FieldBlog 3- Shaker Heights High School

Going into Shaker Heights High School, I did not really know what to expect. I thought that it would be weird because I am only eighteen and a recent high school graduate, so really I am still the same age as those students. But honestly, the students did not even really care that I was there. Overall, I found the visit to be boring, but I was able to observe the way the classroom was structured and how well the teachers taught. While observing, the question that I thought of was: How does the teacher present his/her relationship with the students? Are they too friendly, friendly, mutual respect, no relationship, etc.? That morning, I went into two classrooms. One was AP Biology and the other was a German class. During my time in high school, I never took either of those classes, so I was intrigued to see what the students were learning, as I had nothing to compare it to from my high school experience. During AP Biology, the students were finishing and cleaning up their lab, and then they worked on completing their lab packet. So unfortunately, I did not really get to see the teacher teach. The AP Biology teacher was young, and he seemed to be fairly friendly with his students. I noticed that it seemed like he wanted to be well liked by his students. He controlled the classroom well, and when he was discussing cell respiration, which was what the students were learning about and working on a lab about, he seemed very knowledgeable and passionate about the topic. I also noticed that the students were comfortable asking the teacher questions. In the German classroom, I can  honestly say that I have no idea what the students were learning in German. I was disappointed that I did not get to stay very long in that classroom because I was very interested in watching the exchange between the teacher and her students. I found the German classroom to be more open and conversational than the AP Biology class. Before class even began, I noticed that the students seemed to like their teacher, and there was a good amount of friendship and respect between them. Before class began, when the students were strolling in, the teacher was talking to the students and having conversations with them about their siblings and sports. My first impression of the German teacher was that she was very friendly and enthusiastic. I also noticed how enthusiastic she was about teaching German! One of the most important things that I noticed was how engaged the students were in this class. They were all willingly participating, and it seemed as if the students were genuinely learning and enjoying their time in class.