Student Conversation
1. Tell me about the exercise balls. What are they used for? Do you like or dislike them?
"We just sit on them to have good balance. That's really the only reason we have them. Yes, I like them."
2. Do you like your tables arranged in groups? If you could set the desks up, how would you?
"Yes, they're good groups, they're very talkative, they're very nice groups. I work good with them. So, yeah they're good groups. I wouldn't change them; I'd keep them the same that they are."
3. Have the desks been in the same layout the whole year? If not, how often does the layout change? Please give an example.
"She (the teacher) does change them. I think she changed them like a couple weeks ago but they don't stay the same all the time."
4. What are some of the rules that you are expected to follow? Are there any rules that are unique than the other classes you have been in?
"We have to finish our homework or we'll get like an infraction and we get silent lunch and taken up our recess. No they're all the same."
5. What are the daily classroom routines?
"We have to get our chairs because they're stacked up in a corner. Then, we have to do our POTD (Problem Of The Day) and after you finish your POTD you can use the bathroom and get water. In the morning outside of the classroom, we're in a line so the teachers can check our homework."
6. If something were to happen while you’re at school (hurricane, stranger on campus, fire) have you been told how to react to the situation? If so, what is the procedure?
"Yes, we've had drills and it's about every month that we get a drill, so yeah we'll be prepared if one of those happen. (For a fire) we get in a straight, quiet line and we go outside and line up until the fires over."
7. How do you feel about discipline? Do you think it is good to have or not? What do you think would happen if there weren't punishments?
"Well I feel that, well if you did do something, well you really deserve a punishment. You can't just be let off the hook. So, I'm really fine with if we have a punishment after we didn't do something. Well then everyday someone would be doing something bad and no one would do anything about it. So it would be happening all the time."
8. What happens if you forget your homework? Do you think this punishment is fair or not? Why?
"Well you get silent lunch, you get an infraction, and you get no recess. Yes I do (they're fair) because if you didn't finish your homework you have to do it during silent lunch and during recess and sometimes if you finish it they'll let you off the hook but most of the times they don't let you do that."
9. What is an infraction? How does this work?
"It's like a tally mark that we get when we're not behaving, or talking during class, or like just not doing the right thing. So, if you get five infractions by the end of the quarter or less than five you get to go to a special party. So, it's a pretty big deal because a lot of people, a lot of kids like to go to the parties. So you have to try to be good to not get over five infractions. If you get over five infractions in a week you get silent lunch. On Fridays they will put you on silent lunch because on Fridays we get to sit with anyone we want and we get to play with our technology. So, you get punished and you can't sit with your friends and you can't play with your technology."
10. If you could change the punishments/ disciplinary actions to improve your class and school, how would you do so? Any rewards?
"I would probably change the rules about what happens after you don't do the homework because most kids when they're on silent lunch they still talk and if they're sitting out for recess they're probably playing on their phones or something. So, there should probably be an even more worse punishment because none of the kids really follow them. If they were good I'd probably give them some kind of treat at the end of the week."
"We just sit on them to have good balance. That's really the only reason we have them. Yes, I like them."
2. Do you like your tables arranged in groups? If you could set the desks up, how would you?
"Yes, they're good groups, they're very talkative, they're very nice groups. I work good with them. So, yeah they're good groups. I wouldn't change them; I'd keep them the same that they are."
3. Have the desks been in the same layout the whole year? If not, how often does the layout change? Please give an example.
"She (the teacher) does change them. I think she changed them like a couple weeks ago but they don't stay the same all the time."
4. What are some of the rules that you are expected to follow? Are there any rules that are unique than the other classes you have been in?
"We have to finish our homework or we'll get like an infraction and we get silent lunch and taken up our recess. No they're all the same."
5. What are the daily classroom routines?
"We have to get our chairs because they're stacked up in a corner. Then, we have to do our POTD (Problem Of The Day) and after you finish your POTD you can use the bathroom and get water. In the morning outside of the classroom, we're in a line so the teachers can check our homework."
