An Overview of my Observations at Brookside Elementary School

Through my observations and class sessions this past semester I have come to a realization of many things in the classroom. There are many helpful hints through the notes. Many ideas I want to carry on through the observations. As well as eye openers through a look at SARC and the readings. Also because I live around here and want to stay local I have found the district I would like to work for.
Over the past four years I have observed in San Bernardino, Redlands, and Beaumont Unified School Districts and they all run very differently. San Bernardino, because it is more of a low-income class of students, is more about getting through to the children in general. It’s obvious that lots of the time the kids are in a daze from the sleep they didn’t get the night before. It’s hard but also comforting to know how big of a role you play in their lives. You also have to know with their situations that you have to leave it at school. It would be too hard to take each of their stories and worries home with you. It does not mean you shouldn’t care, it just means to do as much as you can but no one is perfect.
Redlands is where I grew up and went through there school district so I have a lot of connections. Lots of family and good friends already work in the district so it has come easy for me to drop in and observe. It has opened my eyes to the "teach by the book" rules. They are very strict with what they have to do in the classrooms and as an up and coming teacher it does not get me excited. It is also very obvious because they are all older schools that are older all around. There are only a few younger teachers in the district and you really have to show yourself to the. In the younger teacher classes the students seemed more excited to learn. Fresh and new is exciting for everyone and it gets you to become creative.
Beaumont is where I have done all my observation hours this past semester and this is a place I love. It is young and fresh and the teaching is phenomenal. The classrooms are full of learning and creativity and that’s what you hope for as a teacher. Brookside Elementary has had a huge impact on me and I hope to work there some day. It is a blend of 46% Caucasian, 36% Hispanic & only 4% African American. In the classroom it shows to be pretty equal learning among all ethnicities. A few struggle in each ethnic group. It was a surprise to me how many English Learners there were in the classrooms. There was about 5 or 6 in each class and I don’t know if it’s because I have never asked but I never realized before. They have a couple of hours of EL classes on the side so not as much is done in the classroom, but it is obvious that the teacher notices and tries to be as flexible as possible with them when possible. With that said classroom sizes in the upper grades get up to 38 students in the beginning of the year and at that point it is not possible to give them side attention.
Some things I have noticed and want to take into my classroom have come from my observations. One big thing I noticed in the classrooms at Brookside Elementary School was that under each item in the class there is a paper that has that item in Spanish. This goes back to the linguistics in the classroom. I thought it was awesome because students could look at it how they preferred. There was also the take home letters in both English and Spanish. It is good to take the time to reach out to all students and something as easy as that goes a long way.
I also spent sometime with some of the teachers and asked them question about how much money the school gave them and how much was out of their pocket. They said about $200 is given to them and the first year they spent about $1500 their first year. From there you start to save and reuse so now they spend more around $400 of their own. Although it is a struggle at first it is your choice, it is your choice to have the best learning supplies possible for your students. One item that I definitely want to look into purchasing was these “My Dictionaries”. I had never seen them before this second grade class I observed and they were awesome. They are dictionaries that have each letter alphabetically and on the first page of each letter are about 100 words that start with it. Following that are 3 pages of columns where you add your own words. The class I was in the teaching was doing a writing exercise and whenever a student did not know how to spell a word they came and asked us and brought their dictionary so we could add it. I was very impressed by this and can’t wait to bring it into my classroom. These are the things that you have to make the choice as a teacher if they are worth you using the money out of your own pocket on.
Many other charts, rugs, transitioning techniques, etc. were picked up and I am very excited to take them along with me. Things like this rug that was colored in columns and squares. This rug helped the teacher transition and group up her kids in so many ways. As well as giving points out for good rows and taking points away for bad rows. Displaying all the kids work was also a big thing in many of the classrooms. In one class in particular it had a wall with a row of the kids names and all the work they had done under their name. It was exciting for them to see all the jobs well done they did, and also for parents to come see their individual kids work. Last thing I would like to point out was how one of the teachers transitioned. This was a kindergarten & first grade combo and the teacher had these made up words. She would give the directions of what they were going to do next, and then have them repeat them to show they were listening. Then at the go of her wacky word they would get up and transition. They were all made up words and always different, it kept the kids curious.
Going through the School Accountability Report Card was very interesting. I had never looked at these before, didn’t even know I could. For the most part Brookside Elementary School and Beaumont School District as a whole were on the upper hand. When it came to teachers pay it was above California’s average. As well as all 29 teachers at Brookside were fully credentialed, and only 2 in the district as a whole were not. Class sizes for the most part were average or below. The California Standard Test was not as high as many but they are also a new and growing district.
Overall this school, and district has impressed me so much. It has made me more excited than I have ever been about teaching. It has filled my head with hundreds of ideas and makes me want to just jump into it all. I have already started talking to some of them about doing my student teaching there a year from now and have received positive feedback. This school amazes me more and more every time I have observed. Its set up is also very close together and connected. They have one of the most convenient and nice libraries and auditoriums and it is all connected. This school as a whole has made me realize once again why I would like nothing more than to teach. I have observed grades K-12 and have found my niche in the primary grades. They are excited to learn and it is all new to them. It’s an age of creativity and you never have to be worried about making a fool out of yourself because they love it.