Wednesday was my first field experience visit. After some negotiations with my school's vice principal, I was finally placed in with an English teacher. I arrived on an interesting day - half of the school's air conditioning was currently down, and in an effort to avoid heat stroke, my teacher had moved her class to the considerably cooler media center. I was introduced to her class on an unusual day - the typical routine and flow of the classroom was disrupted, and the students definitely felt it. Include an unknown variable into the mix - my arrival - and you get some very interesting classroom management issues. Thankfully, at this point in the semester, my teacher had already formed a sufficient enough bond with the students and had earned their respect, so it was not do difficult restoring order as they asked me questions and got to know me a little better.
One thing of note occurred to relate to our discussions in class; I sat in during some teacher-writer conferences being held on an individual basis with the students. The teacher was editing the second draft of an autobiographical narrative, the first having already been peer edited. This draft was to be typed and printed, not written in hand, and she had provided students with access to the media center to ensure they could so. The format was nothing specific, just the standard things most students will assume - 12 point font, Times New Roman, Double Spaced, etc. Yet for many of the students their formatting seemed random, in whatever font they had felt like, if it was not in the default Calibri. It occurred to me then that this is the kind of information we assume from a position of privilege, and should make sure students need to know. Going into the professional world, that "standard formatting" is essential to know - the teacher, after realizing this, made it a point to instruct students on the basics of Word and formatting. It's a small example, but an interesting one and something I will definitely keep in mind for the future.
I'm glad to know that you were to experience this disconnect between what we expect students to know and actually needs to be explained before we can expect them to produce an assignment with the specifics you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteAs we discussed in class, the process approach to writing should incorporate the steps this teacher is taking, which you should really pay close attention to.
I'm so glad that you were finally able to navigate the situation and get in there. I know it was no easy feat!!
Look forward to reading much more about the field experience sessions to come.