Yesterday (Valentine’s Day) I spent time at two facilities
in the district observing students and teachers in action. I
spent time at Code Learning Center and the Hamilton Career Center. Two words kind of describe the day: individuality and precision.
Code Learning Center
My first stop at Code was the Family Learning Center. I spent some time seeing young parents
interact with their child as they completed preparation for the GED exam. These young parents were interacting with
their toddlers in four stations. The toddlers were icing and decorating a heart-shaped cookie, using heart stamps and glitter
to make cards, forming a heart shape with a square and a circle (a cooking
trick I heard from the bakers in the room), and finally decorating their
Valentine’s bag. The kids were engaged
and excited, and they were all at different levels of development. It was great to see this time during the family literacy instructional program. The class has had great
success, and I heard about recent folks who passed the GED test and just got a new job at a local industry. Thanks to the staff for bringing out individual talents.
I moved around the facility and stopped in three
classrooms in the Code Learning Academy (our alternative placement for middle and high school students). High school students were
working individually with the assistance of teachers. The computer applications class had students
working with Excel, Word, and other technology related activities. The social studies classroom had students
working on such subjects as government, economics, and law education. One student was using the computer to
complete a US History unit with our course software. Finally, I visited in a class where students
work on both affective and academic skills.
Individuality was critically important in these classrooms.
I moved to observe Adult Education classes, but the school
entered a drill phase. All of our
secondary schools have been participating in “Code Red” procedures with the help
of local law enforcement. I didn’t get
to visit in the classrooms, but I know these folks are working hard to prepare
students for upcoming assessments (Work Link, GED Exam).
Hamilton Career
Center
Precision was the key element I saw during my visit to
HCC. I visited in the machine tool technology
class. These students were busy
completing a “Skills USA Step Block.”
They had worked through the challenging math, determined the settings, and were
fabricating the design on the steel block. After this
initial practice stage, students will eventually have to complete all steps of
the task in 90 minutes as their assessment.
One student will be selected to share their work as part of the Skills
USA program.
I moved around to see carpentry students in action. These first level students were busy laying
out parts that would eventually be formed into a hub-shaped roof. The students were taking measurements,
and they all were engaged and could easily explain what part they were working
on. Again, precision measurements and
accurate cuts were critical to the practice phase of this lesson.
My final visit was in a law enforcement class. Students were learning to locate state
law (online rather than in books today). They also were distinguishing
between types and levels of offenses. It was interesting, and I was pleased to see
all students engaged. The teacher reminded them that precision was key or a judge would not be able to consider the charge.
I had a great visit in classrooms yesterday, and I will be
off to observe in the Tamassee-Salem area today.
