Katie Hall- Placement

I am placed in a second grade classroom at Reo Elementary School in Lansing. The classroom itself is a decently sized room. The atmosphere of the classroom is very cluttered, with a lot of posters and details on all of the walls. The desks are arranged into three columns, each column includes two desks next to each other. There are twenty students in this particular class. The students are well behaved, overall. My mentor teacher is very strict, so when one student is out of line, she corrects the problem promptly. There is a general mix of students who are very eager to learn and students who could care less to be there.  There are three special needs students, who usually work with a specialist during the first hour of the school day. They then return to the classroom and are integrated into the lesson easily. As of December, there were only four students who were reading at grade level, which means sixteen students were reading below grade level. My mentor teacher also shared with me the fact that two students have also moved backwards with their reading skills.  Generally I am in the classroom in the mornings, so the routine is to grab breakfast (which is provided to them) and then work on their math warm-up. I have been present on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday mornings and it is always the same. My mentor teacher lets the students do work on their free time mostly, so I have rarely seen her teach an actual lesson. If she does, she uses the assistance of a recorded CD or worksheets. Overall, my placement at Reo Elementary has been enjoyable. I have had the opportunity to see a different side of teaching, that even though I don't necessarily approve of, I am happy to have been able to get the experience.