TECA 1354
Observation IV
July 1, 2012
School Age/Middle Childhood Observation
Details of the Observation (Objective)
MacArthur Elementary was the public school I attended regarding my observation. Once I arrived, I visited the front office for my visitor’s pass and then headed to the classroom. The teacher, opened the door, welcoming me. As usual, all of her students got distracted when I entered. They stopped their math activity in order to look who was entering. After several minutes passed, they got back in track. An eight year old girl represented the child I observed. After introducing ourselves to one another I asked her a couple of questions. The first thing I asked her was if she knew what school she was attending. “This is the school I go to,” she answered. I told her, “Yes, but can you tell me the name of the school?” “MacArthur Elementary,” she responded. I also asked her who was her teacher and this was her response, “Mrs. Meza”. My last question was what did she like about school. Science turned out to be her answer.
After we connected with one another, I handed her the self-assessment scale. I explained to her what she needed to do and offered my help. Since I did not want her to feel uncomfortable nor pressured, I decided to read the questions for her. I told her she did not have to answer the questions out loud, but fill in the table instead. I began by asking her if she was likeable and so on. When she was done, I calculated her results. An 83 was her total score. Most of her answers rated a three and beyond (3, 4 and 5) except one which was that she was not able to do almost anything with a 1.
Then I handed her a couple sheets of paper telling her if she could draw me a picture of her family. After she finished, she described her picture. The picture contained six people along a green house. The child had drawn her parents (mother and father), one and only brother, both grandparents and herself. She said that she drew her grandparents too because they all live together in the same house and that the one sitting down represented her grandma. Since she has trouble walking, out of all six of them, her grandma was the only one sitting down. Not only was her grandmother sitting down, but wearing pajamas too; since she had just gotten out of the shower. The child said the reason why she drew her father and brother next to each other was because they look alike. In the picture her mom and the child wore dresses of their favorite color. Also, the grandpa had khaki pants with a matching shirt and hat. She said that together they all are a big happy family.
Reactions to the Observation (Subjective)
My observation seemed great. Not only did the child adapted quickly, but resisted comfortably. As we moved from one activity to another, she was willing to experience new things. She never questioned nor rejected anything. Regarding to everything I put the child through, she responded without any problems. Not only did I see the child owning high-self-esteem, but her score says it all. Half of her answers rated with a 5 and the rest either 3 or 4. In my opinion, if the child continues like this (positive of herself) she is not going to struggle much in the future.
Living with her family plays a major role in the child’s life. When she drew, positive expressions accompanied her demonstrating that they are a happy living family. She even drew something (symbols) in order to tell us how all of them are really like; for example, their