FIELD STUDY 2 - DAY 4: A Worthwhile and Insightful Day, Indeed!

    Early in the first period in my cooperating teacher’s classroom, I was greeted by the students with "Good morning, sir." This scenario gives me the vibes of a positive atmosphere, which they show in a small, kind act. It drives me to do better this day. In my fourth day of Field Study (FS) 2, I have recognized another scenario that students have done and another task that is new to me: the process of scanning through the Zipgrade App when checking exams.

    It wasn't your typical day without a prayer to begin ma'am Jenny Dumagan's, my CT's, class. Ma’am Jenny, after the prayer, informed them about the seating arrangement of her Grade 9 Eris students. Ma'am Dumagan mentioned all other rules, and she emphasized this set of policies in their classroom as a way to discipline the students' bad habits and actions. Hence, as part of regulating these rules, ma’am negotiated the fines or punishments for those students who would violate the policy. These actions taken by ma'am Jenny are an excellent way in a classroom to control students' attitudes. Specifically, those acts that are alarming and cannot be handled in just a one-on-one talk These realizations, which I could also incorporate from my observations in my Field Study 1, show that rules in a classroom are an important factor in why students are disciplined and responsible. Thus, highlighting this as one of my goals in my future career is beneficial not just for me but also for my students someday. 

    Aside from these, ma’am has informed her students about their responsibilities in their section’s respective areas in the school. This includes their areas at the back of the library, near the science garden. Also, my CT has emphasized the importance of creating a reading area or corner in their classroom, and has asked them to bring some of their books from home for their reading hub in the room and at school. Furthermore, ma'am Jenny reminded them that their area in the pathway of their room must be clean and maintained, emphasizing that the students' garbage should be kept in their bags and not thrown anywhere in the classroom. The first period of my CT is done, and she is preparing for the second period in Grade 7-Everlasting. But, instead of joining her in the classroom of Section Everlasting, ma’am tasked me with recording all the scores of her students again, but these were not the same as yesterday’s task; these are the scores of the first grading exams. 

    As usual, I prepared all the necessary things I need, like my laptop with the charger, and placed it on my table (which ma’am prepared for me). From the grade level of 7 to 10, all these were recorded by encoding them in the E-class file in a form of Microsoft Excel. Since I know how to manipulate the file, I easily did it, and after the second period, all papers were already done. After a few minutes, Ma'am Jenny entered the classroom and offered me food, which I accepted as my snack. Because it is not good to turn down a blessing, I ended up saying, "Thank you, ma'am." I grabbed it and set these aside. 

    After the 15-minute break (recess time), ma’am has tasked me with starting and trying to scan the papers of her students on the app she introduced to me, Zipgrade. She demonstrated it to me and taught me the process of selecting the items with the correct answers. This time, I was excited since it was my first time. The selected correct answers are ready, and I was also ready to scan the paper. A specific section of the printed paper should be filled in on the specific section of the scanner. Hence, as I was doing it, I was amazed by the easy process of checking the exam and getting the correct answers. Also, I am surprised at how these eases the heavy tasks of a teacher since the needed record of item analysis and the systematic scores in a column are ready. This demonstrates that "technology is everywhere," so it could be everything; with a single click, things can move and process. 

    All of the tasks I've completed today will be useful in my future career. As a student teacher, I need to use the existing powers of gadgets and be on the cutting edge of the advent of technology. Hence, as a millennial student and as a teacher, all things must be under control and done for positive reasons. Technology gives opportunities for a convenient situation, but I also need to recognize that even if things could be "instant" these days, the automatic I have experienced is just less than manuals, which manifest hardships and motivations to finish with flying colors. Indeed, a worthwhile and insightful day!