I entered the school's main office and met the secretary. She was very friendly and called down to the art room for the art teacher, my cooperating teacher, to come up to meet me. I sat down and waited for Jodi to arrive. As I glanced around the office at some of the material about the school, one of the pamphlets read "Discovery" which happened to be one of the words I put in my visual journal the night before regarding how I was to "figure out" how to accomplish teaching effectively at the high school level. It's a pretty obvious word in the world of education, but it still made me chuckle inside.
Jodi arrived and was as nice as ever. She immediately began to acclimate me to the school. I was introduced to the Curriculum Director of the school who I found out was there to help teachers if they need help or advice with their curriculum. It was so nice to know she was available if we needed her. From here we made our way down to the art room which was in the basement of the school. I immediately knew I would get lost if I had to meander through the hallways on my own.
As we entered the art room I was pleased to see there was so much space. It also seemed very organized and clean which I was excited for, because my last high school art placement was so messy and unorganized I had a hard time feeling comfortable there. There are labeled cabinets where materials go, and drawers with student names where they can store their artwork. After some brief time in the room, Jodi wanted to introduce me to the principal right away. We made our way back to the office. I first met the vice principal and then the principal. It turned out, I had met the principal in my Exceptional Learner class at Alverno when he came with his son as a guest speaker. He is such a wonderful person and I was pleased to meet him again. Everyone made sure to let me know their doors were open to me if I ever needed anything. This was so reassuring to know the school environment I am working in is so collaborative and helpful.
Before the first bell rang, Jodi made sure to provide me with any materials she had on the curriculum, syllabi, calendar, etc. It was overwhelming but I was glad to be getting so many resources I would be able to reference. She explained the rotating schedule the students started this year which has A, B, C, and D days that rotate daily. There are 6 periods in the day, but the students have 8 classes in their schedule, so each day they do not have 2 of their classes.
The day went really well. We had the Ceramics, Art Fundamentals, AP Art, Intro to Photography, and Fibers classes. Jodi also has a homeroom and a prep period. She stays in her room for her lunch period because she has students that come to the art room to have their lunch. She is very available to the students and I could tell the students greatly appreciate this.
Her demeanor with the students is one that is sarcastic and humorous, and, at times, loud and obnoxious, but all the students respond to this in a positive way. It made the learning environment inviting and comfortable for all the students to work in. Even when Jodi scolded the students, none of them appeared offended because they knew what they had done and understood what they had to do to fix the situation. Jodi consistently referenced her "Rules of the Room" and the students knew what was expected of them. She didn't just say "Don't do that!" but instead would word her requests of them in ways that gave them a chance to correct their actions.
I was happy to introduce myself to the classes in the beginning of each period, letting them know I was excited to be working with them. I know that learning their names is going to be one of my biggest challenges. I am planning a way to learn their names next week, hopefully having them fill out a notecard with their name and one unique or interesting fact about themselves that they'd like to share with me. I'm hoping this will open up the doors to some conversation so I can get to know them all better. Many of them seemed apprehensive towards me and I'm hoping they give me a chance.
Observing Jodi in her classroom was wonderful on my first day at the high school. I felt comfortable there and I feel like Jodi will be a great person to work with. She is easy to talk to and seems open to whatever I want to do. However, she is very structured in her curriculum and I'm hoping she is able to release the reigns on her classes to me. I know this is going to be a challenging experience, but I look forward to navigating my way through it. And so, the journey begins.
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