Observation of those I know
It's lunch time, 12:20 to be exact, and it's pouring rain. I chose to observe a group of students on this day hoping the weather would be good enough to sit outside, but the skies had other plans. I'm sitting near a window in the Dining Hall positioned so that I can actually see two angles; a group of 10 boys playing basketball on the court immediately outside, and groups of students coming and going as they get their lunch and interact with their friends. I sit down at an empty table and despite trying to be conspicuous, I draw the attention of a group of former students who come over to ask if I'm okay or want company. When they learn I'm doing 'homework', they give me a sympathetic look and leave.
Back to my observations, I see the rain pelting down off the pavement on the basketball court. I'm drawn to observing this group as I can often hear their shouts from my office window, but don't have the context of the action to make sense of what they're saying. Why am I drawn to them? A few reasons; for one, they seem to have an unspoken agreement of what is acceptable teasing and cajoling, and what is not. They have their own language, their own set of verbal and nonverbal cues. Some of them clearly come from their time on the basketball team together, but some of the verbal and nonverbal cues are a result of 8+ years of school together. This is particularly obvious when a new student enters and eagerly try to make sense of the new lingo. I hear the hum of Friday excitement and see faces turned towards phones or computer screens, mostly playing games and scrolling through social media.
In my role as teacher, I notice some of the subtleties of the relationships and dynamics around me. I notice two girls sitting together with their backs turned to a third and wonder if there was a falling out. I notice one boy on the basketball court continuously being skipped over and not given the ball, even when he is open. I wonder if that is a deliberate slight and make a mental note to keep my eye on those dynamics in class. I do not observe clothing, as they are all dressed in similar fashion, and clothing does not typically catch my eye in the first place.
Looking further out the window I see young children scurrying through the rain in their rain boots to get inside, and further still, a group of construction workers operating machinery and moving gravel. I realize that I don't know the names of said machinery, or really what they do.
I realize I've been smelling chicken noodle soup for the past 15 minutes and I am starting to get hungry so I wrap up my observation.
Back to my observations, I see the rain pelting down off the pavement on the basketball court. I'm drawn to observing this group as I can often hear their shouts from my office window, but don't have the context of the action to make sense of what they're saying. Why am I drawn to them? A few reasons; for one, they seem to have an unspoken agreement of what is acceptable teasing and cajoling, and what is not. They have their own language, their own set of verbal and nonverbal cues. Some of them clearly come from their time on the basketball team together, but some of the verbal and nonverbal cues are a result of 8+ years of school together. This is particularly obvious when a new student enters and eagerly try to make sense of the new lingo. I hear the hum of Friday excitement and see faces turned towards phones or computer screens, mostly playing games and scrolling through social media.
In my role as teacher, I notice some of the subtleties of the relationships and dynamics around me. I notice two girls sitting together with their backs turned to a third and wonder if there was a falling out. I notice one boy on the basketball court continuously being skipped over and not given the ball, even when he is open. I wonder if that is a deliberate slight and make a mental note to keep my eye on those dynamics in class. I do not observe clothing, as they are all dressed in similar fashion, and clothing does not typically catch my eye in the first place.
Looking further out the window I see young children scurrying through the rain in their rain boots to get inside, and further still, a group of construction workers operating machinery and moving gravel. I realize that I don't know the names of said machinery, or really what they do.
I realize I've been smelling chicken noodle soup for the past 15 minutes and I am starting to get hungry so I wrap up my observation.
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