390 Observation #3

Week four! Week four!! This week things were switched up and I headed out to a more rural school in the district and wow was it sure different from being in a venturing school. While I am sure there was a focus for the week, the class that I got placed into had an amazing teacher and was more of a go with the flow of the situation so that is exactly what we did.

This was the most unique and interesting class and day I have ever been a part of. With this school being much smaller than any of the other ones I have been in before (for work or practicum) it was interesting to see how it worked. Upon arriving we were greeted by all the teachers there and the principal, and by all the teachers I mean the 5 of them. Yes only 5 teachers for the entire school with I believe a total staff of 12 or 13! TINY! With this school have such a small amount of staff and students, just from that first conversation with everyone it was very evident to see that this wasn’t just a work community but a mini family. With everything going on in the pandemic they were all explaining how the school is pretty much spilt in half and how even with all these precautions it was mute with this community. It was not that they were all ignorant of the pandemic and the rules but that because this is a small rural school all the students are bused in and most have siblings between each cohort making it difficult to keep everyone separate. As well as the teachers then being distanced, they explained how this was hard because they are all such good friends and all share resources and normally would mix their classes together, it was difficult to see how in such a close-nit school they were supposed to stay away from each other now.

With that being said they were all very excited to welcome us into their “hidden gem” of a school and into the classrooms we went. I got the privileged to go into Mr. P’s grade 4/5/6 class for that first day and the first thing he said to me was, “I was going to change this to be a normal day for you but then I thought ‘she will never see anything like this again’ so today we are making boats.” Let me tell you, this was and still is the most unique day I have been able to observe in my entire time as an EA and a TC.

Mr. P runs his classroom very differently than any teacher I have seen before. He uses an economy system to manage the class, but then the students also manage themselves, and how then it incorporates into several different subjects. The way himself and the students described it to me was that every two weeks they own Mr. P desk rent at $500, and during the week if they complete their jobs, they get paid for it. They are all assigned classroom jobs and upon completion they receive payment, for working quietly they are paid, and so on. But on top of that there are fines and rewards they can buy too. Mr. P described how this was his way to help him manage and maintain the classroom. One of the jobs was for a student to check the planners in the morning so then he has time to do other things for the class. The students then check everyone’s planner, pulls out the ones with messages, and then gives him the list to say it is done. This responsibility for the student then lets Mr. P complete other things in the morning that checking planners would otherwise occupy. This was great to witness in the class because when Mr. P walked to the front the entire class was focused on him because they did not want a talking or wandering fine.

A group of students also came up to me to explain how they were going to take over the class from Mr. P. They have the ability to buy their desk for $1500, which means that while they are paying rent still, they are trying to save up to buy a desk. Yes, a desk, does not have to be their own. They explain how they formed a group and are going to start buying other students’ desks and making them pay their rent to them, so they can buy another desk and so on. It was hilarious and amazing to see how these students were taking his economy system and turning it into an advantage.

Mr. P explain how then this management system allowed him to complete projects such as building gravity boats that would work in water. This was a 3-day project and the day I got to witness was with the students actually building and testing their boats. While this was not a typical sit in your desk, do the assignment day, he said that the students still had expectations to follow and that is exactly what they did. While a day like this in some classes would have caused chaos by students being everywhere, using different supplies, making a mess, Mr. P had no worries. He encouraged them to get creative and test their boats throughout the day, and while this was not quiet the class self-managed in order to get paid for their task and not receive a fine.

This was a great class to have started out, and I was so lucky to have been a part of such a different type of learning strutted day rather then the typical math, LA, recess, PE science, etc. type of day. To observe how to incorporate such grand projects into a classroom of such different levelled students and it not destroy the room, or create a chaotic environment was definitely something that I hope to bring into my own classroom one day.