February 23, 2004
Field Experience Journal
Alderson Academy
Alderson Middle School Academy is located in East Lubbock, known as “Quadrant Four” in the Lubbock Independent School District. This is one of the oldest neighborhoods in Lubbock. Three years ago their current building was a junior high school, but a few consolidations were made and it became a middle school for 3rd-6th grades. This caused much turmoil in the community, which led to picketing in front of the school the entire first year it was open. However, it seems as though people accept Alderson now and agree with the changes made by the district. The building itself is fairly old, but since it was a junior high before, it offers many advantages for teachers and students. For example, the home economics room was transformed into a wonderful teachers lounge that almost looks like the inside of a real home. Locker rooms were also made into classrooms and a band hall. Another wonderful aspect is their resource room. Being a low income school, they receive many grants and other types of aid. With this extra money, they are able to create things like this resource room. It’s basically like a library for the teachers full of workbooks, textbooks, and novels to be used for teaching materials.
The halls would be dreary without all the decorations and displays of artwork. Locker boosters adorn every locker and most teachers have some sort of display on their doors and on the walls outside their rooms. I have not heard a bell ring so far during my observations. Instead, the teachers just line the students up and walk them to their next class and return to their classrooms to welcome their next students.
My first impressions of the community surrounding Alderson Academy were exactly what I had expected even though I had never been there. Like I said before, it is located in one of the oldest parts of Lubbock. Most of the homes are older flat-roof houses with chain-linked fences surrounding them. The teacher I am observing estimated that approximately ninety percent of the students live very close to the school.
I am only able to observe one class due to the scheduling. The students in this Language Arts class are sixth-graders ages 11-12. There are fourteen students total, with eleven African Americans and three Hispanics. My host teacher said that most of the students are from lower socioeconomic levels. One major disability a teacher would encounter when working with these students would be control and lack of respect. It seems like my teacher struggles to keep the power in the classroom because most of the students are extremely outspoken.
There are no support teachers on a regular basis in the regular classrooms. Instead, students with special needs are sent to a separate classroom. In fact, each grade level has their own resource room. There are three students in the class I am observing that have IEP’s. Also, none of the students I am observing speak English as a second language. However, if they did, Alderson Academy does have ESL.
Overall, I am enjoying my observations at Alderson. Although it seems tough to be a teacher there, I feel that I am up for the challenge and could see myself teaching there.
March 8, 2004
Field Experience Journal #2
My field experience for this semester is at Alderson Academy. I have observed many examples of how this school supports the developmental needs of middle school learners. On the other hand, I have also seen some areas that need improvement.
As far as physical activities in the class I observe go, they are allowed to walk to the library at the other end of the school very often because it’s a Reading class and they go get their AR books. They also have bins for their folders and notebooks across their classroom and are constantly going to get things from their particular bins. However, they usually get in trouble for moving or especially getting out of their seats. In my opinion, one way the teacher could address this problem is by letting them get comfortable in the classroom, especially when she is reading aloud. While she’s reading, they have to sit straight up with the book on their desk. I feel they should be able to move around because some children may pay more attention with their heads laid on their desks while some just need to sit on the floor.
I have witnessed several positive social interactions with adults and peers. First of all, they have a “Communities in Schools” program with after school activities, mentor programs, and help with homework. They even have an on-site social worker that provides help for students and families. Another great thing is that they are partners with Plains National Bank, Parkhill Smith, and Cooper Architectural Firm. Being partners mean the students and employees of the places I just mentioned write pen-pal letters back and forth every six weeks, they provide gifts at Christmas, act as mentors, and provide students with “Good Citizenship” lunches every six weeks. The students also sit in groups of three, which provides interaction with peers. On the other hand, they are not allowed to talk to each other at any time. They are also not allowed to talk while in the halls and must walk in straight lines to their next class. Another thing I found to be negative was that they eat breakfast and sometimes lunch in their classrooms, which deprives them of their “social” time with peers.
I haven’t observed much about creative expression in my classroom, but I do know that they keep personal journals on their thoughts or feelings on all their readings. They also get to draw their thoughts from time to time. However, there is no displays of students’ work in the classroom and very few in the halls.
In conclusion, I have observed many good things at Alderson Academy. However, like most schools, there are a few things that could be improved on, but things seem to be working great there, especially since it has only been running for three years.
March 29, 2004
Field Experience Journal #3
During my field experience at Alderson Middle School Academy, I have observed all areas of Language Arts, but some more than others. Since I observe a Reading class, the listening/speaking area consists mainly of listening to the teacher read aloud from the class novel and answering any questions she asks orally. They do various types of reading while I am observing. For example, like I said before, the teacher reads aloud to them, they read very little to themselves, and they read in groups orally. Once a week they also read the newest issue of “Time” for kids magazine to themselves and answer a worksheet of questions. As far as writing, the students are working on a persuasive essay currently, but also do hand written journal entries on their readings. In this particular class, I only recall one example of viewing or visually representing. I was working with a group reading their “Time” for kids and to give them a better perspective on what places I was referring to, we brought the globe to our area and pointed out countries and continents.
Obviously, there is not a good balance in the areas of Language Arts. As you can see from the previous paragraph, there is little to no viewing or visually representing. The area that is given the most attention would definitely be reading. I think my teacher spends more time on this because she has more control when she or the students are reading. The students in my class are very outspoken and are difficult to get motivated. I think the teacher is looking for an easy way for them to learn something and go on to their next class.
As far as materials go, there are many books for the students to read in the classroom. There is also paper and writing utensils for writing and maps and globes for viewing and visually representing.
If I were hired to teach at Alderson Middle School, I would try to make the students not so dependent upon me. For example, the students in my class think it’s a lot of work to have to read 2 pages from a novel to themselves because they have always been read aloud to. I think this has a lot to do with why they are not motivated to read because they know the teacher will read it to them. I would also try to incorporate more viewing and visually representing activities into my classroom because I think that would hold their attention more than anything.
Last Updated: April 15, 2004
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