Field Post 3 - orange high school

On Thursday 27th February we went to Orange High School, which is special because it serves many districts around Pepper Pike, where it is situated. Having said this, it isn't a particularly large school, housing around 700 pupils.

I went to an AP Biology class which largely consisted of Juniors, but also contained some Seniors and a Sophomore. The particular class I observed was a Lab on Hardy-Weinberg equation. This equation is to do with genetic diversity of a population with regards to gametes. The lab started with a fifteen minute video on sickle cell anemia, then they started actually gathering data. Their first set of data was on a taste test in which the whole class participated. Each student tasted a food which only some could taste, the data was collected in front of the class and then the class went through how to use the equation together. For the rest of the class they conducted their own lab, to be written up as homework, about gamete variations after series of five generations, each with a different set of circumstances.

The teacher engaged the students in the equation by making it real to them, as they looked at the gametes they had and the variation between them. They also were able to do their own testing throughout the class and therefore it was very hands-on. This is good because it allows the children to discover rather than be spoon fed the material. Therefore, in this way it is not like the Banking Method of Freire's essay.

However, I was acutely aware that they were being taught for a specific exam and as such the teaching was very much for the test. This meant that the material felt rigid, and even during the class the teacher said a couple times that something was going to be on the exam but something else didn't matter as much because it wasn't going to be on the exam. This is not good because it suggests that the only material that is good is that which is examined on, and the only reason to learn it is to pass the exam.

I spoke to the teacher and asked him what he thought of his job, to which he replied that he liked teaching, he still enjoyed it now he does AP classes which are more rigid, but he misses being able to cover material he likes. However, he mentioned that he thought that teaching to the test was good because, "if you find a good system you should stick with it." He also mentioned that the extra long holidays of a teacher was a particular perk!