Jerrion Johnson

EDUC 2301.200

Dr. Ellis

December 6, 2019

Reflection Paper

I had a wonderful time completing my observation hours at Farmersville Intermediate

school in Farmersville, Tx. I observed Mrs. Holbrook’s second grade class for my observation

hours. Mrs. Holbrook is a great teacher and I learned a lot in her class, that I can use in my own

classroom one day. Mrs. Holbrook is a very good multitasker and time manager. I learned that

being able to multitask well can be the difference between getting everything done on your class

schedule and getting behind on what your class has to do for the week. I also learned that what

works for your class one year may not work for the class you have the next year. Teaching

second grade is all about being flexible and being alright with change. I learned some things

about lesson planning and organization that will make things a lot easier for me as a teacher. I

loved interacting with the students and seeing their different personalities. They were all very

loving and a great class overall. I enjoyed watching Mrs. Holbrook teach and observing as the

students learned new things. I enjoyed all my time spent in Mrs. Holbrooks classroom.

Observing in Mrs. Holbrook’s classroom was a great experience and helped me to confirm that I

want to become a second-grade teacher. I knew I wanted to be a teacher, I just didn’t know what

grade, until now. It was interesting to watch the dynamics of the classroom and how the students

interacted with each other and their teacher. Mrs. Holbrook is very aware of each of her student’s

personalities and her student’s relationships with each other. She treats all her students with love

and kindness. When her class is getting loud and off task, she redirects them without anger or
negativity. She never yelled to get the attention of her class. In fact, she actually would

sometimes speak in a quieter voice when speaking to the class to get their attention and they

responded by becoming quiet and attentive. There were a few students that misbehaved all

throughout the day. Mrs. Holbrook handled those students in a kind but firm manner. She

reminded them of the rules of the classroom, redirected in each situation, and implemented

consequences where necessary. Mrs. Holbrook catered to different learning styles in each lesson

that she taught. Every lesson always included a visual aide for the students to observe. She had

little rhymes she used when teaching to help auditory students. She catered to sensory students

by having things for them to touch and manipulate in certain lessons. She was deliberate in using

more than one learning style in each lesson. Most of the lessons taught were both teacher

centered and student centered. She always started her lessons with the class together as a whole

and they started out teacher centered. Then most of the time the students split into small groups

or did independent work. The philosophies that I observed while in Mrs. Holbrook’s classroom,

were essentialism and progressivism. There are a few things I want to implement into my

classroom, that I observed in Mrs. Holbrook’s classroom. I definitely want to implement the

organization that she has in her classroom. She had her entire classroom organized and all her

lessons were organized as well. I want my classroom to be just as organized as hers. I also want

to implement the mood of her classroom. Her classroom was warm, inviting, and inclusive. All

the students felt comfortable and seemed to feel secure while in her classroom. Lastly, I would

like to implement the creativity she used in her classroom. She made her lessons fun and

engaging for her students. Most of the students were excited to engage in the lessons and had fun

learning. The experience I had in Mrs. Holbrook’s class was fantastic and has helped to prepare

me for my own classroom.