As I walk into the classroom at Broad Street Elementary School, I see a lot of things I like and Alfie Kohn would like before I even open the door. There is art on the door done by the students, showing the hard work that they have done. Entering the classroom I see some things that I like and others that I don’t like so much. The things that I like are that I see desks arranged in groups of 4 which are SO much better than having them in rows. I see poems and songs hanging up for the children to remember things easily. I see multiple learning centers for the students to be doing different things at the same time. There is a word wall to the left that as I learned later in the class the students use daily. The students seem to respond well to my presence in the class and seem to be engaged in all their work.
The one thing that I didn't like very much was the color chart that tracks the students behavior. If a student misbehaves or doesn't bring in their homework they are punished by having to change their color card to red. I think that the student should just have to forfeit that grade or not get something that the rest of the class is getting (i.e recess). I don't think that the students should be almost humiliated in front of the whole class. The other thing that i don't like is that the teacher actually makes the students get up and change their color in the middle of class. I've seen the looks on the students faces after this happens, they look embarrassed.
