This semester, I had the wonderful opportunity of working in a first grade classroom at Willow

Creek Elementary, which lies in the Meridian School District boundaries. I observed under the direction
of Jennifer Kelly, who has only been teaching for a few years.
During your observation, did you ever observe the teacher boosting the self-esteem of a student?
This was a tremendous strength of Mrs. Kellys. She is a very positive individual, and she brings this
energy into her classroom. She was constantly praising her students for their strengths, and helping them to work on
their weaknesses in a way that was also positive. Due to this method of teaching, most of her students had very high
self-esteems.
Was the teacher you observing very open with you with what they did and allowed you to participate with the
class?
I believe that Mrs. Kelly had reservations about me at first. She is very protective of her student s and
didnt watched me very carefully as I interacted with them. However, once she saw that I was competent in working
with children, she gave me free reign. I taught small groups, administered tests, gave large group instruction, and
worked in a variety of different roles. She was also very open with me regarding the strengths and weaknesses of
the school, her students, and the community in which her students resided. I learned a great deal from her, and we
have become good friends, talking often.
How did your teachers deal with disruptive students?
While the majority of the students in this class were very well behaved, there were a few that had behavior
problems. Mrs. Kelly dealt with these students by giving them warnings, and eventually having them miss part of
their recess if the behavior was not changed. This did not happen frequently, and she was always very fair and
consistent when redirecting her students.
From which social class did the majority of the students come, and how would you expect their socialization
behaviors to change if you were dealing with a different class?
The school in which I observed has only been opened for two years. This school is located in a prominent
section of Meridian, and students attend from the subdivision located behind the school. Due to this, it was not
difficult to surmise that these students were from middle to upper-middle class families. Most of these children
came from homes with educated parents, and you could tell this by the way that education was valued in the
children. Most of them had attended some sort of preschool, and this was apparent in not only their academic
behavior, but also in their social behavior.
In contrast to this I once worked for an extended period of time in a Kindergarten classroom in a lower
economic area. These students, while incredibly bright were at a disadvantage when compared to the children in the
school in which I recently observed. Most of these children had not attended preschool, and due to this the teacher
was forced to focus on the most basic of principles. There was also the added pressure of teaching these children the
basics, such as how to line up, proper classroom etiquette, among other things. Not all of the children needed these
basic principles, but since the majority did, they were forced to slow down to accommodate the majority of the
students.