The time spent observing at schools over the past two weeks has been very insightful and inspiring. My fellow residents and I have visited a variety of schools such as public, charter, independent and both co-ed and single gender schools. I have taken notice of several aspects of every school, some common and some individual to a school. Above all observations, I have walked away from each school with a more refined teaching philosophy as a result of the “feel” of each school.
Every school has an atmosphere, a combination of the culture and environment that the school creates, and the majority of the time, one can feel the energy of the atmosphere within the first few minutes of being in the school. The schools we visited were no exception to this. Each school had a unique “feel” to it. Some schools were more relaxed while others were more dependent on structure. Every school functioned in its own and had goals and missions depending on the students’ needs. It became more and more apparent to me throughout the observations that I needed to ask myself, could I function here? More importantly, could I flourish here?
I am excited and inspired when I experience the “feel” of each school we visit and learning environment I have the opportunity to work in. Whether the environment compliments my philosophies or not, it is always exciting to see new perspectives and approaches to education. However, it is important to me that the schools I am a part of do more than allow me to function. I hope the schools I am a part of will encourage me to flourish as a teacher. I am looking forward to working in a variety of learning environments throughout the rest of the year and finding ways to flourish, even if I thought I could only function.
Every school has an atmosphere, a combination of the culture and environment that the school creates, and the majority of the time, one can feel the energy of the atmosphere within the first few minutes of being in the school. The schools we visited were no exception to this. Each school had a unique “feel” to it. Some schools were more relaxed while others were more dependent on structure. Every school functioned in its own and had goals and missions depending on the students’ needs. It became more and more apparent to me throughout the observations that I needed to ask myself, could I function here? More importantly, could I flourish here?
I am excited and inspired when I experience the “feel” of each school we visit and learning environment I have the opportunity to work in. Whether the environment compliments my philosophies or not, it is always exciting to see new perspectives and approaches to education. However, it is important to me that the schools I am a part of do more than allow me to function. I hope the schools I am a part of will encourage me to flourish as a teacher. I am looking forward to working in a variety of learning environments throughout the rest of the year and finding ways to flourish, even if I thought I could only function.