Byron Bullock's Reflection
In reflecting upon my observations and interviews while at Stocks, one of the things I realized was the necessity of structure and routine for children at this age. Stocks has one of the highest concentrations of students who have experienced some form of trauma out of all the elementary schools in the district. It is evident that structure, boundaries, and clear expectations are a must so that as students develop cognitively and socially, they are able to do so within an environment that is conducive to their being successful. Often, aspiring school leaders speak of making school a fun and magical place. While I agree that this is important, I believe that our primary focus should be to ensure that we are growing students and raising their proficiency.
A second takeaway for me is that students at this level also require a nurturing and restorative environment. By this I mean, students at this level are prone to make mistakes and have poor judgement at times. Rather than always resorting to punitive measures, students at the PreK - Elementary level need to to experience consequences that enable them to learn the lesson of their misbehavior. Many of the people we spoke to acknowledged how often student act out based on certain triggers they experience. Educators working with students at this level need to be adequately trained and equipped on how to restoratively handle these kinds of situations.
A second takeaway for me is that students at this level also require a nurturing and restorative environment. By this I mean, students at this level are prone to make mistakes and have poor judgement at times. Rather than always resorting to punitive measures, students at the PreK - Elementary level need to to experience consequences that enable them to learn the lesson of their misbehavior. Many of the people we spoke to acknowledged how often student act out based on certain triggers they experience. Educators working with students at this level need to be adequately trained and equipped on how to restoratively handle these kinds of situations.
Emily Kicklighter's Reflection
From the observations and interviews conducted at Stocks Elementary School, I learned that what students need at the Pre-K/Kindergarten level compared to the 2nd and 5th Grade Levels are in many ways similar and in some ways very different.
Students in all grades need a caring adult who is concerned about more than just academics. It is difficult for a child to learn when he or she is hungry or scared. Teachers must address the whole child in order to make a significant impact on a child’s academic progress.
At Stocks Elementary, they are beginning to focus on the emotional wellbeing of their students. They are providing Resilience Training for the staff to help them become more aware of the effects of trauma. The principal estimates 50% of her students have been exposed to some trauma that affects their behavior and learning.
Stocks Elementary also has a large population of students with autism. These students need special attention to address their difficulty adjusting to various classroom environments. At Stocks it is common to hear these students screaming down the hallways. I mention these students because it is important that we acknowledge that though students should fit into developmental categories, many students do not, so it is important that we address each student as an individual.
I also observed that students in all grades also need structure and need to be taught our expectations. We cannot expect a child to know how to go to school or how to function in our classes if we have not taught them how. It is important that each teacher establish procedures that are clearly taught before we expect students to comply. It is helpful if hallways or grade levels have common expectations, so students transition from teacher to teacher easily. This need was evident from observing the 5th grade classroom. She was asking the students to do something that was age appropriate, so the students should be capable, but they had not be taught the procedures to be successful. We cannot forget that social interactions need to be taught also.
Lastly, I observed that all students need the opportunity to express themselves; to share their thoughts and ideas; to physically move around and communicate with other humans. We are designed to be connected with others. Students process what they are learning through speaking and writing. Students dive deeper in their understanding when they are able to ask questions and verbally process their thoughts. Students need to be able to express themselves through the arts and to learn from hands on problem-solving. Kindergarten teachers seem to understand these needs, but as students progress through the grades they are given less of these opportunities and are required to sit in desks longer and longer, quieter and quieter.
Some of the differences in needs that I noticed in our observation and interviews is that as students age they not only become more independent, but their need to be independent grows. A lot of the behavior issues that I witness seemed to stem from a student’s need to express his independence. Instead of stifling this independence, good teachers use it to their advantage by having the students take responsibility for their learning. Our 5th grade teacher is on the right track with doing stations because they will help her students gain independence; she just needs to make sure they are prepared first.
Another thing I observed is that students progress from concrete to abstract thinking as they age. According to Piaget, children develop abstract reasoning skills as part of their last stage of development between 11-16. Some of these 5th graders are getting to this age. The teacher should start to push some of her students to help them start to do some abstract thinking. Because Stocks’ performance score are so low, I think teachers may be afraid to increase the rigor, but rigor is what these students need to help them be more successful.
The thing that I observed at Stocks that surprised me the most was the developmental differences between students who are the same age and should be on similar levels. I do not believe this difference is caused by the students’ actually physical development. I believe this difference is caused by different levels of early intervention.
It was obvious in the Kindergarten class that some students had pre-K or active parents and were ready to write sentences while others were learning to write letters. Some students were coloring masterpieces while other were trying stay in the lines. Some students were cutting straight line and circles and others couldn’t hold the scissors correctly. This difference was very sad to me because it was clear from Kindergarten that everyone didn’t have the same educational opportunity. These difference were just as clear in 2nd grade and 5th grade.
Overall I found spending the day at an elementary school very valuable. I was able to see how children progress as they develop and how school changes through the grades. I’m not sure why we change the learning environment so drastically as students grow. The Kindergarten environment was relaxed, warm and inviting, a place anyone would like to spend a lot of time and learning was definitely taking place. I, as an adult, would enjoy learning in a classroom filled with such structured freedom. The 5th grade classroom lack all of these things. Why do we change? I have no idea. Whatever the reason, it cannot be in the best interest of the students.
