Nikki - Playworks - Blog 4

We started at a new school today. We arrived at DCIS Ford in the morning and waited until our Playworks coach told us what to do. We went out to the playground to start our first round of recess and explore the grounds. The playground was huge! It was way larger and more spread out than any of the other playgrounds we have visited. Since this particular Playworks coach had only been there for a few months the kids were not as disciplined. Some did not respect him like they respected the coach at AXL Academy. The kids did not have very much structure because the playground was so big. It was more like a traditional recess than the other Playworks playgrounds we have seen. The children played normal recess games like soccer, basketball, and foursquare. The children in each class just ran from game to game. It made me realize how important the structure on the playground is. The children seemed to enjoy the structured games a lot more. When there were only certain games they could play there was a lot more inclusion. We gave the new coach pointers from the other schools playgrounds, which I think helped him figure out how to make recess more structured. I also think it helps the coaches that we have been to different schools and also broadens our outlooks.
At DCIS a lot of the teachers spoke Spanish in order to accommodate the younger children who do not know English yet. I thought this was a good idea so the Spanish speaking children do not get behind and flustered by just jumping into English all the time. Most of the teachers were very considerate and seemed like they enjoyed teaching. One teacher really made me uncomfortable. She was constantly yelling at her second grade class, which was known for being the most disrespectful class. When her class was at recess they seemed incredibly well behaved. I was kind of angry at this teacher because the children were well behaved just not taking well to being constantly badgered and yelled at. This brings me to a point in the education system that may need some work. I understand that teachers do not get paid the best but wouldn’t you think that would mean they would really want to work next to kids and be a teacher? I think kids would behave better if they felt that the teachers actually enjoyed teaching them.