I. Setting and context
SCHOOL COMMUNITY:
The overall mission of Rocky Mountain High School is to get students as personally involved in their own education as possible. It is proven that students, who feel as though they are an important part of the school, perform better academically than those who do not. When students feel as though they are a part of their school they invest more of themselves into their own education, causing them to not only achieve to higher academic heights but also, enjoy their educational experience. Because of this, Rocky Mountain High School makes a very conscious effort to make it clear to students that their presence is genuinely valued both in and outside of the classroom.
One of the ways they most successfully fulfill their mission is by creating an atmosphere that encourages participation in, and creation of extracurricular activities. Not only does the school provide a wide variety of sports teams and clubs for students to participate in but they also facilitate students to easily create new clubs based on their own ever-changing personal interests. This allows every student to feel as though they have the opportunity to find a place within the school where they fit, no matter how obscure their interests might be. Also, the way they have set up the class schedule makes it easy for all students to participate in whatever clubs they want to. By allowing a longer than average lunch period for students, and encouraging them to use this time to meet with their extracurricular clubs, all students have a chance to become a part of something within the school regardless of what their life looks like after the final bell rings.
The overall learning culture that students are surrounded by seems to be very student centered. In every classroom I have observed, the teachers were personally engaged with the students while teaching the lesson. There were multiple times when I saw teachers meeting with students one-on-one during class time to check in on the academic performance as well as the personal well being of the students in their class. Instead of simply lecturing, teachers converse with students on a personal level, making an effort to get to know who they are outside of the classroom. Also, Rocky makes a big effort to keep the parents as involved as possible in their student’s education. They keep student grades accessible to parents by posting them online and hold parent teacher conferences, allowing parents to communicate with teachers on an individual basis as well. On their website, There is a section dedicated to keeping parents informed on current events taking place at Rocky. On this page parents can access the student handbook as well as choose from a variety of links to find out more information about specific topics like what resources are available to students and what the calendar of events for the year looks like
Overall it seems to me that Rocky Mountain High Schools mission to make every student feel as though they have a place in the school is directly reflected in the clear culture of acceptance that is felt in every classroom. Instead of a culture that pushes for achievement through competition, the culture here pushes students to achieve through their own personal ambition and curiosity. Creating an atmosphere that accepts and encourages students to feel comfortable expressing their own individual identities has allowed for a place where students not only learn from their teachers but, from their peers as well in an emotionally and intellectually supportive environment.
STUDENTS AND CLASSROOM:
Over the course of this semester I will be working with Mr. Ibanez in the 2-D visual fundamentals class. In this class, students are introduced to basic materials and techniques for creating 2-D art. A few examples of topics covered in this class are how to use graphite-drawing pencils, paint handling techniques, drawing from observation, and color theory. In this class there are 10 males and 17 females, making for a class of 27 students total. The majority of students I will be working with in this class are underclassmen with very few who are juniors or seniors . The ethnic demographic of this class seems to refelect that of the school overall, mostly white with a relatively small, yet present, population of students who identify otherwise. While ethnic/racial differences is a topic I do not feel I should obligate students to talk about with me, a difference in language spoken at home vs. at school has come up in conversation with a few of the students in this class. Two of these conversations were about the relevance of Spanish language to their personal lives and one was about her families Vietnamese heritage. If these students had not mentioned to me that they spoke any language other than English, I would have never known. None of the students in this class seem to have any issues with language or cultural differences in the classroom. Developmentally, all of the students in this class seem be performing within an expected academic range for their age. So far, I have not noticed any students who are at an abnormally high or low level of cognitive development. While their levels of cognitive development seem to be the same, their levels of social development seem to have a greater level of variation.
Some students are very social and enjoy talking to and working with their peers. Other students are significantly quieter while they work and prefer not to be talked to while they are engaged in a project. Generally speaking, the interests of these students seem to have one thing in common, popular culture. Brand logos, celebrities, and animals seem to be among the most popular interest categories that repeatedly show up in their work. The overall classroom culture seems to be one that is supportive of different learning styles, skill levels, and hands on learning. After a project has been presented, students are given time to work individually at their own pace to complete the assignment. During this time, the teacher walks around the classroom addressing issues and answering questions as they arise. Students work at student-grade drafting desks that have been pushed together in a table like formation to make groups of 4-5 students. Each desk is taller, and has a larger top surface than the average student desk. Each desk-top can also be lifted up and set at an angle. This provides better visibility and working conditions for students who are working on larger scale 2-D projects. The teacher has a desk in the front of the room that faces the class. On the wall behind the desk there is a smart board and a white board right next to each other. There is also a small table in the front of the class with a computer that is connected to the smart board. Art materials are kept in the back of the classroom, in a cabinet system located on the wall opposite of the wall with the whiteboard and smart board. Next to the cabinets there is also a utility sink meant for student use.
