Whittier School, Jane Swatosh, 9:30-4:00
This past week I taught my last lesson at Whittier school! It was an exciting, but long day, I was exhausted by the end of it.
We reviewed the topics we discussed the week before, discussing the affects that large scale paper production can have on our surroundings and the workers in the mill. We discussed what gets wasted in large scale paper production, but also in handmade papermaking! The students then split into their tables and I instructed them to try to respond to one of four questions centered around thinking about ways our actions and decisions can change the environment. The students were asked to work as many artists do, creating an idea, sketching it, and then creating the final draft on the paper after their ideas were solidified.
The students eventually all took turns drawing on the big sheet, while they waited, they could either continue to work on their sketch or work on their Spanish work. Some were stumped as to what to draw, so I walked around and offered assistance to students who needed help thinking of ways to represent waste or recycling etc.
It was an amazing last day! We worked on the second half of the project at the very end of the day, but before that I spent the day working with the students on their Spanish, talking to them about their lego creations, and witnessing lunchtime drama (getting chicken instead of fish by mistake).
It was a great last week and I’m going to miss the students, Jane was a great teacher to shadow and learn from as well. She focuses so much on the individual student and their learning needs, if they need to be able to get up and walk around to focus or to avoid getting too upset or frustrated. She demands the student’s respect and attention, but she does in a breadth of ways. It was a great experience and I feel like I have gained a lot!
