Field Blog-Agnon School

I thought that visit to Agnon Elementary school was extremely interesting.  I have never visited a Community day school therefore it was very different and exciting in my eyes.  Everyone there was extremely friendly and kind and the children in the classroom were very well behaved and under control.  I was in a first grade classroom and observed the children while they did math problems and played games relating to math.  I thought it was interesting that the students were on a first name basis with the teachers and the head of the school.  Personally, I would not like if my students called me "Caroline" because I find it a bit too casual although I know it is part of their culture and respect it.  I felt that I got a lot out of my visit not only because it was something new that I have never experienced before, but also because I felt like the teacher made an effort to include me in the lesson and explain everything that she was teaching.  She was a young teacher that had attended the school herself which I found interesting.  I could tell that all of the students felt comfortable in their learning environment which I personally think is the key to success.  If the students are comfortable, they will be able to learn better and focus on the lesson more.  While observing, I realized that the students were very independent and responsible for such a young age.  They played the game well with each other.  No one fought and they cleaned up everything after they were done.  I have never seen such young children with such discipline which I thought was interesting.  In conclusion, I really liked how comfortable the students were and found everyone there very compassionate and welcoming but did not personally like the fact that everyone was on a first name basis.

Blog Post 9
In my opinion, a good school is where students are comfortable.  The most important aspect of a classroom is the student's ability to learn in it comfortably.  Therefore, I personally believe that small class sizes are beneficial to the teachers as well as the students.  Students that are conformable in their environment are able to learn more successfully and feel like they have control over what they are doing.  I believe that students should be able to choose what classes they are taking because in high school I had the exact same schedule every day filled with mostly classes that I was not interested in, making it hard to get through the day.  Another important aspect of a good school is their teachers.  Teachers should exhibit kindness and compassion for their job.  The nicer and more respectable the teacher is, the more the class is willing to let their guards down and truly learn.