The other day I went to observe at one of the public schools. It was very interesting to compare and contrast this school to American schools. The first room I was in was very chaotic. There seemed to be no behavior management. The children may have been excited though because they had visitors, but the teacher did not reinforce them to behave. I remember one child standing up to read and the teacher was the only one listening. All the other students were talking or goofing off.
The second room I was in was a lot more organized. The lesson that was begin taught reminded me of our centers. The students were reading in three different groups based on ability. After the small groups read their posters the class went back to whole instruction. The students were expected to answer questions and help the teacher spell the words to write on the board. I noticed that a lot of students were hitting each other with the pointers that guided them when they were reading. The teacher would sometimes catch them and she only said "stop." Then she would continue talking with her group. I think she should have replaced herself in the room. Her back was facing the whole class because the way she was sitting with her small group. This showed me that placement is very important in a classroom.
I remember being little and playing school with my chalkboard at home. It has been a long time since I have seen a chalkboard in a classroom and every classroom has one in this school. Another thing I noticed was that there wasn't technology. This school taught with the minimal resources that they have. I know technology is amazing and it has a lot of benefits but I feel like a lot of teachers are becoming dependent on it while they teach. This school shows that a teacher does not have to do that and students will still learn.
On my way to lunch with my family I heard a lot of commotion outside. When my cohort stopped to see what was occurring we noticed all of the public school children in a large group. The girl that eats lunch with me approached me and told me there was a fight going on. It baffled my mind that the teachers allowed this to happen. Even all the parents and adults stood by to be observers. If this were to occur in certain areas back home some adult would have tried to break it up. It made me uncomfortable knowing that two children were fighting and there was nothing I could do to stop it. When I discussed the issue with my spanish teacher she said that is common in the Dominican. Adults will not stop fights because it will make the children build up tension and then