My First Day at Walhalla

September 7, 2007

Note: This post was made long after the journal entry.

It's Friday and my first day observing. The first class is Algebra 1A (aka Math Tech 1). The students are filing in as I write. This class seems rather rambunctious. They seem friendly and want to know who I am.
I don't really understand the seating arrangement. The students aren't made to fill all the desks at the front--many front desks are left empty while the back is full. Also, many kids are tardy and they don't seem to care. This tardiness made it take an extra 5 minutes to get class started. And these are only 45 minute periods!
Ms. Screws has to hand out a "warning slip" to keep them quiet. I think she should have had a problem ready for them as soon as they walked in the door. It would have given them something to keep them busy and out of trouble while she checked their homework. Due to the disorder, checking homework eats another 5 minutes out of class time.
The students seem to be very dependent on the calculator. They aren't required to do squares or cubes by hand. This really scares me! They need to really understand what they are doing, not just plug and chug. There is little or no understanding of concepts if a calculator becomes a crutch. There is also another avenue for error. One student even said she got the problem right when she worked it by hand but wrong when she did it with the calculator.

Ex. Problem
Three grades: 35, 37, 36. What is the average?

What is the total cost of a $17 CD with 6% sales tax?

Class Change - Geometry
One student is clearly having trouble with the concept of orientation. I think he might be at Van Heile Level 1 with respect to distance between two points. He got confused when Ms. Screws oriented the points differently but kept the distance the same. He kept saying "But it's flipped" like that made a difference in the answer. She had to show him a concrete example with a meter stick--and this is an honors student!

Review problems: I think she is giving them too much help! She should be making them give the explanations for why instead of just telling them. I also don't think that honors students should take open notes quizzes.

Class Change - Geometry (again)
She repeats the same set-up. They review for a quiz. This kids ask better questions.

Class Change - Algebra 1 CP
The kids aren't in their seats at the tardy bell, but class starts quickly, nonetheless. These students are quiet with only a few interacting with Ms. Screws. They seem to get the vocabulary and the lesson on graphs.

Class Change - Algebra 1 CP (again)
This class had a fire drill yesterday, so they are behind. She starts with an open notes quiz (she's a fan of these). Then they start the same lesson as the previous class on graphs. This class isn't nearly as well behaved. She doesn't get very far in the lesson because she keeps having to deal with interruptions and discipline.

Class Change - High School 102
This is a class all freshmen have to take. It is supposed to prepare them for high school. They begin with a 15 minute SSR then do a mini lesson. They don't take this class seriously. During SSR many kids just stared into space, and no one completed the activity following the lesson.