Students in all grades need a caring adult who is concerned about more than just academics. It is difficult for a child to learn when he or she is hungry or scared. Teachers must address the whole child in order to make a significant impact on a child’s academic progress.
At Stocks Elementary, they are beginning to focus on the emotional wellbeing of their students. They are providing Resilience Training for the staff to help them become more aware of the effects of trauma. The principal estimates 50% of her students have been exposed to some trauma that affects their behavior and learning.
Stocks Elementary also has a large population of students with autism. These students need special attention to address their difficulty adjusting to various classroom environments. At Stocks it is common to hear these students screaming down the hallways. I mention these students because it is important that we acknowledge that though students should fit into developmental categories, many students do not, so it is important that we address each student as an individual.
I also observed that students in all grades also need structure and need to be taught our expectations. We cannot expect a child to know how to go to school or how to function in our classes if we have not taught them how. It is important that each teacher establish procedures that are clearly taught before we expect students to comply. It is helpful if hallways or grade levels have common expectations, so students transition from teacher to teacher easily. This need was evident from observing the 5th grade classroom. She was asking the students to do something that was age appropriate, so the students should be capable, but they had not be taught the procedures to be successful. We cannot forget that social interactions need to be taught also.
Lastly, I observed that all students need the opportunity to express themselves; to share their thoughts and ideas; to physically move around and communicate with other humans. We are designed to be connected with others. Students process what they are learning through speaking and writing. Students dive deeper in their understanding when they are able to ask questions and verbally process their thoughts. Students need to be able to express themselves through the arts and to learn from hands on problem-solving. Kindergarten teachers seem to understand these needs, but as students progress through the grades they are given less of these opportunities and are required to sit in desks longer and longer, quieter and quieter.
Some of the differences in needs that I noticed in our observation and interviews is that as students age they not only become more independent, but their need to be independent grows. A lot of the behavior issues that I witness seemed to stem from a student’s need to express his independence. Instead of stifling this independence, good teachers use it to their advantage by having the students take responsibility for their learning. Our 5th grade teacher is on the right track with doing stations because they will help her students gain independence; she just needs to make sure they are prepared first.
Another thing I observed is that students progress from concrete to abstract thinking as they age. According to Piaget, children develop abstract reasoning skills as part of their last stage of development between 11-16. Some of these 5th graders are getting to this age. The teacher should start to push some of her students to help them start to do some abstract thinking. Because Stocks’ performance score are so low, I think teachers may be afraid to increase the rigor, but rigor is what these students need to help them be more successful.
The thing that I observed at Stocks that surprised me the most was the developmental differences between students who are the same age and should be on similar levels. I do not believe this difference is caused by the students’ actually physical development. I believe this difference is caused by different levels of early intervention.
It was obvious in the Kindergarten class that some students had pre-K or active parents and were ready to write sentences while others were learning to write letters. Some students were coloring masterpieces while other were trying stay in the lines. Some students were cutting straight line and circles and others couldn’t hold the scissors correctly. This difference was very sad to me because it was clear from Kindergarten that everyone didn’t have the same educational opportunity. These difference were just as clear in 2nd grade and 5th grade.
Overall I found spending the day at an elementary school very valuable. I was able to see how children progress as they develop and how school changes through the grades. I’m not sure why we change the learning environment so drastically as students grow. The Kindergarten environment was relaxed, warm and inviting, a place anyone would like to spend a lot of time and learning was definitely taking place. I, as an adult, would enjoy learning in a classroom filled with such structured freedom. The 5th grade classroom lack all of these things. Why do we change? I have no idea. Whatever the reason, it cannot be in the best interest of the students.
La'Toyha Washington's Reflection
As a previous elementary teacher, I was quite aware of the levels of development that takes place in order for students to be academically, socially, and behaviorally prepared to matriculate through school. It was amazing to see how students develop and change through an administrator’s perspective. As an administrator, I want to be committed to the learners, be able to make rash decisions intelligently, be reflective, and be thoroughly involved in instructional decisions and plans in my school. While at Stokes Elementary, I learned that child development comes with maturation, as well as, the different stages of development. The thinking, social skills, and other characteristics of elementary school students certainly do differ greatly from grade to grade. I have learned that a trait in elementary school children is that when they realize they do not understand a subject, they are less willing to raise their hand to ask for clarification during discussion.
In conclusion, I found spending the day at Stokes extremely eye-opening. I was able to assess the students in grades K, 2, and 5 and determine that students need to have similar environments in order to really see how they develop from grade to grade. In comparison to fifth grade students, students in K were able to follow directions, seemed engaged, and were facilitator’s in their own learning. Fifth grade students, though bigger and seemingly more independent, were not able to stay on task as well as students in K. I noticed that students in fifth grade were no longer required to work in centers and manage their learning. The session was more teacher-led rather than student led.
In conclusion, I found spending the day at Stokes extremely eye-opening. I was able to assess the students in grades K, 2, and 5 and determine that students need to have similar environments in order to really see how they develop from grade to grade. In comparison to fifth grade students, students in K were able to follow directions, seemed engaged, and were facilitator’s in their own learning. Fifth grade students, though bigger and seemingly more independent, were not able to stay on task as well as students in K. I noticed that students in fifth grade were no longer required to work in centers and manage their learning. The session was more teacher-led rather than student led.