Reflection #3- Amanda Harp

Classroom community should involve a type of atmosphere that relays to students that the environment is safe to be in and that learning is acceptable all throughout! When you first step into the halls of Aversboro Elementary you are greeted with an overwhelming amount of artwork by the students and everyone is so kind to greet you and ask if you need anything. Known as a small school, Aversboro has a diverse outlook on cultures and race. Seeing how the school acts as a community by working together in the lunchroom as well as at a school wide concert, this shows me that this school is one of the best at communicating that sense of togetherness. Community is definitely represented in this school and continues all throughout beginning with the amazing and respectful principles and caring teachers.
In my teacher’s 5th grade classroom there are many things in his classroom that exhibit a sense a community. The minute you step into Mr. Mauro’s room there is automatically a sense of peace and calmness. He always greets the students with a “Good Morning” to that individual and thus giving them a feeling of security. In the mornings he is always calm and has classical music playing in the background. This allows the students to come in from the daily grind of coming to school every morning and get straight to work in a quiet environment. It has been such a pleasure to see this work right before my eyes and the students seem to love this sense of relaxation when they first come in the door. As far as I can remember going into a classroom at the start of a day it is always hectic and loud, but for Mr. Mauro’s classroom it shows that not all classrooms will be noisy. The way the classroom is set up shows that each and every child is contributing to conversations all throughout the day. Gathered in groups each child is actively engaged in socializing but also quietly offering feedback to one another.
For Mr. Mauro he seems to be an independent teacher that allows the students to be in charge of their work and the class environment. I have noticed that when it comes to homework that he lets them take care of it and they know that they should put it in the respectable containers for each subject/teacher. (There are different teachers for the different subjects.) I really like this idea of making sure the students do this on their own because they get an idea of how to do things by themselves. If they forget to turn in their homework that day, then it’s their responsibility to make sure they put it in the respectable container each morning. Independence is priority in his classroom because he allows them to line up by themselves, sometimes go to restroom alone or do what they need to do inside the classroom. This shows a sense of classroom community because it not only shows the teacher that the students can do things on their own but also that they are building maturity and respect. Another thing I liked was during an observation of his lesson as he was talking about the Vietnam War. There is a girl in my class that is from Vietnam and he recognizes her and asks her to share her thoughts with how she liked her home place and if she could describe it to the class. I thought this was so neat to see that he was allowing other students to share their life or culture with the class and broaden their minds on how life is different all over the world. This shows me that Mr. Mauro cares for his students and he thrives to incorporate their lives and personality into his lessons and know more about them. Classroom community is essential in this aspect of getting to know each other and finding out more. Mr. Mauro does a fantastic job of creating a sense of community in the classroom because of his independence he creates for his students but also for including students’ lives into his teaching. He truly cares about his students and all the time I see him interacting with them about personal problems and issues they are facing. For example there is an “issue box” that students can put problems they have. He will read them and discuss them one-on-one with the student. It’s amazing to see this communication with a child and how a teacher and their student can be such good role models to them and give them the necessary advice. But like most teachers do on a day to day basis, there are always times for open discussion and group work for the students and science activities that bring them closer together through experiments and socializing.
Overall, Mr. Mauro and Aversboro Elementary show that community is something that should be shown all the time and that learning is a key part in providing an educational environment. You can plainly see by looking at the decorations on the walls of how great the student work is and how quiet and well behaved the students act. What I have seen with Mr. Mauro and Aversboro is that classroom community is an essential part to creating a good class as well as a good learning year.