Field Placement at Thurmont Middle School - October Observation #2




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* For confidentiality purposes, a pseudonym will be provided for the observed student and mentor teacher *


    The month of October was certainly an interesting experience for me in terms of what I observed and encountered in the classroom. This observation took place on Thursday, October 20th from 1:30-2:30PM in a 7th-grade social studies class at Thurmont Middle School. 

    On this day, my mentor teacher Ms. G, was explaining a project students would be completing on Islamic achievements. For this project, students had a choice, either to complete a PowerPoint presentation on three different Islamic achievements or write a story/comic about these achievements. After Ms. G explained the directions, she sent students off to begin working, and that is where my "story" begins. 

    After a few minutes of walking around and helping students get started, I noticed a girl in the back corner of the room - I will call her Ava. Ava was as quiet as a mouse, and if it were not for me walking in her direction, I likely would not have noticed her. I approached Ava and her groupmates and asked her if she has decided what she was going to do for her project, either the PowerPoint or the story. She told me she was going to do the story and I asked what she had done so far and if she needed any assistance. She told me she was good, and that is when I noticed her paper was blank. I asked again if she needed any help, and she politely told me no. I looked over to the side and noticed her notebook was open and she had drawn a couple of really good drawings of different cartoon characters. They were really impressive and I complimented her drawings which I could tell really resonated with her. 

    Reflecting on it now, it was clear that Ava was exhibiting the mask of apathy. Based on what I know about Ava, she is a good student and has a decent grade in Ms. G's class, however, her interest level in the material is evidently lacking. According to Tovani, "Without a connection to a topic, person, purpose, or reason, there is no point in working hard to construct meaning" (Tovani, Pg. 75). Based on this interaction with Ava, it was clear that she was not connecting to the material, and she was focusing her attention elsewhere. Looking back, however, Ava's interest and talent with drawling could have certainly be utilized to help her make connections to the material. 

    As I alluded to, to support Ava's literacy achievement, I would tend to her interests both inside and outside the classroom (Tovani, Pg. 76). In this case, I have observed how talented Ava's drawling abilities are and for this project, she has the opportunity to use her drawling abilities to formulate a comic on Islamic achievements. I would encourage her to use her drawling skills to make a comic strip and present her with different ideas, based on material discussed in class, that she could draw in hopes of removing her mask of apathy and creating a connection between her interest (drawling) and the material. 

Comments

  1. Laura RyanNovember 7, 2022 at 11:52 AM

    Great observation! I think you are right in thinking that Ava has a mask of apathy, though she seems to be really polite about it so that is a plus. Does she usually ask questions or receive help? Because, if not, the apathy might be masking her a fear of getting help in a public setting like that. I remember when I was in high school, I exhibited some of the same behavior in classes and it wasn't because I did not care per say, but that I was scared to ask a question when it seemed like everyone around me knew what they were doing. Just a possibility.

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  2. Mo PhamNovember 10, 2022 at 7:09 PM

    Your observations and reflections remind me a lot of how Tovani connected to her student Caleb through his interest in photography (p 78). Although he was wearing the mask of the class clown and Ava is wearing one of apathy, the principle is still the same. Your quote from Tovani expresses the necessity of connection well. I think your suggestion for her literacy achievement is good; personally, I would recommend her looking into Islamic art. Geometric patterns are an important expression of worship and distinctive to Islam. Researching into how this artistic style expresses this religion could give Ava a reason to engage.

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