I have been placed in a catholic school which includes grades Pre-K through 8th grade. Since I have never had any experience with a catholic school before, I was a bit nervous, but that nervousness was short lived. On my first day, I was politely greeted at the main entrance and was escorted by another teacher to the classroom that I was to be observing. All of the staff were so friendly and helpful! My cooperating teacher was very welcoming and excited to have me in her classroom for the next 10 weeks. Immediately I noticed a strong sense of community in this school. There are only two classes (a maximum of 60 students) per grade level and most of the students have been attending the school since Pre-K.
During religion class, discussing the 10 commandments, the teacher had a discussion with the 8th grade students to get an idea about how they were feeling about transitioning to high school, as many of them will be splitting apart and going to a variety of different high schools. Both the teacher and the students expressed concern about the transition, since their small community at SMS, and the same faces for 10 years, is all they have known thus far. The teacher explained that it is quite an adjustment to go from such a small, close community to a much larger and more diverse community outside the walls of catholic school. The students were able to share their open and honest concerns with the teacher, demonstrating the rapport of mutual respect between students and teachers. The students who were planning to attend a public high school had concerns about no longer wearing uniforms and how public school students dressed. They were also concerned that public school students may not respect the same values that had been instilled in them through catholic school. The teacher gave honest, supportive advice, explaining to them they there may be situations in which they are faced with students who do not have them same values and encouraged them to believe in themselves and trust the values they have been taught.
During classroom instruction, the students took turns reading aloud from the text book, followed by discussion of what was read and, in most cases, the teacher would try to put the information into real life situations to help substantiate the understanding of the material. I was very impressed with the behavior of the students, as they were extremely attentive during the instructional time. They raised their hands quietly to comment or answer questions and did not speak while the teacher or another student was speaking. The teacher was sure to give everyone a chance to comment or contribute to the class discussion. This classroom has such a warm, inspiring environment. The teacher seems truly interested in teaching and in the well being of the students. In turn, the students all seem to have a thirst for knowledge and are sincerely dedicated to learning.
The classroom is decorated with items related to science as well as posters with motivational sayings, such as "Too often we underestimate the power of a touch, a smile, a kind word, a listening ear, an honest compliment, or the smallest act of caring, all of which have the potential to turn a life around." The desks in this classroom are grouped into circles of 5 or 6 students, encouraging small group discussion and group work for lab experiments. The students dress in variations of the same uniform. Khaki's and polo shirts for the boys and skirts, polo shirts, and sweaters for the girls. No sneakers are allowed to be worn, except during P.E. and outdoor recess. Almost all of the girls have long hair (I only saw one girl with short hair) and all of the boys have short hair.
From my observation, I believe this school has good right to be quite proud of the environment they have created in this school. I have never before experienced such rapport and mutual respect among the staff and student body. Looking forward to next 9 weeks!!!