Jake Grimsley

School Journal #4

1. This practicum was still in the same time period as the rest that I have been a part of, so

we went through the same general concepts, meaning it was during a time period their

class calls “center time.” During this time period, the students are able to go around the

class, to different areas that they would like to play. These areas exercise their brains

while they are also able to have fun. Basically, it gets them to learn without really

realizing it. During this practicum specifically I got to see the kids as more tired then

they usually were. This practicum took place the morning after Halloween, where most

all students in my class were out trick-or-treating. After the long night, they were all very

tired, a huge change from the last practicum which was much more chaotic as a whole.

Because of this, my time walking around was more productive, and I was able to engage

some of the English language learners in more conversation than I usually did. They

responded to me much more this time, and although there was some class management to

take care of, it was more dialogue-based than anything, and the students showed a lot of

skill in using their words to solve issues.

2. Some of these students remind me a lot of myself at their age. Being with this class

every other week has sort of given me a trip down memory lane as to what it’s like being

a kid at that age. There’s always a lot going on in your mind, and you don’t have much

of an outlet to let it out anywhere. Because of this, sometimes you act out, but there are

ways to help them, and they all generally start with understanding the kids a bit better.

3. On page 291, progressivism is defined as “being in flux, as ever changing.” This is

reflected in the school I’m at. While the kids are able to learn a lot from each class, their

general situations change day by day, especially at their age. Some days the kids need to
 Jake Grimsley

be treated more strictly, or more freely than other days. In addition, the curriculum they

take advantage of tries to build them into critical, changing thinkers, getting them not

only to learn about different subjects, but to talk about them as well, which is a huge

principal of progressivism.