The overall mission of Rocky Mountain High School is to get students as personally involved in their own education as possible. It is proven that students, who feel as though they are an important part of the school, perform better academically than those who do not. When students feel as though they are a part of their school they invest more of themselves into their own education, causing them to not only achieve to higher academic heights but also, enjoy their educational experience. Because of this, Rocky Mountain High School makes a very conscious effort to make it clear to students that their presence is genuinely valued both in and outside of the classroom.
One of the ways they most successfully fulfill their mission is by creating an atmosphere that encourages participation in, and creation of extracurricular activities. Not only does the school provide a wide variety of sports teams and clubs for students to participate in but they also facilitate students to easily create new clubs based on their own ever-changing personal interests. This allows every student to feel as though they have the opportunity to find a place within the school where they fit, no matter how obscure their interests might be. Also, the way they have set up the class schedule makes it easy for all students to participate in whatever clubs they want to. By allowing a longer than average lunch period for students, and encouraging them to use this time to meet with their extracurricular clubs, all students have a chance to become a part of something within the school regardless of what their life looks like after the final bell rings.
The overall learning culture that students are surrounded by seems to be very student centered. In every classroom I have observed, the teachers were personally engaged with the students while teaching the lesson. There were multiple times when I saw teachers meeting with students one-on-one during class time to check in on the academic performance as well as the personal well being of the students in their class. Instead of simply lecturing, teachers converse with students on a personal level, making an effort to get to know who they are outside of the classroom. Also, Rocky makes a big effort to keep the parents as involved as possible in their student’s education. They keep student grades accessible to parents by posting them online and hold parent teacher conferences, allowing parents to communicate with teachers on an individual basis as well. On their website, There is a section dedicated to keeping parents informed on current events taking place at Rocky. On this page parents can access the student handbook as well as choose from a variety of links to find out more information about specific topics like what resources are available to students and what the calendar of events for the year looks like
Overall it seems to me that Rocky Mountain High Schools mission to make every student feel as though they have a place in the school is directly reflected in the clear culture of acceptance that is felt in every classroom. Instead of a culture that pushes for achievement through competition, the culture here pushes students to achieve through their own personal ambition and curiosity. Creating an atmosphere that accepts and encourages students to feel comfortable expressing their own individual identities has allowed for a place where students not only learn from their teachers but, from their peers as well in an emotionally and intellectually supportive environment.
STUDENTS AND CLASSROOM:
Over the course of this semester I will be working with Mr. Ibanez in the 2-D visual fundamentals class. In this class, students are introduced to basic materials and techniques for creating 2-D art. A few examples of topics covered in this class are how to use graphite-drawing pencils, paint handling techniques, drawing from observation, and color theory. In this class there are 10 males and 17 females, making for a class of 27 students total. The majority of students I will be working with in this class are underclassmen with very few who are juniors or seniors . The ethnic demographic of this class seems to refelect that of the school overall, mostly white with a relatively small, yet present, population of students who identify otherwise. While ethnic/racial differences is a topic I do not feel I should obligate students to talk about with me, a difference in language spoken at home vs. at school has come up in conversation with a few of the students in this class. Two of these conversations were about the relevance of Spanish language to their personal lives and one was about her families Vietnamese heritage. If these students had not mentioned to me that they spoke any language other than English, I would have never known. None of the students in this class seem to have any issues with language or cultural differences in the classroom. Developmentally, all of the students in this class seem be performing within an expected academic range for their age. So far, I have not noticed any students who are at an abnormally high or low level of cognitive development. While their levels of cognitive development seem to be the same, their levels of social development seem to have a greater level of variation.
Some students are very social and enjoy talking to and working with their peers. Other students are significantly quieter while they work and prefer not to be talked to while they are engaged in a project. Generally speaking, the interests of these students seem to have one thing in common, popular culture. Brand logos, celebrities, and animals seem to be among the most popular interest categories that repeatedly show up in their work. The overall classroom culture seems to be one that is supportive of different learning styles, skill levels, and hands on learning. After a project has been presented, students are given time to work individually at their own pace to complete the assignment. During this time, the teacher walks around the classroom addressing issues and answering questions as they arise. Students work at student-grade drafting desks that have been pushed together in a table like formation to make groups of 4-5 students. Each desk is taller, and has a larger top surface than the average student desk. Each desk-top can also be lifted up and set at an angle. This provides better visibility and working conditions for students who are working on larger scale 2-D projects. The teacher has a desk in the front of the room that faces the class. On the wall behind the desk there is a smart board and a white board right next to each other. There is also a small table in the front of the class with a computer that is connected to the smart board. Art materials are kept in the back of the classroom, in a cabinet system located on the wall opposite of the wall with the whiteboard and smart board. Next to the cabinets there is also a utility sink meant for student use.