Life in Schools

Saturday November 2, 2013

Allison Visser

Learning about life in a school cannot be learned by merely scanning

the surface. Rather it is a matter of experiencing the culture of a school
by immersing into the daily activities to formulate a thoughtful and
meaningful analysis. By immersing myself into two different schools I
was able to observe how the mission statements are reflected in the
culture of a school. When seeing how mission statements reflect the
values of the school it lead me to consider the way relationships and
the environment play significant roles in communicating school values.
I could clearly see how the relationships of student-to-student, studentto-teacher and teacher-to-teacher as well as the physical space were
significant in reflecting the schools mission statement. In order for me
to clearly understand the school culture I had to, as much as four days
would allow, become part of the school. I observed that school culture
relationships and the physical environment were two determining
factors of how the mission statement was reflected in school culture.
When delving into the culture of a school I recognized that the
emotional connections within the school reflected what teachers and
students valued. When reflecting on the relationships between
teachers and students I observed similarities and differences between
the high school and elementary school that I was able to become a
part of for a short time. In the elementary school I found that teachers
often connected with students on a more personal level. Class sizes

were much smaller and teachers were often with the same students
the entire day, allowing them to become more involved in the
students lives. Whereas the high school had classes with up to forty
students and teachers only get to see each group of students for one
eighty eight minute period a day, making it more difficult for teachers
to make a deeper connection with their students. It also came to my
attention that the elementary teachers were more accountable for
their students. Since students in an elementary setting are younger
and still developing their basic social and academic skills they often
need more guidance so teachers need to be much more involved and
alert as to what each student is doing. I observed this with a student
who had diabetes; the teacher needed to make sure that the student
ate the proper diet regularly. Whereas in high school students are older
and therefore more independent and dont require a teachers
assistance to constantly regulate them. Since elementary students are
still developing life skills teachers in this elementary school focused on
moral development and creating students as good citizens. In one
class the teacher had the students welcome me by saying once your
part of room 51 your always part of room 51. This was very different
than the way I was welcomed into high school classes which were
much more focused on developing students academically. Although
there are many differences between the student and teacher
relationships between the schools, one can also see that teachers

showed a common concern for students in their learning. In both

schools the teachers were always involved in the learning process of all
their students. The teachers always knew how their students were
doing academically. The only difference was the elementary teachers
were more involved emotionally. Because high school and elementary
school have different maturity levels amongst the students the
relationships between students and teachers were more diverse. The
high school had a culture that was very much focused on building up
students academically where as the elementary student teacher
relationship displayed more of a school focus towards developing
students as caring citizens and being aware of individuals around
them.
Another relationship I was able to analyze was student-tostudent engagement. The high school students were often very
involved with friends often communicating by texting and talking
amongst themselves. I noticed for example in a gym class students
stuck to their friends throughout the activities and showed opposition
when not placed on their friends team. Whereas in the elementary
school the students had their friends but also were very open to
playing with other students and engaging with them. In the
elementary gym class the students passed the ball to everyone and
showed no opposition to which team they were on. Looking at the
students from a leadership perspective there are students in both

schools who were involved in the student body as a whole. This was
best seen in the leadership class in the high school which had students
organize and plan school events. In the elementary they had a peace
ambassador program which taught students how to be leaders in their
school by being caring ambassadors for their fellow students. When
looking at these different perspectives I found that at the high school,
students were much more developed in their individuality compared to
elementary school where children are much more willing to develop
student-to-student relationships with anyone.
In the teacher-to-teacher relationships I observed that in the
elementary school there were deeper relationships among the staff as
a whole. This is because the elementary school has fewer staff
members, therefore making it easier to have staff meetings more
often. I also heard at times among the staff the theory that it takes a
village to raise a child. Showing that they are very focused on working
as a community group in developing their students, for example the
staff all enforces the red and green behavior method, which is when a
bad behavior is considered red and a good behavior is green. Since the
school is fairly new the principal said that many of the staff where
hired because they shared a common teaching philosophy and many
classes are triad classes so teacher co-operation is very much a
requirement. This is very different from the high school; since it is such
a large school it is difficult to have one staff meeting so the teachers

are more independent. Staff meetings are conducted amongst teachers

who teach related courses. There is one course and one teacher per
classrooms giving the teacher the ability to function independently and
be self-supporting. When listening to the vice principal in this school
she was very open to a diversity of teachers and stated, it takes all
kinds to make a ship move. The culture of teacher-to-teacher
relationships in the high school showed that diversity amongst
teachers was more valued compared to the elementary school where a
commonality among teachers is much more important.
As evidence has shown, the various relationships found within a
school express the values that shape school culture. In the high school
it is more commonly observed that individuality is much more valued
and in the elementary the idea of community and responsibility of one
another is reflected.
Another important observation in determining how a school
communicates its values is the way they use their physical space. In
the elementary school the walls are filled with personal projects from
the students and colorful crafts and posters. The elementary school
only has tables and there is no teachers desk in the classroom. The
school is based on an open concept where they believe the space of
the school acts as a third teacher so students have accesses to all
areas of the school. Some of the areas are named such as the learning
commons, the hub, two project rooms, Cranston cranium. They also

organized the school by calling separate wings hope, peace, and

harmony. The high school displayed a much different use of their
space, walls were much more bare and often held older posters of
drinking and driving, smoking, and only a few classes had student work
on the wall. Most of the classrooms have rows of desks and the school
is organized according to the departments. There was little open
space, and most of the space was occupied by individual classrooms to
accommodate the diversity of programs offered by the school. By
offering a greater diversity of classes there is less common space. It is
clear that the two schools have a very different focus; the elementary
is very much focused on making the school space accessible to every
student and creating more of a community. The elementary school
however is a much newer school and had the benefit of setting up the
school to fit its philosophy whereas the high school is laid out in a
much more traditional style and uses its space to accommodate more
individuality by offering individual classrooms in their spaces.
The way the space in both schools is utilized influences the
various relationships within each school. I have been able to see that in
both these schools, staff and students are also driven by their
environment and their mission statements are accurately reflected in
the school culture. For example the elementary schools mission
statement is building peaceful communities together. When
observing the relationships being built in this school the idea of

responsibility to ones community is very predominant. The way they

use space encourages staff and students to work together in unity and
harmony preparing the student to function as a peaceful community.
Allowing students the freedom to take advantage of learning spaces in
a communal way is an excellent way to teach them these life skills.
In the high school the mission statement is each student, in
keeping with his or her individual abilities and gifts, will complete high
school with a foundation of learning necessary to thrive in life, work,
and continued learning. The relationships in the high school were very
much based on individuality to promote the students individual
strengths. The space of the school had programs set up so student
could take their interest and gifts into a classroom and try to build on
them. To try and find a students primary interests and strengths are
key in preparing them to continue to grow and be self-sufficient. By
being immersed into the two different schools I was able to see that
the mission statements are very much reflected in both these schools
cultures through relationships and space.