EDU 516 Dr. Bernstein Student: Jaime R.

Sandoval Micro Observation III

From the nations beginning, schools have been at the center of efforts to create social progress out of change and upheaval. Jeannie Oaks, From Teaching to Change the World
Summary Several of us pre-service teachers have had the opportunity to go into the field and collect information that is going to help us to succeed. During the first semester of this masters program, classmates made comments about the experiences they have acquired at their observation sites. Others complained about their on-site teachers performances being aggressive or teachers not having been pre sent during lecture. This observations goal is to describe, analyze, and reflect upon the main office and lounge/cafeteria for thirty minutes. The observation recorded more than thirty minutes of detailed descriptions. Approximately, an extra twenty minutes were spent at the main office due to an unexpected delay. Main Office The thirty minutes of observation began at 11:30 a.m. The location for this observation was the schools main office and teachers lounge addressed at 4100 Firestone Blvd. South Gate, CA 90280. As I tried to understand the system, just as a pupil with his master, I was surprised to find that there was more than one assistant principal. One of the assistant principals, James N. Hooker, appeared after the meeting. His picture was framed alongside a few other members of the institution. We looked at each

other, and he said, Have you been helped? and I replied to him with a smile on my face, Yes sir! Mr. Hooker is aware of my presence. I continued, The University of Southern California made all the arrangements with Mr. Hooker to perform this observation. He was short, with dark hair, and slim . I never had the chance to meet the principal of the school. All my business meetings were conducted with assistant principal, Hooker. The assistant principal was conducting a meeting upon my arrival at the site. After the conclusion of his business, he opted to verify unfinished business, utilizing his walkie-talkie to provide proper directions to the person on the other end of the speaker. His business was to complete tasks that were not done. Next, he asked me to accompany him for a mini field trip of the location. Then, he gave me a brief introduction to what the school was about. We walked upstairs, and he pointed out where the lounge is located and gave the instructions on what to do at the end of the observation. At approximately 11:45 a.m. the secretary was conducting her services of assisting students as they approached to ask a question. She was kind at all times. It felt like she was meant to do this type of work. She was helpful with the students and visitors. In other words, she went above expectations when attending to pupils. I had all this extra time in the main office due to an early arrival. Spending a little more time next to the wonderful secretary Jessica, Yolanda Haro. She shared with me that she has been a part of this school for the last twenty years. According to Hooker, the assistant principal, she is the one that the principal needs to deal with every time paperwork needs to be concluded. The office had constant visitors during the thirty minutes of my staying in the main lobby. There was another section of the office. Several parents were there as well, either to pick up their kids or to just have a conversation with the principal. The exact timing this event was not recorded, but a parent asked the clerk, I need to take both of my children with me for dentist appointment. The clerk at the desk kindly asked her to fill out a few sheets for her childrens release. The mom kindly did so, but she

asked Is this paper work good for my both children? and the clerk, patiently replied, Yes maam, that paper provides you with the excuse to take both children with you to see the dentist. The staff appears to be celebrating some sort of cultural festivity. I can see that they are wearing outfits that resemble those of particular ethnic groups. It appears that only the staff is in that spirit of wearing some sort of a Mexican outfit. One lady is wearing a dress that covers the upper to lower portion of her body. On the top part, it had a red colored border design. The design on her dress provided a picturesque view; it also contained a vivid shade of green. The lady also wore a red ribbon on her hair that swung back and forth every time the secretary moved her head. The scenery is full of light. The halls outside the office, as I mentioned in Microreflection II, run from one end to the other, and two walls are completely filled with lockers for the students. The other side of the hall is equipped to place photos from eventful happenings on school site. This includes mathematical competitions and parents meetings, as well as including club meetings. There was one particular staff member that pushed the students to attend the schools classroom functions in session. He it is not an instructor, since he is wearing a fluorescent yellow color jacket that said, at the back with capital letters, STAFF. This particular individual was very fond of the secretaries. He was humorous and was content doing his job all along while chatting with the secretary. His name, unfortunately, was not recorded but his name is of a particular Hispanic origin. This individual was chasing students by telling them in Spanish, que estan hacienda afuera de la classe, vayanse para sus classes. Translated: what are you all doing outside the classroom environment? Go back to your class. This man is a character. He then proceeded to guide the students to his classroom. Lounge

At 12:00 p.m., I opted to go to the lounge room. It was just about lunch time for the school instructors and staff. The instructors were having a good time. They were exchanging events that took place a day before. However, I was unable to distinguish if they were in fact instructors or not since I asked one of the individuals seated at one of the several round tables, what is your function here in the school environment? The young man began to tell me that he was there representing an employer under the name of AFLAC. The mans main objective at school was to offer the instructors and staff the benefits of this particular insurance company. He conducted business with the employees and or the staff. While all along, having another male sitting alongside him for training purposes. Both of them were Anglo-Saxon. These two young men were seated next to my table. There were a total of about six tables in the lounge, and only three of them were occupied. The other two tables had one teacher in one table, and about four on anther table. The lounge is located next to the provisional drop off zone or section, between the auditorium and across from the main office building. No male instructors were engaging at this particular lounge during lunch time; i.e., only females were present during this lunch period. The cafeteria did not have a wide variety of food to select from. A few mushy muffins were displayed, and several salads not appealing to the naked eye. The cafeteria staff was not familiar with the cash register. I asked for a coffee, and was able to obtain the coffee for free because she did not know the button to charge it. While drinking the cup of Joe, no other movement in the lounge was noticeable. The same behavior was taking place during the 15 minutes of observation. The lounge had a vending machine that one of the AFLAC employees used to purchase a soda by inserting a few coins. It had a microwave that one staff member used to heat his food in a Tupperware container.

After visiting the lounge, I went back to the assistant principals office. He was dealing with more parents at my arrival. Then, he asked me to sit at another round table made of wood near his office. The assistant principal here asked me how the observation was coming along. Now, since the instructions from the University of California were specific not to provide any information to the instructor, I managed not to mention anything, quickly leading the conversation to another forum. Eventually, we were able to make a conversation about the implementation that the school system is making by adding media literacy in the classroom environment. He agreed with me by providing an example of his daily life. He began telling me that besides the assistant principal position, he also teaches in another institution, and utilizes his Smartphone to conduct teaching. He then agreed that everything is evolving technologically. After talking for another 10 minutes, we concluded the observation with a strong handshake and a salutation. A thank you email was delivered to close the observation project in good standing. Analysis Overall, the secretaries were helpful, and went out of their way to help the students. I was unable to identify the instructors in this observation. The instructors have made a good job blending with the staff of the school site. The only ones that appeared presentable in the school site were the assistant principal and, unfortunately, the AFLAC employees. Mr. Hooker was running up and down to maintain control or to search for what Rose (2006) called Community. Reflection My dominant impression of the observations was the assistance of the assistant principal. He was running the school environment utilizing only a walkie-talkie. The most important issue in the main office was the secretaries who were monitoring the students behavior around the school clock. The

most interesting about the observation is how the students are unaware of the several practices the administration applies to make the environment function properly.

Reference
Oakes ,

J. & Lipton, M. (1999). The American Schooling Dilemma: Diversity, Inequality and Democratic Values (3rd ed.). In Teaching to Change the World (pp. 3-33). Boston: McGraw Hill. Retrieved from http://www.2sc.usc.edu

Rose, M. (2006). Chapter 3: Baltimore, Maryland. Possible Lives: The Promise of Public Education in America (pp. 97-134). New York: Penguin Books