Meagan W, Heather, Chelsea, Response 3

It was a very insightful opportunity to meet with Brittany Foster, Spanish Fork High School's theatre teacher. Going into the meeting, I was hopeful that everything would "work out"; but I almost feel like it went even better than I had planned. She was very hospitable and willing to help us in any way that she could. She provided us with some foundational contextual information and offered additional suggestions and advice. For me, the best thing to "learn" was about the relationship between the teacher and the students. Especially when I feel like I can relate to the teacher, its important to me to hear how she feels about her students. Since overall it sounded very positive, I'm now excited to jump in and "get my feet wet". -Meagan
I felt like I really learned a lot talking with Brittany. It was interesting to talk about the socioeconomic factors in the school. It's really interesting that they have split the school and that all the inner city students have been put together. I see this as a challenge but also something that can bring the kids together. I think it could be hard to deal with because all of the students feel inferior (as Brittany told us) but at the same time, it's something they all have in common and hopefully something that could bring them together and make them feel alike and united. I'm excited that the class is small, I think that will make our teaching experience very intimate and give us an opportunity to really get to know the students, which excites me. I'm a little worried about our topic and getting the students engaged and interested, since it's a topic she said her students don't like too much.
But overall the meeting made me really excited and happy about the upcoming practicum experience! -Heather
In talking with the teacher I thought it was interesting that there were positives and negatives to every aspect we discussed with her classroom. She has good technology in her classroom, but not great technology for her auditorium. I think it showed a balance and a positive attitude from her as a teacher. Her school has been split twice over the last two years and it was interesting to hear her talk about the response that she gets from her students about that transition. Many of the students express that they feel inferior to the students that attend the other schools because those schools are newer. I think students are effected my a lot more then they usually openly express. I am interested in knowing students and their needs in the class room. -Chelsea