Central York Middle School says "Hey, hey, hey!"

Mrs. Allen, my cooperating teacher, leaves the room to go to the restroom. Sitting from the back of the room, I already hear the loud voices of students lining up outside of the classroom door-- waiting for the bell to ring. Beep! And the students flood the room, scurrying to their seats. One student sees me and his eyes light up. "Are you in high school?!" Another chimes in. "Are you a substitute?!" "Are you a student teacher?!" When I say "No", they seem disappointed. Few minutes later, two girls approach me at my desk and introduce themselves to me. One put her hand on her hips and with the other hand waved at me in three counts. "Hey, hey, hey! I'm Makeda and"... "I'm Cameron. Are you a substitute?!"

My first impression was that the students really hoped for a substitute, rather than Mrs. Allen. Next to that, they were very curious about who I was. All throughout the day, Mrs. Allen introduced me to the class and told them that they should give me the same respect that they give her, if not more. I could see the students eyeing me up, trying to get a sense of what I was like. As I smiled at the class, they too, responded with smiles.

Mrs. Allen was very open and helpful. She often asked if I had any questions for her. She even asked if I wanted any coffee and went to make some for the both of us (even with hazelnut creamer). Perfect.

I learned from Mrs. Allen that the school strives to be on the "cutting-edge". Personally, she is a firm believer of choice in the classroom. To my surprise, her English curriculum is a "no-textbook" curriculum. So I asked how the students are to read novels or... what do they read off of instead. Granted, the students are given material by hand-outs, or resources online. Mrs. Allen also pointed out the shelves of books in the back that are used as well. I saw duplicates of books there, such as The Giver and  Lovely Bones.

As for classroom management, Mrs. Allen often had to redirect her students to the task at hand. She gave me advice on how to do this. It was to ask these questions in order: "What are you doing? "What are you supposed to be doing? What are you going to do?" Later on in the day, when Mrs. Allen was absent from the room, a student decided to throw small pieces of paper at his peers around him. I wanted so badly to practice my "authoritative voice" but kept staring at him instead, hoping he would get the point. I regret not speaking up, even if it meant him or the class thinking I was just another Mrs. Allen.

In all, I observed many many things about Central York Middle School through my first experience there. In the following weeks ahead, I hope to engage with the students more and practice teaching. I want to get the most out of every day in the school, because I realize that these weeks of field placement will fly by. This Friday, I plan to introduce myself to the class, with the same kind of curiosity and energy that I found within in the students. "Hey, hey, hey! i'm Miss Houck!"