Individual Field Requirement Hathaway-Brown High School 1

Mr. Mose’s Art History Class

October 24, 2014

My first observation in Mr. Mose's art history class happened to fall on a day when they were reviewing for their upcoming test. He started the class by saying "When I review, I review" which I found funny that he felt the need to say yet at the same time, I felt it was important because there are teachers who believe that even the information they don't go over in class could be on the test. Review should be REVIEW if a teacher wants to take class time to go over material for the test, if they don't cover it I don't believe it should be on the test. 

When I walked into the classroom I immediately noticed that there weren't any desks, just a giant table surrounded by chairs. It was actually rather odd because the room looked a lot like a living room. There was a fireplace, and a cupboard with china plates in it. To me it was relaxing but distracting at the same time because nothing in it screamed or even whispered classroom besides the smart board Mr. Morse used to show pictures of the different pieces of artwork they were talking about. 

On the other side, the large table instead of individual desks seems like a more relaxed environment which leads to "discussion based learning" and more of an open communication in the classroom itself. I was also informed by him that they had no text book. This was really innovative to me because it created an environment where they could create their own curriculum based on what they wanted to focus on. Each girl took notes on her laptop and added pictures the create an individual text book. Theses girls were all seniors which could have been a part of the comfortable atmosphere I was observing, but I believe it's also due to Mr. Morse's technique as a teacher. He praised the girls for their good work and answers instead of pointing out the moments when they struggled or were confused. He never talked down to students. He even made a point to say this to me personally after class. He says that one of the biggest "pet peeves" of his when he was in high school was that he felt his teachers talked down to him and didn't show him the respect he felt he needed to feel that it was worthwhile to care about the teacher's class if the teacher didn't care about his or her students. He sees students as people and respects their opinions as such. Everyone remember both the good teachers and what they did to make the class memorable, and the bad and why we hated every moment. It's how we move forward and become teachers ourselves that determines whether we took anything away from the experience. Mr. Morse remembered this about his high school experience and as an observer, I could see the importance he put in making sure his students felt that their opinions were being heard and respected. The students felt comfortable and because they were in an environment where they felt safe; they were able to thrive and learn to their full potential.