Week 1 Field Focused Observation: Acclimation and Relationship Building

 Nicole Tate

Date of field experience: January 23-26, 2024

Yorktown Middle School - ELA 8th Grade - 2nd and 3rd period

Overall, I am very happy with how my first week in the field went! I was almost late to my class the first day because it took longer than expected to get my name badge, and I got lost in the hallway. By the end of the week, I have gotten into a groove with the time I need to be there and the exact route I need to take to get to my classroom. My host teacher did a great job making me feel comfortable acclimating into the classroom. The first day, some of the students were definitely thinking "who is this?", but by the end of the week they did not seem to bat an eye when I was there. My host teacher is letting me wait until Monday to introduce myself, since that day I will be "teaching" a mini-lesson, AKA helping them with their vocab sheets. I am planning on making a fun slide for this introduction. Something I have already noticed about my host teacher this week is that she genuinely cares so much about students' lives outside of school. Every day I have heard her ask students about games or meets the night before, so she definitely knows and sees them as full kids and not just her English students. She has been teaching for 30 years, and has taught at both the high school and middle school level. I can already tell I am going to learn so much from her.

I have been trying my best to get to know the students' names based on the seating chart she gave me as well as hearing her say their names. Some things I have done in the class this week other than observing is making copies for my host teacher, handing out pencils when students "check them out", and walking around during their bellringers to give hints. Their bellringer each day is grammar corrections. My host teacher gave me a cheat sheet, and during their bellringer time I have been walking around while she does attendance to make sure students are on task and to give them some hints. My host teacher does a good job of explaining the way she wants me to help them, which has especially been nice since this is not my content area. I am obviously not giving them the answers, but saying things like "double check for spelling errors in line 3". This has been a nice way to introduce me into talking to these students. A teaching "win" for me this week was when a student who I helped during the bellringer thanked me for my help on his way out.

On Friday of this week (1/26), we had an active shooter drill. My teacher did a good job of getting the students quickly into place, locking the door, and keeping them quiet throughout. After the drill, she started talking to them about when she was a high school teacher and how the school she worked at would bring in "actors" to help during the drill. I'm honestly not quite sure why she was sharing this with them, but then I heard a student say that he wished their school did that so that "he could play the shooter". I saw other students around him react poorly to this, and looked at my host teacher and she did not notice. I made a note on what I thought the student's name was, and as I was leaving immediately texted Dr. Shaver. I called him on my way home, and when I got home emailed my host teacher with his help. She immediately called me to get a better description of what had happened. She let me know that day that they confirmed who the student was and pulled him out of class to have a chat. Obviously, I do not know how the chat went, but I am so grateful she took it as seriously as I did and did something about the situation. I will make sure to keep an ear out for any other concerning behavior from that student.

Check in: 

Honestly, this week was very hectic. My second job started picking up, and I started having meetings for my Theatre Education practicum (the show I am directing this semester). I also have been in rehearsals for two upcoming performances with my dance team, and overall am feeling very strung out. I am highly considering dropping a class that is for my minor so that I am at 15.5 credit hours instead of 18.5. I just know that something has to go in order for me to have a successful semester. I am not enjoying feeling this burnt out so early in the semester.