Where'd the fun go?
Greetings! My name is Caroline Suddreth and I am in Dr. Gabbard's 3200 class. I am a transfer student from Lenoir Community College so this is my first year at ECU. Also, this is the first semester I have ever had to to do a practicum. For my practicum experience I chose to go back to my home town, Kinston,NC, and visit the elementary school I attended. Isn't it amazing how things change?
I go into the first grade classroom with the idea that the kids are going to be doing all sorts of creative things. I am thinking this because in all my classes it is drilled in our heads to "be creative", "intergrate whenever possible", "make learning memorable for thekids",yada yada yada, etc. The whole seven hours I am in this classroom the only things
covered are reading, math, and thinking skills. SO totally different from when I was in firstgrade. There were no learning centers at all. The kids sat in their desks and looked at
an over head. I honestly believe that instead of intergrating subjects and ideas into the classroom, we are making it more boring and less interactive for the students. It was much more hands on when I was in school.
Another thing that sort of disturbed me was the fact that the teacher informed me that the class would NOT be having a Halloween party! I couldn't believe it! First graders not having a Halloween party. Trust me, I understand that there are tests to take and stuff to learn but my goodness, these kids are 6 and 7 years old.
My point is, it disgruntles me that we are taking all the fun aspects out of school. I loved every minute of elementary school and I hate it for any kid that does not get to have the same experience I did. It's a shame that we have gotten so focused on testing that elementary school is turning into a jail cell. When I am a teacher, my main goal is to teach my students all the information they need to know, but to also include things that will make them laugh, smile, and make fond memories like the ones I have.
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WOW! This is Sad
I also feel this way about elementary school today. They are truly taking the fun out of school which is why kids are already not liking school at such a young age. Students as young as elementary aged kids should not be stuck in their desks all-day looking at overhead handout. Teachers need to be aware of the fact that their attention span is about 15 minutes so they are probably not even listening to half of the lesson which means they aren't learning anything. School is a learning environment and we all get that, but it's not good to take the fun out of it, its supposed to be something students look forward to. And the whole party thing is just too sad to discuss. It seems to me that teachers are too stuck on testing and homework that they don't know how to make things fun and exciting for their students.
I am shocked they weren't
I am shocked they weren't even having a Halloween party! Wow, things really are different and what is even more shocking is I had to do a practicum for a first grade class and they had centers and recess and all of that. So it makes you wonder if it's an all over thing or the school or if maybe the teacher is just bad? This has really made me wonder wow that is so awful! It's just a party and I'm sure parents don't mind and you can always tie it in with learning... maybe something when Halloween first started I mean it doesn't have to be the SAT's!!! They are just first graders!
I fear that when I become a
I fear that when I become a teacher i won't be allowed to integrate fun into my classroom. Hopefully i will have the oppertunity and the resorces to try to make everything, even science, fun. I have a very creative side and i enjoy working with kids and making them happy...I'm sorry that you feel the way that you do after visiting your old school. Hopefully things will change and you'll be able to give your students a fun experience! :0)
Caroline, I had a very
Caroline,
I had a very similar experience it sounds like in my practicum this semester. I was in a second grade classroom, and there was absolutely nothing interesting or fun incorporated into the days. Even the gym class that I went to was extremely boring. The gym teacher was more interested in trying to get me to tailgate with him and his friends before the football game the next day then actually doing something fun with the kids! And to top it off, it was a rainy day outside, so these poor second graders weren't able to go outside for recess that day! It completely broke my heart after my first day there!
It got to the point that I had no clue what a second grade classroom was supposed to look like today. So I talked to my mom, who teaches at an inner-city school, and she got me to come in to her school and spend a day in a second grade classroom there. Wow! There was a huge difference in the two different classrooms! That one was what I remembered second grade being like!
The point that I'm trying to make is yes, it's very discouraging to go into a classroom that is completely boring, but don't let it get you down! There are still some genuinely good teachers out there that lead a fun, interactive classroom! Just remember when you begin teaching the things that you noticed that were effective or not.
Wow. That's crazy! I loved
Wow. That's crazy! I loved all of the creative stuff we did in elementary school! It's a real shame that it has come to this.
I went back to my middle school this semester, and it was definately quite different. The thing that shocked me the most was the fact that instead of having the kids hang out by the lockers and in the rooms before the first period all the kids met in either the auditorium or the cafeteria, with the teachers surveying them. The bell would ring for them to go to their first period, and they immediately had to go straight to class. These were middle schoolers. How could things have gone down hill so much for this to be neccessary? I mentioned this to the teacher I was observing, who came to the school the year after I left, and she said it had been that way since she started teaching there. I wonder what made them have the idea to start doing that.