Shadowing a Student - Part 1

I am well aware of how amazing my administration and colleagues are here at Kitscoty High School, and they lived up to their remarkable reputation this past week as I went into the classroom as a grade 8 student named "Megan". Megan is my grade 8 persona. She likes One Direction, 5 Seconds of Summer and can't wait to hit up the Taylor Swift concert in August! I really tried to delve deep into my character and the kids noticed how little I swayed from being my grade 8 self. By the end of the day, without skipping a beat, they were calling me by my alias and asking me questions about my "old school" and hometown. It was a great day! Not only was my research insightful, but I got to work on my relationships with students that I don't get to teach this year, which is quite the bonus! 

When I first started looking into the idea of shadowing a student, I never thought that I would actually be allowed to execute such an unusual idea. Recently, I came across an article of a veteran HS teacher who, when approached by her principal, had the opportunity to shadow two students with differing educational backgrounds for two days to see their school experiences through the students’ eyes, giving her a better understanding of the “process” of school and its encumbrance on students these days. I found it intriguing as she gave some incredible feedback of her involvement in the program. The more I looked into a research idea like this, the more my ears perked up and my excitement propagated.  

She wrote (excerpt):

 I have made a terrible mistake. I waited fourteen years to do something that I should have done my first year of teaching: shadow a student for a day. It was so eye-opening that I wish I could go back to every class of students I ever had right now and change a minimum of ten things – the layout, the lesson plan, the checks for understanding. Most of it!

My task was to do everything the student was supposed to do: if there was lecture or notes on the board, I copied them as fast I could into my notebook. If there was a Chemistry lab, I did it with my host student. If there was a test, I took it. 

The author goes on to talk about the changes she would make in her own classroom and provides examples of things other teachers could do to prevent the lethargic, monotonous, tedious days that students drone through day in and day out. This teacher who shadowed her own students is not the only one to do so, nor will she be the last. I read another piece about a graduate student shadowing students at the high school and post-secondary levels to write her doctorate. She listed some of the same insights as the previous teacher I mentioned; students were anxious, indolent, and passive for the majority of their class time and she needed to find a way to fix it. She became the student to become a more intellectually productive teacher. 

As I become more and more passionate about my career and my choices as a teacher, these types of exploration and inquiry opportunities become important, significant, and most certainly worth a shot. Even though I graduated high school a decade ago, I still feel a huge gap between myself as a student and students these days. Yes, the drama and complex psyche of a teenager is still there, but what is it like to be a student; and I mean a full-fledged, inert, and accomplished student? I wanted to know. 

Day 1 as "Megan", the grade 8 student:

I worked on the Pythagorean Theorem in math class, discussed the 3 Gs in European exploration in social, and learned all about osmosis and diffusion in science. I even dusted off my old trombone skills and "played" along with the rest of the 8s in music. It was a busy day and I can't wait to share my insights with everyone when my research is complete. I have one more day of shadowing left and I definitely look forward to it! I don't want to give away too much just yet regarding my findings, so hold tight!