My interview

School Placement Task Inventory
1. Principle
Garry Culler is the principle at Edward middle school. The school principal is the highest-ranking administrator at school. According to him, principal typically report directly to the school superintendent, but may report to the superintendent's designee, usually an associate superintendent, in larger school districts.
His main jobs are:
a. Responsible for the overall operation of the school. Some of the duties and responsibilities are delineated in state statutes. States and school districts have also set expectations for him through his principal evaluation criteria and procedures.
b. Monitor instruction increased along with the responsibility to help teachers improve their teaching.
c. Improve the school instructional program
d. Create a shared vision within the school community and success in implementing new organizational structures that engage teachers in shared decision-making. He has discovered that engaging the entire school staff in making decisions results in more commitment to school reform initiatives.
e. Facilitating the school's interactions with parents and others in the school community. This responsibility includes working with parents when disciplinary issues arise, when students are not succeeding academically, and when parents have concerns.
f. Interact with parents who serve on school advisory boards, parent/teacher organizations, and booster clubs.

The main challenge is legislation requires the removal of principal when school is classified as low performing (students do not meet achievement expectations) for a specified period of time the fore he must make sure everything works well.

2. Assistant principle
.............. is the assistance principle. He is in charge with students’ disciplinary, be a liaison between school and parents, supervision of students with the buses, locker combination and the distribution of students’ text book. There are 780 students it means a lot of books that he should distribute and for that he got help from PTS (a parents- teacher’s organization) that will come in the beginning and at the end of the school year. They volunteer to scan the bar code of the books. The scanner really help the school to tract the books.
The main challenge is dealing with parents. From 780 students, there are 20% of them have problem with disciplinary. Some parents were very difficult to contact. They gave false numbers and sometime they already moved to a different address without telling the school.

3. Partner teacher
Sheila Martin is my partner teacher. She is one of the English teacher for 6th grade . There are three teachers for English. They are reading strategies , English literature, and writing strategies teacher.
In this semmester according to the curriculum she has to teach about Capitalization, comma rules, prepositional phrases, friendly letter and bussines letter. She has to make sure that the students will use all of the materials in their writting. Before teaching she always writes the steps of teaching in her teacher’s daily plan book.
For writting strategies she taught the students to use different map to collect their ideas. She introduces variety kinds of map. They are tree map,cicle map,flow map,bubble map, multi flow map, double bubble map, brace map, and bridge map. She always asks the students to work in group before asking the students to do their individual project. She will start the lessson by giving a topic to be discuss then ask the students to choose the map that suite with them, based on the map the students will write their draft. She will check them then give them back to the students to write the final writing. She is a good partner and for that I’m grateful to be her internship teacher.


4. A. Physical education
Roger Brown is one of Physical Education teacher in Edward middle school. According to him for P.E, they use a fix curriculum designed by the South Carolina State. The materials are basketball, volleyball, badminton, athletics, four squares, and sit up. There will also be test for the students concerning those activities. The test result then will send to the parents.

P.E is mandatory. In a day they have six period of teaching for 6, 7, and 8 for 2 semesters. Each class consists of 38 – 40 students. The activities are carrying out in the gym or athletic field. The students can also join a basketball summer camp in summer.

The biggest challenge is not every student have a good motivation to do sport. Time has chance; the students are preferred to sit in front of their computer rather than doing sport.

5. Art
Mariah Smith is an Art teacher. Art is not mandatory. Art class is divided into related art, graphic art and visual art. There are also other classes that walk side by side with art. They are music class such as string and band, carrier class such as architecture and wood shop and health. The students that chosen music class can’t join the art class. The school divided the time by 12 weeks for art, 12 weeks for carrier class, and 12 weeks for study hall.
The art class uses a specific curriculum standard by federal and state. Mariah uses technology while teaching in the classroom. She uses the promethium board, internet, power point presentation, movie and computer. For 6th grade students, the students will have basic fundamental of colors theory, 7th grade will have a chance to apply the colors theory into their drawing and 8th grade will make graffiti. They can make graffiti in a chair, cupboard or at the wall.
The biggest challenge is because there are 25 – 30 students in a period of time. The students are so diverse. Some love art and would like to develop themselves as an artist while some students just join in for fun.
6. Librarian
Valerie Boatwright is a librarian. She is a new librarian. She came to the school last August. She used to be a math teacher then she continued study and got her master degree in counseling. Being the librarian her main jobs are supplying the reading materials and collaborating with teachers and students. She is helping by a librarian clerk named Judy. She has been in the school for 17 years.

