School & Classroom Culture
Fortgang 1
Meg Fortgang
Professor Smulyan
EDU 017 – Curriculum & Methods
23 January 2010
School & Classroom Culture
According to the foundations of Quaker education, Friends School Haverford has a very distinct cultural dynamic. This very student-emotion centered education allows for an open classroom and school culture that is not usually seen in public elementary education. With concern for students’ emotional growth as well as intellectual growth, a significant portion of time will be allotted to hear about students’ weekends, incidents that happen between students in the school or classroom, and how the students are feeling on any given day. Students are taught to think with their hearts as well as their minds.
Teachers acknowledge shifts in the classroom dynamic as students’ attentions turn from subject to subject and teachers change tactic or subject based on the shift in dynamics. Students’ responses to the material guide the teachers to continue working with a specific study or to continue onward to another activity. Students are permitted a level of activity that is often not seen in public schools. Students are not required to sit down at their desks while working; they are permitted to work on the floor and in the halls. Students who have difficulty sitting still will be permitted to sit on exercise balls. Frequent snack and activity breaks are scheduled into the daily routine to keep student energy and focus high. Students who are upset, frustrated, hyper active, or feeling any other potentially classroom disrupting emotion can be excused to go outside for a few minutes to regain their composure before continuing their studies.
The school itself is very tight-knit. With only one class per grade, thus less than 20 students per grade, the teachers know every student and his/her family. Families are invited and encourage to participate in the school and the classroom as an integral part of the learning community. Teachers turn to parents’ expertise and skills when working out kinks in a community activity. The school community not only includes teachers, administrators, and students but also all school staff, student siblings, volunteers, parents, and teachers’ families. The entire school community is frequently invited to participate in school activities and attend school events, such as performances, plays, expositions of student work, and Meeting for Worship. Students have Meeting for Worship every Thursday morning for approximately 30 minutes. This special Quaker worship service is a time for the entire school community to gather in the meetinghouse and to sit quietly and introspectively until moved to speak to the entire community. No one is required to speak and frequency of speech varies from meeting to meeting. At the end a song is sung and students are invited by the head of the school to introduce newcomers and make announcements of upcoming activities, which can include school-sanctioned activities, snowstorm forecasts, and even birthdays.
FSH is a very racially and culturally diverse school. Within the class of thirteen 3rd grade students, there are 3 African American girls and 2 African American boys, 1 white girl and 3 white boys, 1 Asian boy, 1 Moroccan girl who speaks Farsi (Persian) at home, and 1 girl of indeterminate race. The head teaching staff is predominantly female, mostly older white women with children no longer in the home or with older children; although, volunteer and specialized area (such as athletics, reading specialists, and so forth) include a more racially diverse adult community. Adults in the school are addressed by a variety of titles. Most head teachers are referred to as “teacher” followed by their first name; although, some receive Mr./Mrs./Ms. Identifiers or are identified on a first name basis. Volunteers are incorporated into the cohort of teachers and treated with equal respect and authority.