Observation on Teachers(s) in the Classroom

They prepare detailed lesson plans and prepare it every week. Since the theme, topic, and activities are given in the curriculum which was given to them yearly, they just prepare the lesson flow, on how the execution of the lesson and activities said in their curriculum without disregarding the individual capabilities of each child, their age, and their interest. And so, since specifics were stated on the curriculum, what only would differ would be on how the teacher would execute and deliver the lesson. They prepare activities such as board works and coloring activities which continuously excites the pupils every time considering its appropriateness, relatedness, and whether it catch the interest of the pupils.

Both the teachers and students go to school from Monday to Saturday. It’s a big help to the teachers that the planned activities were already stated in the curriculum because they wouldn’t have a hard time still thinking on what to do and on how to do it. The teachers there do not really maximize the use of instructional materials according to themes and topic. They were more into using the traditional teaching inside their classroom. Writing on the whiteboard, talking in front, making the kids copy what's on the board. But upon entering their classrooms, there were some instructional materials hanged on the wall and almost all of it was teacher made. It’s big, colorful, appropriate, and looked sturdy. I could say that the teachers there are creative. I believe it’s better than just buying from the stores since the teachers were able to modify it according to the needs of the learners. However, it could not be manipulated by neither the teacher nor the pupil since it’s posted on the wall.

Each teacher has its own personal and unique teaching pedagogy. When I encountered and experienced first hand the Salim, my heart was inexplicably shocked and happy. Every morning, the teachers would line up in front of the gate, greet the parents and the pupils entering the school. The pupils would Salim each and every teacher. Also, kids would Salim to their parents when they dropped them off. Even the teachers, when one would arrive, that's how they would greet each other. It's good to see how the school and parents work together. Basic morals and values that started at home, was easier to strengthen in school. Although we had this practice as well before in the Philippines, but as time passes by it turned into kissing cheeks by cheeks and then suddenly faded way, but for some parts in the Philippines they still exercise this way of giving respect to elder. They all have a uniform routine when already settled in the classroom and kids mastered it already. But what I have observed common in all five teachers in Bhayangkari, it was that they teach as if they were just conversing with the kids. Their discussion includes the listening and sharing of the pupils, two-way interaction happens inside the classroom. However since there were no instructional materials utilized during the discussion, kids couldn't participate and move while learning because they're just sitting on their chairs. There were times when the pupils want to color in their books, the teachers would let them. They always integrate interesting songs in their lessons and during their transition period. “Anak sole”, was the school’s spirit or cheer wherein when initiated by the teacher, the pupils would sit properly, will put their hands on the table and be attentive once again.

Measuring the pupil’s performance, the teachers does not give out paper and pen examinations, rather they just observe the kids’ performance inside and outside the classroom by basing it on the checklist given to them by the National Education. And so, knowing the pupils individually really matters because the checklist is broad and specific in terms of the skills achieved by the pupils according to the development milestones. The checklist covers Moral Values and Religion, Motoric Physics, Cognitive, Language, Emotional, Art, Character and Self-Development of a child. Each aspect has specifications whether the child was able to develop according to the required skills of their age. In giving evaluation to the pupils’ performance, teachers make narrative grading as a summary of the checklist and the whole performance of the child in each semester. They don’t give Percentage grading to the learners because they believe that each child is learning and developing at its own pace and should not be pressured by chasing a specific standard of numerical grade.

I truly believe that each teacher has its own unique way of teaching and giving learning opportunities and experiences to pupils. I was lucky I was able to observe and teach in all five classes to meet different sets of pupils and encounter different ways of teaching pedagogies in all teachers. I was exhilarated because from the beginning of the day, there were already a lot of nursery songs to hype up the energy of the pupils. They also have a lot of spirits/chants to capture the attention of the students whenever they’re giving out too much energy. Even though they let the pupils have their own freedom and do things on their own, they still managed to guide and keep discipline in them although they really didn’t have solid classroom rules but the students know and understand to listen and respect the teachers. I was inspired on how they discuss the lessons to their classes just by calmly talking to the pupils, as if they were just conversing. They make it fun and interesting by not being conscious whether they’ would look like silly in front of others and in front of the pupils. All of them were just calm and not rushing about time; because they respect and understand how each pupil indulge the lesson on its own.