October 4th
Interesting Observations
I found it very interesting when one of the teachers of an alternative program would alter the entire day’s schedule to match the kids’ attention spans (as they were all designated learners). I found it very interesting to see how the kids reacted to the varying personalities of the teachers. Some classrooms were very full of energy, with the teacher doing their best to keep everything on track, whereas others were more mellow with the students keen on keeping the progress of the lesson going.
Surprises/Unexpected Things
I found it interesting that kids were expected to want to come to school to learn when they had to sit in full jackets because the mobile unit they were in wasn’t really heated properly, and it wasn’t exactly the most friendly of environments, despite the brilliant effort of the teacher to have the walls covered in posters of inspirational quotes and people.
I think that that was one way in which kids could feel pushed out of the regular school system and segregated from “normal” students as their classroom was on the edge of the school grounds, kind of tucked out of sight of the rest of the school. This puts more work on the teacher to keep their students coming to class.
Questions?
Since teaching is such an individual profession (once you get into your classrooms) how can schools ensure and promote a team-oriented approach to their staff?
How can schools, IB in particular, promote and support students’ physical health within the school day?
Added Dec 9th
In what ways do schools value, or have a lack of valuing, the physical health aspect of their students, staff, and faculty? Specifically regarding movement and mental health.
