Field Blog Post 5/ West Geauga

Question I will be exploring: Ayers claims that the idea that teachers are always aware and perfectly in control of what takes place in their classroom is a myth (4). To what extent does my observation confirm this assertion?

       When I originally read that teachers don't always have complete awareness and control over their classroom I was a bit skeptical. Of course, any teacher can have an off day. In my educational experience, however, the teachers always seemed to have perfectly orchestrated lesson plans and complete control. Though, my observation today showed me that I was mistaken. Teachers, like anyone else, make mistakes and adapt their behavior according to the new knowledge they gain.

      Today in class, Mrs. Kirchner had the students play a game called "Stump the Chump." Students broke into two teams, read passages, and tried to "stump" the other team with challenging comprehension questions. If a team failed to answer a question, they received a strike. Although the game itself was a great idea, Mrs. Kirchner struggled with its execution. During this period, she described the rules vaguely and often wavered in consistently enforcing the rules. For example, if a student got the question only sort of right, she would give the team a "half strike."  Such vague enforcement of the rules led the students to argue about points and decisions. The class became more focused on the game and the rules instead of on the literature. The students shouted, spoke over one another, and argued with the teacher.

      Having learned from her initial mistakes, Mrs. Kirchner adapted the rules for her later fifth period class. She decided not to issue "half strikes." She also made it so that teams could discuss potential answers instead of a team member being forced to answer independently. These new rules led to a deeper discussion and understanding of the material. The class had less side conversations and was over all more focused. With the game running smoother, Mrs. Kirchner was also able to integrate critical thinking questions into the game. For instance, one student asked what play Shakespeare adapted Hamlet from. Mrs. Kirchner then built upon his question. She asked if the fact that
 Shakespeare drew from earlier works changes our opinion of his brilliance.

     This experience proved that teachers don't always have perfect control/awareness in their classrooms. Similarly it also proved Ayer's point that teachers, like students, are always learning and growing (5).