Classroom Observations

For my Adolescent Development class, my professor asked us to complete 10-15 hours of classroom observations. I decided to go to my high school, seeing as I knew so many English department faculty members. I contacted the English Coordinator and immediately started feeling one step closer to my future goals.

I know it sounds so cliche, but I always knew I wanted to be a teacher since I was a little girl. I would play school with my family members, pretend to grade papers and write out report cards, and embrace every moment I spent in my elementary school. As each year passed and I moved up a grade, I always wanted to teach that grade and aspire to be just like the teachers I had.

In middle school, I began to really fall in love with English. I was always interested in writing and I loved to read as a child. My brother actually taught me how to read before I was even in preschool because I was so eager to learn. In seventh grade, my English teachers allowed us to expand our writing skills by getting more creative with assignments. For the first time, I felt like I was writing real, sincere poetry and prose. In eighth grade, I was a part of the APEX program, which was for advanced social studies and English students. My eighth grade English teacher encouraged me to continue writing and constantly praised me for my work. 

During my freshman year of high school, I was able to create a more personalized class schedule, and I chose to take creative writing and journalism. It was actually in journalism where I met my best friend, Jessica Frasca! For creative writing, I had a wonderful teacher who helped me discover so many new genres of literature and writing, and I still have all of my assignments in the marble notebook I used that year. I continued to take creative writing for three of my four years in high school, and I still love to flip through those notebooks and discover how much my writing has developed since then. In tenth grade, I had the best English teacher, who  eventually inspired me to pursue an education at St. John's University. Words cannot describe how influential and creative this teacher was, but once  the year was over, I knew what I wanted to do with my life.

So here I am. At St. John's University, an English Adolescent Education major. I am loving every minute of it, and feel as though every second I spend in an English or Education class is vital to my future. I decided to take this Adolescent Development class, and I am so thankful for having the professor I do. He's an English teacher himself, but is also an English Chairman at his high school. So when he told us we had to begin observing classes, I immediately became so excited.

Every Wednesday for three hours I observe a 10th grade Regents/Regents Remedial class, a 12th grade Honors class, an 11th grade AP class and a 9th grade Honors class. I'm so glad to have this mix of classes, because it really is fascinating to see how differently the students learn and how each teacher responds to their needs. It's strange being back in my high school, now observing how the teachers are teaching, rather than what they're teaching. It's also very interesting to observe the students and how and what information they're absorbing. I've also been realizing different teaching methods used in these very different classes, and have come to understand why the teachers are using these methods. After sitting in such a different spot in the classroom, I've discovered just how engaging and innovative teachers have become! Each teacher that I've observed used some type of creative lesson that truly grabbed the students and helped them actually learn. These four teachers have become an inspiration for me, and I'd love to return back to their school for future observations.

Entering that high school made me realize how much closer I've become to my goal of becoming an English teacher. It was amazing to finally see just how far I've come since the days of my childhood, when I would play school with my family members and pretend to grade papers.