Shadow a Student Day
Wednesday, October 30, 2019
Naperville Central High School
Rob Porter
I shadowed sophomore Ayden Lutes today. Ayden is a high achieving student taking a
college prep curriculum. Wednesdays are
a “late arrival” day at NCHS allowing teachers to meet in professional learning
communities (PLC). I played the role of
a teacher in my PLC until its conclusion at 8:45am because it was a “late
arrival,” the teaching/learning day started late and all the periods were
shorter, including the passing periods. I
met Ayden in his first classroom prior to the start of the first period at
9:00am. As a side note, we had a
significant amount of snowfall overnight making travel a bit hazardous for this
time of year. Busses and drop-offs
arrived late to the school.
The first period was Spanish 3 located in the basement, Room
B15. It was taught by a student
teacher. The head teacher did not remain
in the classroom. Several students
arrived late. We worked on the conjugation
of “jugar” (to play) which was tricky given that “jugar” is an irregular verb. We reviewed a quiz and then did a vocabulary
KaHoot from our computers. I
participated and actually got a few correct.
We learned about Uruguay, discussed our favorite food (in Spanish), and
worked on our vocabulary review guide and more.
The learning environment was light and fun. Students were engaged and the lesson was
interesting. I did my best to keep up,
but because I haven’t studied Spanish in a number of years, it was a struggle
at times.
From there, we traveled four flights of stairs to the third
floor for Honors Biology. The lesson was
working with the urinary system of a dissected pig. Entering the room and before the bell,
students, including me, put on aprons, goggles and gloves. The opening bell wasn’t even heard as we were
already engaged in the project. Our pig
was already dissected from a previous lesson, but was preserved well and ready
for our inspection. We were tasked with
finding the kidneys, ureter, bladder, and renal artery. We also had to show the teacher the pig’s
esophagus, pancreas, and more to receive a stamp (presumably previously
learned). There were pictures and
diagrams to guide us as we worked. We
were asked about the functions of those structures. We were to prepare for a quiz tomorrow. Toward the end of the period all of the
materials were returned and students sprayed down thw tables with
disinfectant. The entire class was
fascinating (but a bit overwhelming for me!)
Period three had us on the same floor for Blended Algebra
2. The commute was short and we had some
time to relax and talk. Today was what I
would call a “Check-in Day.” The teacher
ask us to complete a district assessment exam that was treated as
formative. I took one as well and, because
math is my field, I felt more confident than in the other classes. Nevertheless, the exam was tricky for me as I
haven’t visited that material in quite some time. At the conclusion of the exam, students were given
the option to stay or go. Ayden left,
but I stayed through the period. The
teacher reviewed the material and by the end of the period I knew all my
mistakes and was on the DA. The teacher
reviewed “Extra Practice Notes” that worked with the material along with an
Extra Practice worksheet. Good stuff!
Gym was next. I
dressed upstairs near the math office and had to hustle down to the auxiliary
gym. The class is PE 2: Leadership. I was placed with a group that had to swing
from one platform to another. The catch
was that my entire group started on one platform with the rope out of
reach. We had to work together to get
the rope and find a way to carry a dummy from one platform to another (and no,
the dummy wasn’t me!). Our solution was
to take off our shoes and tie them together to lasso the rope and reel it in to
the platform where we were standing. It
worked! Several students swung
across. One of the boys was strong enough
to swing while holding the dummy. When
it was my turn, I nearly lost my grip and fell.
Since we finished our task so quickly, we were challenged to do it again
with one of us blindfolded. We
accomplished that task as well.
I ran upstairs and changed back into school clothes, then
back down to the cafeteria for lunch. I
sat with students and had some good conversations. I was also able to get a bit of the math
homework from today’s work completed during lunch as well.
After lunch we returned to class for sixth hour. This time our class was Journalism. We started with a news quiz. This was fun.
We were tested on current events with 10 questions. We had 5 minutes to answer independently, and
then 2 minutes to collaborate. We got
every question correct. The remainder of
the period was dedicated to make-up and pre-assessment work. The teacher walked around the classroom
attending to individual needs. Students
that were ahead were asked to finish their reading assignment or read the
Chicago Tribune or the NCHS Central Times.
I read the latter and learned a bit about what is going on in the
building.
We moved a short distance on the same floor to the seventh
hour class, Comparative Religions. We
started with a quick check with each student responding to the questions: Good
day?, Great day?, or Best day ever? The
teacher asked if there were any questions about the upcoming project and there
were plenty of students asking questions.
The main discussion turned to the study of Noah, the Tower of Babel and
Abraham. The teacher asked questions
about their reading and built on the students’ responses. The discussion was in-depth, and
interesting. Students built on the
responses of the questions from the teacher and on the responses of the
peers. I believe the teacher intended to
begin a movie on the Ten Commandments, but the discussion was so passionate and
interesting, time ran out in the period.
The final period of the day had us walking from the 2nd
floor to the flat wing of the building.
That’s a bit of a hike. The class
attended was Advanced Band. Wednesday’s
are reserved for ensemble practice.
Ayden worked with his own group.
I decided to observe the percussion ensemble. They were working on “Trash Can
Composition.” The musical instruments
were trash cans, brake drums, and an actual snare and base drum (mainly to keep
time). There were four students (and me)
in a room practicing on the piece. I
helped set up the room and with clean up.
We all wore ear plugs. I mostly
just observed the practice, but I did secretly grab a drumstick and kept time
and a beat on my leg as the students practiced.
The students were absolutely amazing.
They collaborated with each other, each contributing suggestions and
listening to one another.
Then, just as quickly as the day started, the 3:10pm bell
rang and the day ended. It was a
whirlwind day for me for sure. Here are
some takeaways:
- · Every class was interesting and engaging. The quality of education that these students are receiving is outstanding.
- · It seemed hard to keep up. I found myself still thinking about the previous class while moving to the next class. I took as many notes as I could, but it was difficult to keep up at times.
- · Each teacher provided some degree of personal relationships. Examples include opening activities (how are you feeling today?), hallway discussions, smiles, friendly and polite greetings, and more.
- · I was kept busy from bell to bell for every class, but I didn’t feel overrun.
- · I was tired by the end of the day, but looking back, I did have time to recharge my batteries
- · All day I felt like I was one step behind, but I believe I felt this way because I was jumping into classes in the middle of the semester.
- · Ayden was a fantastic partner for me in this experience. He was patient with me and very helpful.
