EDUCATION Based on Interviews of Two Schools and Their Impact on Future Work as an Educator

A school community encapsulates people that are intimately related to each other, such as teachers, students, administrators, and families of the students. It sometimes includes people from different backgrounds, cultures and ethnicities that gather at one place for a specific period of time to gain knowledge and interact on daily basis (Redding, 1991, p. 7). This paper makes comparisons of two selected schools after making observations of the communities within and conducting interviews with one adult of each school. The further sections of this paper discuss the observations and their impact on being a future educator or member of school community.

Comparison and Contrast of the Salient Aspects of Two Schools

The two selected schools were of comparable stature and in the same region. The observations, however brought to fore some individual aspects over and above their expected commonalities; They are enlisted in the following sections:

School Buildings

The school buildings of both the schools were quite large as both of them were the main branches within the city. The largeness of the buildings depicted that they had a large number of school children along with numerous staff members for the purpose of catering to the need of children, administration and teaching. The building of one school was painted white while the building of another one was built with brown bricks only.

Classrooms

As the size of both the school was large, the classrooms inside their respective building were spacious too. The classrooms of the first school had the capacity of twenty pupils while the other one had twenty-five chairs. The aim behind keeping the restricted number of chairs within classroom is that the teacher would be able to concentrate on a limited number of pupils so that each student gets his due attention. The classrooms had wooden one arm chairs that had a small table built on the right hand side. The rooms had white boards for the teachers. The idea behind having white boards in the classes was to avoid chalk-dust caused when using blackboards, chalks and dusters. Furthermore, there were no charts and displays of any pictures within the classrooms since the classrooms of the junior classes were decorated while such decorations were not needed in the classrooms of secondary school children.

Likewise, the school banners and emblems were drawn on the school board of both the branches for the identification of their brand names. The slogans were written underneath their school names. Multicultural arts could be seen when we first enter the school, especially in their lobbies and near principal offices of both the institutions. The student art was clearly exhibited outside their art classes so that professional artworks of the students could be displayed if anyone from outside the school visits those premises.

Demeanor of the Students

The demeanor of the students in both of the schools was confident and outspoken. As both of the schools under observation were top in education; hence the educational status and self-assured attitude was reflected among the students of both the branches. The schools taught students how to express their ideas and have conviction in their actions (Sleigh & Ritzer, 2004). The bold outlook was visible in student of both school through their way of mannerisms and interaction etiquette. On the other hand, when any teacher passed them by, the students adopted a respectful behavior towards them. Moreover, when students at the cafeterias of both the schools were observed, the same restfulness was shown to their older managers of the cafes. This showed that although these schools taught students self-reliance in their lives and the world but trained them to respect their teachers and elders.

Student-Teacher Rapport

As mentioned above, the student-teacher relations were highly respectful in both of the schools. The students knew how to talk softly with their teachers and not to argue with them unnecessarily. In the first school, however, the interviewee mentioned an example where a student was caught misbehaving with the teacher. He was punished severely by keeping in detention for a week. His parents were called to notify them about his actions along with the reason for his staying late at school.

Parent-Teacher Rapport

Based on the learnings of the interviews in both schools, the parent-teacher rapport of the schools was equally pleasant since the schools thrived on the philosophy that the parents should be aware of their child's progress in education and behavioral improvements. Therefore, parent-teacher meetings are...

The meetings usually start with pleasant exchanges of friendly communications and then the teacher progresses with good news about their child first. The teachers also listen to the parents so that there is always room for improvements and suggestions from the families of the students.
Books in the Libraries

The books in libraries of both the schools were mostly related to the disciplines that were taught at those schools. The library of first school was small but congested and filled with curriculum books of all classes along with reference books. The library of the second school was large and contained numerous books too. The second school library had five tables and chairs for the students to sit and study, while the first school's library had only three. Moreover, the school library of second school had three computer stations as well for the ease of research for the students while the first school's library did not have computers for student use.

Teaching Materials and Methods Used

Each school had its own style of teaching and the methods used in each of them were different. Moreover, the teachers had their own methods of teaching. For example, in the first school, the teaching methods used were the traditional lectures, demonstration and cooperative learning. The second school made use of demonstration, traditional lectures, small group works once in a week, question answer sessions, class participation, class projects at the weekend that involved research. Both the schools used materials from the internet or the articles from the writers who have written famous books. In that way, students get to know more about the authors whose books they are studying and the concepts along with their practical application in the real world instances. Overall, the schools make use of progressive and reconstructionist philosophies of education (Erkilic, 2008, p. 4). The combination of these two philosophies was helping these schools to gain their educational goals efficiently.

Special Services or Accommodations Provided

Both the schools provided the accommodation of transport services for those children who had conveyance trouble and who had no one to pick them up at home time. Both the schools had one bus and small vans for this facility. Moreover, the first aid services were also present at both the branches. In addition to that, social work was promoted at the second school that helped the children to learn about the outside world and what needs people have. The children came to know how they can help the communities outside their school boundaries. For example, in the interview with the adult of the second school, he mentioned that their school took children of the higher classes to SOS Village once along with their extra clothes and shoes that they had at home. They went there to offer them their belongings to the SOS children that gave them a sense of responsibility towards their society. This can also be attributed to 'experience giving' teaching method within the school (Saglam, 2011, p. 36). The second school took aid of this teaching method by taking the children to visit an institution and that experience shaped the learning, consequently, the personalities of the children.

Surprising, Challenging and Impressive Aspects in the Schools

There was no surprising element within these two schools but there was something challenging and impressive about the schools. These schools were making effective use of the teaching methods and also enabling the children understand how to behave properly, not only inside the classroom but outside as well (Hajizad, 2011, p. 155). The impressive factor of the second school was taking its children to outside institutions for the purpose of social services. It is a good gesture for the society outside the schools and the personal grooming of the children in general. The challenges that schools face today can be the competition as the educational pressures on the children are pushing these schools to go beyond limits in order to provide them knowledge with easiest possible ways that are not only engaging but also informative.

Conclusion

The learning from the people I interviewed in both the schools gave me an insight into the schools' pedagogy, practices, policies and protocols. Both the interviewees were open and willing to share their ideas about their respective schools. The knowledge helped to interpret what we have studied so far and their real life applications made it easier for me to comprehend the concepts found in the books. The overall impressions of the school communities within both the schools was strong…