Shaker Heights High School

The first class I observed at Shaker Heights High School was an Environmental Science class.  The class had a mix of 11th and 12th graders.  I did not recognize the teacher when I first walked into the classroom.  She was wearing a hoodie and jeans and had her hair thrown back in a ponytail.  She was sitting in one of the student's desks.  The students were watching a film on positive human impact.  I was surprised at how well behaved the students were.  The students seemed to be engrossed in the film.  I enjoyed the film, as well.  Most of the time, we hear about things that we could be doing better at in the world: recycling, saving water, not buying as much stuff, etc.  It was nice to hear about the good things people are doing to better the world.  The video showed an invention called a rain maker, which cleans dirty water.  The video focused on water, energy and health.  There was also a machine that was invented to treat wellness and to help circulation.  The teacher would make comments to her students, about the video, throughout the film.  She had a large classroom with an area of desks facing the front of the class and another area where there were groups of tables.  The classroom had a bird cage in it, empty fish tanks, kits, jars and sinks.  There was an onion and a potato on a tray, on the table, as if they just completed an experiment.  The movie ended a couple minutes before I was about to leave for my next class, so I did not really get to see the teacher in action.  Once the film was complete, the teacher went to the front of the classroom and was talking to the students about the film and asked questions. 

The second class I observed was a stage craft class.  This looked like a really fun class; one that I would have liked to take in high school.  There were posters all over the wall with words like, "knowledge, caring, reflective, risk-takers, principles and communication."  Audition posters surrounded the walls, as well.  There were four long tables that were all pushed together to form one very large table.  Everyone sits together.  I really liked this layout.  I felt like the layout allowed the students to really be involved with each other and the teacher.  There were only about 8 students in this class.  We eventually left the classroom to go to the auditorium.  The group split up into even smaller groups and worked on props for the Romeo and Juliet play that would be playing soon.  The teacher was very fun and laid back.  I could tell the students really liked him and felt comfortable with him.  They almost acted like friends.  The teacher and students joked with each other and came up with ideas together.  The students were painting signs and displays.  I liked that the class was all about creative play and interaction.  This class almost reminded me of the Summerhill school we read about in "Educational Foundations."  The students were creative and played all class period.  The teacher was one of the students.  There was no direction or instruction.  The teacher and student were equal.