There are many books in the library. Most of them are fiction, non-fiction, bibliography and general science. There are many comfortable chairs that the teachers and students can use while reading in the library. There are fifteen computers with internet connection that can be using both teachers and students. There is a printer that the teachers can use for free and $ 15 cent a piece for students who use it and there are laminating, scanner, smart board and copy machine where teachers are free to copy the lesson and test sheets that they will distribute to the students in the classroom.

The biggest challenge is the budget cut make it difficult to add new books.

7. Computer Lab
Dr. Steve Lewis is a man who in charge and taking care for all of the computers at school. He is the literacy specialist, a technical support and a technology project skill in track. There are 238 computers at school which are used by the teachers, the school stuff office and the students.

The school has a computer lab with 40 computers in it and a portable lab with 30 laptops that can move from one classroom to another classroom.
The materials for the students are Word, Excel, Internet, PowerPoint, movie maker and wed-side design.

The biggest challenge is time. He has a limited time doing everything because there are so many things that he should handle by himself.

8. After school program
Bailey tailor is used to be a substitute teacher in Edward. Now she is incharge with the after school program. She said the target of the programs are :
a. Students of working parents who go home to an empty house
b. Students who need extra aid for homework or subject area
c. Students who need to participate in activities to enhance positive school community and help prepare their futures
The benefits of the programs are :
a. The Student: program will target all developmental domains.
b. The Parent: reassurance that their child is in a safe environment and receiving life long skills to achieve a successful future.
c. The School: Program will prepare more productive students in the classroom. The school will benefit financially.

The mission/ vision of theprogram is Be Your Best!!!
Mission Statement: To develop, mold, and motivate students to achieve their best through character, school success, citizenship, friendship, and to become higher esteemed individuals.
As the students grow as individuals, the program grows to meet their needs and develop the best of themselves.
It will need alot of hard work and secrevice to make the program work because the program just started on this early March. The numbers of students who participate in this program is not many but she is sure it’ll be increasing throught time.

after three months

Hi, it’s me again...no more complaining hehe… After three months living here I began to love the cold weather. I used to complain about it because it effected my skin and it still do but it’s alright because after going back home I’ll have my sun back, the hot and super-hot weather will wait for me. I never thought that I would really appreciate the sun from now on hehe…The walking! I used to complain about it and my Doaa…poor thing! She has to listen about it every day. Now, I really enjoy it. We promise not to take the bus anymore. We’ll walk to the campus and back home. The food! How can you have an appetizer after cooking your own meal? I used to ask then question to myself but now no more complaining I love my cooking. I can’t wait to taste things that I cooked. Yes! I gained weight. OKEEE…to be honest that’s one of the reasons why we decided not to take the bus anymore hehe…
The courses! I LOVEEEE them so much. I learned a lot and for that thank you very much to all of the professors.
The library! Going and reading at their vast collections and resources made me want to stay there every day. I was so surprised when the librarian told me that I can borrow 100 books and I did that. It wasn’t a hundred but thirteen books then of course I have troubled carrying them back hehe…
Visiting new places! Love it so much hope we can add it more in our schedule hihi…
The school! I always enjoy it. That place is my comfort zone. The moment I arrived there I knew I’ll have a great time because I have a wonderful partner. Sheila Martin! What can I tell you about her..emmm she’s very active, busy like a bee hehe… I like her because she always involves me in every activity in the classroom. After school hour we always discuss about the next activity that we are going to give to the students.
Is it because it’s only 15-20 students in the classroom here in America because compare to my classroom back home I always have 38-40 students, things are easy here because the teacher can handle and give enough attention to every students. One thing that makes it even easier is the time in one period of teaching. Here it’s only 50 minutes for one period, back home one period of teaching is 90 minutes. It brings many differences because the teacher only has to focus on one topic of teaching as the result the students tend to be more focus and active.
Still one and a half more then back home…can’t wait for that to happen but for sure so far everything here is wonderful. The experiences that I will never forget for the rest of my life…