First day at Learn and Serve 79th School 10-14-09

<----I hope my class learns to raise their hands more often! My first day at my learn and serve site was definatley an interesting one. My classroom is labeled special ed. and consists of a small group about 8 or 9 students ranging from 4th to 6th grade. They are all boys. At first, the group seemed quiet, laidback but I was proven wrong at that assumption. The teacher started reading to them and they managed to sit in there seats, while wiggling and sometimes talking, they colored and drew pictures as she read. None of them seemed the least bit interested in what she was reading to them. A positive reinforcement though was that the teacher gave out "fake money" to the students that sat well in their seats. It was her way of silently letting them know they were doing well at being quiet. I noticed that the teacher in my learn and serve classroom is very good at giving the students silent cues. If the students start to get out of hand she will give individual kids looks, or touch their shoulder to let them know she is watching them and knows what they are doing. The students tend to get up out of their seats and never raise their hands when they talk. I have a feeling that is something the teacher has given up on, or these are not things that are priorities to her at the levels that they are at now. Next was math time when I actually could have some one on one time with the students. It was very difficult to get them to concentrate. They feed off of eachother and when one talks that gets the other to talk. In order to get these kids to concentrate you have to have them completely one on one with absolutley no distractions. They swear, punch, and disobey rules constantly. I can see how the teacher could get easily frustrated with this group but it is going to be very interesting and educational to see more ways of helping these kids learn.