kids names and lives there could

be a better relationship. Until an attempt is made, the relationships will only dwindle and become

worse. Not creating these relationships also leads to disrespect and misbehaving in his

classroom.

Discipline and forming relationships with students is one thing I will change and consider

in my future classroom. I plan to learn my students names and pronounce them as they prefer. I

also plan to ask the entire class about their weekend but continue to care about them as I walk

around and talk about their artwork. I think considering their artwork and how that is influenced

by their home lives will help me understand the students. I will also like to interact one on one to

ask specifics about their days and weekends just so they know I am interested in their lives. As I

mentioned before, Mr. Sidders tries to avoid discipline and usually cheaps out when it is needed.

I think if the students know I care about them and consider them an essential role in the

classroom, then behavioral issues may resolve themselves. Of course this may not happen every

time or it may not happen at all, but I think it is an essential step when considering my own

classroom.