Florida Educator Accomplished Practice #7

Bryan Rodin
4/10/2020

Application of Understanding Assignment #7: Work with your Clinical Education Teacher to
select one-two students to “shadow” and observe in other classes. Observe how they react to
other teachers and other students, and how they respond to what is being taught. Note if they
participate openly, how they respond to their peers, if they are prepared, etc. Write a narrative
that provides details about the learning process of the student(s) you chose, including their
performance in your class. Include a description of the classroom environment, a description of
expected learning, a brief summary of student activity, and details about student responses,
communication, etc.

Unfortunately, due to the COVID-19 virus, I was unable to take the opportunity to go

and observe students from my internship in their other classes throughout the school day. I

would have loved to see the way that a science, math, or English class was structured compared

to a music classroom. I’ve paid so much attention to the nuances of music teaching that I will

often find myself momentarily forgetting about educational practices in other classrooms. Aside

from my general education classes here at UCF, which have been mostly in large lecture halls, I

really haven’t had the opportunity to see how a STEM teacher works with their students in a

more controlled setting.

In the brief talks I was able to have with some of the students at Seminole High School,

many of them were part of a Dual Enrollment program with Seminole State College, in which

they were able to take some of their classes there (or online through the institution) so that

they could get a leg up on college credits, or even graduate high school with an AA degree. I am

aware that when I was in High School there was a similar program some of my peers were a
part of, but I was not involved with it and didn’t know many of the details. I do find it curious

that the Dual Enrollment Program at Seminole High School/Seminole State College allowed for

so much mobility for the students. There were a handful of students who would only have one

or two classes at the high school, and then they would be free to go to the college campus.

For some reason the idea of this freedom of mobility and an open high school campus

makes me uneasy and I can’t quite pinpoint why. Perhaps it is the knowledge that students

could more easily skip their classes and avoid structure in the school day. Perhaps it is the

knowledge in the back of my mind that anybody could enter campus at any time, no matter

their intentions. Compared to the number of fences and limited entries that Jackson Heights

Middle School had, Seminole High School felt much more open. I know this type of campus has

its pros and cons in modern society, but I am just not sure how comfortable it makes me from a

security and safety standpoint.