Kohn
This week we looked at Kohn and his assessments on what to look for in a classroom. It seems like most of these standards put more of an emphasis on community rather than achievements. One of the standards I especially like is the one of artwork being hung up even if it wasn’t done perfectly. This point specifically encourages creativity in children. Even though it's not the exact same as the others. I also think encouraging discussions of children helps break away from the mold of question from the teacher than answer. I also think the set up of students facing each other is very important for social development in children.
I think another important part of the school structure is making it a place that people, especially children would like to spend time in. If a school is cold and uninviting it makes it very hard to want to be there. I think this is where we lose a lot of secondary students' interests. Moving from elementary school to middle school I feel it often loses a lot of the interesting fun parts of school. At least in my experience. I feel like there has to be a way to make school seem more welcoming than the standard buildings I’ve grown up in. One example is the classroom in the video we watched. I think her classroom does a good job of looking welcoming. For example she has her students work on the walls, even if it wasn’t perfect. I also liked the amount of books she had around the classroom. Small details such as that can make a room feel a whole more welcoming. When I was in high school, rooms were often bare, to no fault of my teachers. A lot of them didn’t have rooms to even call their own due to the building being too small with too many classes to accommodate. I think it’s important to look at the broader school system and how we’re placing kids in places that are too small to handle them.
I like how you brought up how in the transition from elementary to middle school, there seems to be a loss of creativity. I also liked how you mentioned the importance of making classrooms a welcoming environment that encourages unique creativity because if students feel comfortable in their environment, they will be more likely to participate and have a better overall learning experience.
ReplyDeleteThe comfortability of the students and their interactions I believe goes hand in hand. Once students establish those friendships in that safe space that was created for them they can then safely interact with one another and have those open discussions Kohn talks about.
ReplyDeleteHi, I relate to your example of some of your classrooms in high school being bare. It reminded me of this one time in class when a student asked the teacher why the room had no posters anymore, and she said the fire marshal told her to take them down because they were a fire hazard. Now, do I believe this? Maybe, but if that is true, it is such a shame, but I understand it being a safety concern.
ReplyDeleteHi Raine! I like how you discussed the transition from elementary classrooms to middle school classrooms. I've noticed through experience that 5th grade classrooms are extremely different than 6th grade classrooms, yet they are a year apart, and we are the same age for the majority of both.
ReplyDeleteI loved how you brought up the idea that high school doesn't have no form of character in its rooms.
ReplyDeleteI really liked how you brought up how classrooms kind of grow with us and things you have in an elementary classroom are different from what you would have in a high schools. Ultimately this shows how classroom caters to the needs for the ages of the students and it is not a "one size fits all" circumstance.
ReplyDeleteHi Raine! I enjoyed reading your reflection. I really liked how you brought up the point of putting artwork in the classroom even if it wasn't done perfectly. Last semester, I took an art class here at RIC. I am by no means an artistic person, much like other people in my class. However, that never discouraged our professor from putting up our work, regardless of its imperfections. I know as an almost 20 year old, this invoked a sense of pride and happiness in me. So, I also think that this is important for younger children in the classroom, as you mentioned.
ReplyDeleteI also really liked the part mentioned in the chart about showing art that didn't look "perfect". I've always been super interested in and passionate about art and seeing work that shows creativity and passion over the "ideal" is important for other young artists and children in general. Not everyones work will look the same and it is important to model passion over perfection.
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