6. If something were to happen while you’re at school (hurricane, stranger on campus, fire) have you been told how to react to the situation? If so, what is the procedure?
"Yes, we've had drills and it's about every month that we get a drill, so yeah we'll be prepared if one of those happen. (For a fire) we get in a straight, quiet line and we go outside and line up until the fires over."
7. How do you feel about discipline? Do you think it is good to have or not? What do you think would happen if there weren't punishments?
"Well I feel that, well if you did do something, well you really deserve a punishment. You can't just be let off the hook. So, I'm really fine with if we have a punishment after we didn't do something. Well then everyday someone would be doing something bad and no one would do anything about it. So it would be happening all the time."
8. What happens if you forget your homework? Do you think this punishment is fair or not? Why?
"Well you get silent lunch, you get an infraction, and you get no recess. Yes I do (they're fair) because if you didn't finish your homework you have to do it during silent lunch and during recess and sometimes if you finish it they'll let you off the hook but most of the times they don't let you do that."
9. What is an infraction? How does this work?
"It's like a tally mark that we get when we're not behaving, or talking during class, or like just not doing the right thing. So, if you get five infractions by the end of the quarter or less than five you get to go to a special party. So, it's a pretty big deal because a lot of people, a lot of kids like to go to the parties. So you have to try to be good to not get over five infractions. If you get over five infractions in a week you get silent lunch. On Fridays they will put you on silent lunch because on Fridays we get to sit with anyone we want and we get to play with our technology. So, you get punished and you can't sit with your friends and you can't play with your technology."
10. If you could change the punishments/ disciplinary actions to improve your class and school, how would you do so? Any rewards?
"I would probably change the rules about what happens after you don't do the homework because most kids when they're on silent lunch they still talk and if they're sitting out for recess they're probably playing on their phones or something. So, there should probably be an even more worse punishment because none of the kids really follow them. If they were good I'd probably give them some kind of treat at the end of the week."
Reflection:
I held three student conversations. For the first one I asked different questions then the ones above but I felt that the questions did not help me as a future teacher. I noticed a lot of punishment and reward in the classroom the first week and it seemed to work quite well with the students. I decided to revise my questions to ask a few students about classroom management and other relating ideas. I ended up recording the last student I asked these questions to, so it was more of a conversation than an interview. This student’s responses helped me to learn a lot about classroom management. I learned that the students are accountable for themselves and the teachers don’t let the students slide on assignments. I also learned that the students know the rules and procedures quite well. This student particularly could tell me about all the rules, procedures, and drills. One of things that impressed me was that this student said she felt that the disciplinary rules are great to have but she would make them even harsher because students get away with talking during silent lunch or playing with technology during sit-out recess. This just shows me that students do want discipline in the classroom, even if they break the rules every now and then; it helps to keep order in the classroom. This conversation was one of the most helpful activities I did at the school while I was there because it gave me an insight on ways I can manage my own classroom.
I held three student conversations. For the first one I asked different questions then the ones above but I felt that the questions did not help me as a future teacher. I noticed a lot of punishment and reward in the classroom the first week and it seemed to work quite well with the students. I decided to revise my questions to ask a few students about classroom management and other relating ideas. I ended up recording the last student I asked these questions to, so it was more of a conversation than an interview. This student’s responses helped me to learn a lot about classroom management. I learned that the students are accountable for themselves and the teachers don’t let the students slide on assignments. I also learned that the students know the rules and procedures quite well. This student particularly could tell me about all the rules, procedures, and drills. One of things that impressed me was that this student said she felt that the disciplinary rules are great to have but she would make them even harsher because students get away with talking during silent lunch or playing with technology during sit-out recess. This just shows me that students do want discipline in the classroom, even if they break the rules every now and then; it helps to keep order in the classroom. This conversation was one of the most helpful activities I did at the school while I was there because it gave me an insight on ways I can manage my own classroom.