Uncomfortable subjects

This week at Lindsay Thurber November 6^th, I had the goal of really connecting with the students I’m observing. After discussing experiences with other students taking the EDFX class, I realized I haven’t established the connections with students the way many of the other students have. I think much of this is connected to the fact that I’m observing in high school classes, and not always with the same class. This motivated me to step out of my shell and take more initiative in Geoff’s classes. Now that we finally have a schedule established, I observe only the 10 honors class and the 30-2 class.

With more confidence because of familiarity I was able to answer more questions in class, and interact with more students. It was really rewarding to be more active in the classroom, and took away some of my fears about answering questions in class. During class today, the kids had to complete a short test about the new book they have begun to study, “Night”, by Elie Wiesel. The first page was 5 multiple choice questions and the back asked the kids to find three situations reflecting three different emotions experience by Elie shown in a rough sketch of a roller coaster. The responses of the kids differed tremendously, reflecting on the different learning styles represented in the 30 kids. Geoff later explained that he was challenging himself to make a different exercise for each chapter in regards to the learning styles. This way each child experiences an opportunity to show his/her best work and excel.

Today I noticed student X, a young girl who had two defined bruises around her neck, immediately I was concerned thinking of all the possibilities that may have caused them. After class I asked Geoff about the student, and what steps he has taken to address the obvious issue. He told me that he actually hasn’t talked to the student about it, though he had noticed the bruises immediately. I was really concerned with his lack of initiative to help the student, though he noticed her struggles in the class. He told me that he had previously set her up with a counsellor in the school, and because of that, he wasn’t as concerned about addressing the problem individually. I disagree with Geoff’s tactics in this situation. I believe the student deserves more attention when displaying such worrisome signs, as a teacher you have no idea if she’s talking to her counsellor on a regular basis or getting the help she needs. At the very least I believe that I would have gotten In contact with her personal counsellor to ask if the issue has been addressed or not. This experience was really crucial to me, really capturing how even a really great, caring teacher can be distracted, and not realize the impact they might hold on a student on a personal level.