February '09 Blog #1: A Typical Day in Science Skills from a Student's POV

It’s hard for me to describe a typical day in my classroom from a student’s perspective, so I made it an assignment. The responses are really great. It brought a lot of insight into how the students view the class and me. Editor’s note: I did edit a lot of their grammar and sentences, while trying to keep the integrity of their statements. Here are a few excerpts…

A normal day in Science Skills is pretty funny. The teacher is always smiling like its’ the best day of her life! Then, we take notes of something. We always do some type of classwork like Spongebob genetics papers or take a quiz or a test. By the middle of class people get tired, I guess and put their heads down. I usually try not to, because Ms. Siwell takes a picture [of us sleeping]. We never go to the library or do anything like that. [TEACHER NOTE: We DO “go to the library and stuff like that”; however, this child misses a lot of class, so he misses a lot of the other activities.] She is really strict about dress code. Usually you will get sent outside. If you get told a second time, you get a writing assignment. My cousin, James, always get writing assignments. ~M.A. (6th period)

When I come to Ms. Siwell’s class, she smiles at the door. The students come in and do their bellwork. [She] checks and sees if everybody got their stuff for class. She checks and sees if our shirts are tucked in and pants are pulled up. We learn about Science Skills. We [are] always having fun. We learn about body parts in everything about [the] body. When we leave out of class, we leave with knowledge of Science Skills. We have a test almost everyday, but it’s fun in here. Some of us pass and some don’t. ~C.D (6th period)

Everyday I come in Science Skills [it] is not perfect, but it’s okay. I like this class and my teacher. When I come in this class, I turn my work in. Ms. Siwell sends all of the ones that do bad out the class. When I do bad, she sends me out too. Science Skills is a good class. I learn more and more everyday. Learning in Science Skills is a good thing. ~L.C. (2nd period)

When I come in to class I sit down and do my bellwork. After that, we go over it, and Ms. Siwell is still smiling. She tells us our objectives for the day and gives us notes. Then, she will give is work that some of those bad kids don’t understand. So we stop working so Ms. Siwell can explain it to them, but they still don’t understand it. Then somebody would want to be big and bad and try her and get wrote up knowing they gone go to that young “I”. [Teacher Note" “The I” is the students’ new phrase for In School Suspension (ISS). I kinda like it. I have found myself referring to ISS as “the I” lately.] Then after all the commotion settles down, she will give us homework and probably throw a test on us the next day or so and that’s a typical day in Science Skills. ~C. S. (2nd period)

[TEACHER NOTE” I still think that it is SO funny that I “throw tests” on them, because every Monday, I post a schedule for the week on the board for them to copy that clearly states when their test will be, and I usually tell them the previous week when they will have a test. On the contrary, I do realize that this is from a student’s perspective, so I am trying to be more understanding of their opinion.]

When I first come in Ms. Siwell’s class I always be feeling a little bored. As I do my bellwork and go over it, I feel myself coming around. Ms. Siwell’s class is a very important class to me. Sometimes I get on my work and other times when I’m feeling down, I don’t get it. We discuss a lot in Ms. Siwell’s class that will only help us for the future, if we do it. I thought Science Skills was going to be boring, but it’s haning in alright. It’s not how it sounds. I was thinking that we were going to work in a real lab and do real science activities. I am trying to do my best and pass Ms. Siwell’s class, but I can’t control my mouth. Just by sitting in [her] class, I already know that it’s time to learn more about science. It’s not like how I planned it to be, but if I pay attention and get my work, this class will take me a long way. ~W.L. (4th period)

As I stated previously, the responses to this assignment were very interesting to read. Some were not as honest as other, but overall I think that I enjoy them expressing their emotions on paper. I foresee other writing opportunities for bellwork soon.