FieldBlog1 - Mercer Elementary School

On Thursday, January 30th the class took a trip to Mercer Elementary. In all honesty the school was not what I expected at all. I was expecting it to be a normal elementary school, like the one I went to. The school was very bright and gave off an aura of happiness. I instantly felt at home there.
Here are some things that stood out to me while walking around and observing the school...

The walls of the hallways were covered with different posters, paintings, drawings, and news paper articles. This is very different compared to the elementary school that I attended when I was a child. From what I remember, the walls of my elementary school were very plain.

One thing that really jumped out at me was the fact that they had kids running for class president and vice president. I thought that was really amazing because we never did anything like that at my schools until the high school. I think it's such a smart idea to introduce politics at a young age. 

Something that I really admired about the school was that they had posters with information about every kid at the school. These posters had their interests and favorite things written on them for everyone to read. 

I noticed that there were many posters with motivational quotes on them around the hallways. I think that these posters are up not only for the kids but the teachers and administrators as well. One of the quotes was, "Sometimes all you need is a new perspective".

My favorite thing I saw while walking around was a dream catcher hanging on a teachers door. I have a really big interest in dream catchers and their meanings and it made me really happy to see one hanging up in an elementary classroom.

3rd Grade Classroom Observations

• There were so many things on the walls. 
• Kids are at tables, not desks.
• The teacher is using a smart board.
• They are learning about MLK. 
• There are posters around the room that say "hello" in every language.
• The children seemed very comfortable with their teacher and in the classroom.
• The room is very colorful/vibrant.
• There are different stations throughout the room (math, blocks, computers, books, crafts).
• The teachers desk is hidden in the far left corner and facing the wall so she cannot teach from her desk. When she teaches she is standing and interacting with the children (like in the comic). When I was in third grade I remember my teacher sitting and teaching from her desk a majority of the time.
• The teacher teaches them while they are sitting on the ground all together rather than teaching them while they are at their tables. 
• There were so many resources and objects openly available to the children throughout the classroom. 
• The teacher has the kids get up and go to the smart board to share their ideas. 

Here are some photos I took while at Mercer Elementary