From the Desk of Mr. Jeff Kuhns

Today I am on an adventure that I have thought about for a while. I am following a high school student’s schedule. The student, the teachers, and the principals do not know whose schedule I am looking at. One of my goals for the year is to spend more time in classrooms. This activity will put me in seven classrooms today. My hope is that the experience will enlighten me on what it is like to be a West Perry High School student.

Period 1 – American Literature I

My first class is with a first-year teacher. Maybe intentional; maybe not. Also, the classroom is close to my office so that’s a good place to start.

It’s 7:30 in the morning which seems early for a high school student, but the teacher is bringing some energy with an activity that involves students getting up and moving around.

Today we are doing a summary activity for Act I of The Crucible. I am in a group with two guys. It’s been a few decades since I read this play so I’m really no help. I was able to offer some insight into a vocabulary word but that’s about it. When this activity is finished, we move on to Act 2. Interesting switch up from reading aloud to listening to the audio version.

Period 2 – Chemistry

Second period is with a more seasoned teacher. We are going to do a lab on radioactive decay using Skittles and M&Ms. This is an ‘Honors’ level chemistry group.

All the students are very engaged in the activity and don’t seem to struggle. It’s interesting to see different results and different techniques for completing the experiment. One group completely shook the letters off their M&Ms, and another group left their Skittles in the bag after shaking. I don’t know if this impacted the results or not. My question was whether M&Ms ‘decayed’ faster than Skittles? I know enough about half-life to be dangerous but the apparent half-life of M&Ms is half that of Skittles but, the bags are being shook for twice the time. My thought is that the graphs will look similar. I guess we will see.

Period 3 – Drivers’ Ed

I’ve had my driver’s license for over 40 years. I wonder what I will learn today.

Warming up with ‘This or That’ Tuesday: Would you rather have a horrible job but be able to retire in 10 years or have your dream job but must work until they day you die?

Discussing different types of signs: warning, guide and regulatory and then listened to an audio about a woman’s misinterpretation of a ‘deer crossing’ sign and then students work on their own signs.

Period 4 – Algebra II

We started with a review of multiplying matrices. At one point in my life, I taught this. I think I will catch on. This one really stretched me. I didn’t catch on. Had to do a Google search! This was the first class that stretched me mentally which is a good thing.

One feature in this classroom that I was introduced to was the use of Kami in Schoology. All of the classrooms that I have been in are utilizing Schoology which allowed me to access the lessons for the day. In this class, the homework was posted in Kami and I was able to access it. It’s an excellent feature for absent students to be able to complete work from home.

I skipped Flex period to eat my lunch and got some work done. Don’t tell Mr. Quaker!

I wasn’t great at following the schedule and ended up in Mustang period when I thought I was going to period 6. It was good to see. The teacher was connecting with students that they have had for a few years about things of interest to them. It is time well spent to make sure that students have an adult connection.

Period 6 – Spanish II

I’m excited about Spanish to be honest. I’ve been studying the language for a few years. I’m no where near fluent but hope to be able to keep up with this level of Spanish. We played Blooket to practice vocabulary and I didn’t do so well. I finished 16th out of 17. I tried to hurry to ‘win’ rather than take my time and think about what I know. It was a good way to practice vocabulary that I would think would be engaging to students.

So far this was the easiest class to follow along with based on what was in Schoology. I could follow along with last night’s homework and see the entire plan for the period as well as the details of a longer-term project that they are working on.

Period 7 – Intro to Film

The class is in the middle of watching The Sixth Sense. A student recaps the part of the movie that was watched the previous day and students agree with their summary. Prior to the movie, students were given a choice board to choose how they would report out on the major concepts contained in the film. There are many options for different ways to complete the assessment. Since students had it before watching the movie, they can contemplate how they are going to complete the final project as they watch.

It’s late in the day and after lunch. It’s a tough time to sit in a darkened room and watch a movie but the class appears to be engaged.

Something that touched me in this class was, at the end of the period, the teacher said to the class, "I appreciate your time y’all. Thank you very much." I would guess that the students appreciate that the teacher treated them as if their time was important as the teacher's.

Period 8 – American History III

I have to say, being a sophomore is exhausting and I know that a lot of these kids have more activities and work after this.

The teacher is very welcoming. They ask the students how their days are going and if they had any stories to share about their days.

History, unfortunately, is not something that I have a very well-rounded background in.

This class is reading The Jungle by Upton Sinclair which I do briefly recall but I think I was in college when I read it. I don’t have a group, but students are working in small groups to answer questions about the book.

Overall, this was a rewarding experience. We definitely have some high-quality teachers. The thing that I was most surprised about was how quiet the classrooms were. My hope is that this was engagement and good classroom management and not boredom and apathy. From my observations, for the majority of the students anyway, it was most definitely the former.

If I’m being 100% honest, my biggest fear was that I would be bored. That was most definitely not the case. The lessons that I experienced were mostly active and the teachers were exceptionally engaging.

Stay tuned as a plan to do more of these shadowing experiences in both the high school and the middle school.