School observation

At 9 am, after a quick run to Starbucks (conveniently 2 blocks away from the school), I arrived at Bedford High School feeling a little nervous. I have not been back into a high school since I graduated from one 8 years ago. There was a good deal of excitement fueling my nervousness, too. This was my first time in a school at a teaching capacity, or at least on the way to one. The front hall of the school was crowded with students preparing for a field trip, and the secretary at the main office kindly guided me to a seat between complaints from students about being marked absent due to miscommunication about the field trip. It wasn't long until the assistant principal walked in and my observation day began.
I feel so lucky for the situation I have found myself in. Working at the local Starbucks years ago I was surprised to see my old volleyball coach/history teacher at the counter. Mr. Tracey explained that he had left North Andover High School and was now the assistant principal at Bedford High. I wasn't even close to finishing my undergraduate courses at that point, but he insisted that I stay in touch and contact him if I needed anything because I told him of my interest in teaching. It took a good 3 or 4 years, but I was finally able to take Mr. Tracey up on his offer and had schedule my school observation with him a few weeks ago.
At first we caught up and he updated me on where all my old high school teachers are now, and I updated him on a bunch of his old students. After this we set off to explore the school, which I was completely impressed by. The school has gone under a lot of renovations in the past few years, and apparently the process was tedious and Mr. Tracey played a large role in it so it was exciting to see the pride on his face while explaining the improvements made. What struck me the most was the abundance of resources these students had at there disposal. There's a business wing, a music/art wing, and a pre-school. Most impressive to me was that this school offers students the opportunity to work with pre-schoolers and get them started in early education at such a young age! It just seems to me like this high school is way more of a college prep than I experienced at North Andover High. I think it's absolutely wonderful that the students are exposed to so much - it gives them a great head start on their college careers by offering them the opportunity to follow different fields and see if they like it. This is a process I didn't go through until my 2nd year of college - and not having the ability to do so prior led me to the tedious process of having to transfer schools half way through my collegiate career.
Another thing that struck me about the school is the diversity of their students. This school has students from the town of Bedford, as well as those from Hanscom Air Force Base, and the METCO program through which students are shuttled in from Dorchester and Roxbury. Through the conversations I had while at the school I learned that these different groups may get along on the surface, but there is still a "cliquishness" and sort of segregation between them. This seems pretty natural to me, but it is also important for the school to encourage students to break through these boundaries - and I think they are putting a good amount of effort into doing so.
My focus while at the school was mainly on this METCO program. I met with two of the directors for the program who work at the school in their METCO office. Most interestingly, I met with a teacher's assistant who went through the METCO program as a high school student. We had a great conversation about what it is like to be a METCO student both at the suburban school and returning home. From this conversation I learned that it takes a truly dedicated and determined student to succeed through such a program - but the benefits of it make up for most of the challenges a student will face. Some of these students have to board buses as early as 5:30am, and if they are to participate in extracurricular activities they may not return home until after 10pm - and that's after navigating public transportation (taking a bus to Alewife, and the train to the Orange Line, and then another bus after that) - this is due to the fact that the last bus leaves at 6pm and if a student's activities go beyond this time it is up to them to find a way home. Even though participating in after-school activities may be taxing for these students they are at a disadvantage socially if they do not. It is through these programs that they are able to bond with their peers. Interestingly, Mr. Tracey unintentionally kept noting that the most successful of his METCO students have shined in althetics as well. There is definitely a connection between the two.
Sorry this was long-winded - I had a really good time! I didn't get to sit in on any classes but instead talked to a lot of great people with a lot of interesting information. Excitingly, I was encouraged by Mr. Tracey to get my application in for substitute teaching as soon as possible. :)
I can't wait to start that adventure!