Back to High School

Since this week was spring break, I decided to do an observation in a high school English classroom since none of my previous classroom experiences have been at this level.

Photo I took in September 2011 of a hallway
in my high school that was decorated
for Homecoming.

Before coming home, I contacted one of my teachers from high school to see if I could observe in her classroom for a day. This teacher had a huge influence on my decision to become an English teacher, so when she responded with a yes, I was incredibly excited.  

I observed two of her classes, a freshman class and a junior class. Having this opportunity reaffirmed that I’ve chosen the right career path, especially since this was my first experience as an observer in a high school classroom.

It was interesting to be on the teacher side of the desk for a change, especially since I once had been a student in that very classroom. It was especially interesting since now that I’ve taken some education classes, I realized I listen to student answers in a different way.

As a student, I would listen to my peers’ answers and I wouldn’t really analyze them in my head or think about how they could be more fully developed. But from this experience as an observer, I realized that I started to ask more questions in my head about what the students in the classroom were saying.

Some of the questions I was asking in my head were also questions that my former teacher was asking, which also helped reaffirm my decision to become an English teacher.

There really is a difference from being a student in a classroom to being an observer.

From my experience, I was able to really recognize some of the concepts we talk about in my education classes, from transitioning units to keeping the students engaged, and so many more concepts. It was neat to be able to apply my acquired knowledge to this experience.

I also had the opportunity to speak to both of the classes I observed about college. Just being able to stand up and talk in front of a class that I could, one day, be teaching, was a great experience.

Having this opportunity made me even more excited to do my field experience this coming fall semester.