-topic of your choice-

I was in a fieldwork class this past week and one of the students commented to me that I was the only one that talked.  It took me a second to realize that he meant that I was the only UAF student that was assigned to his class that talked.  I then took the opportunity to ask him if that was good or bad.  He thought for a second and said he thought it was good, but wasn't sure why all the rest of the people sat in the corner and just watched.  He wanted to know why I didn't just sit in the corner like everyone else.  After a moment of reflection I told him that the whole reason I actually came to his class was to learn from him and the rest of his peers, and I wasn't sure that I could do that unless I had a chance to interact with them.  I let him know that I didn't feel that I could learn as much as possible by just sitting and observing his class, but to get the most out of the experience I needed to talk with everyone and hear what they had to say.  It didn't matter what we talked about, just that we talked, and that I got a chance to know all of them, who they were.  I told him I wanted to hear what they liked and disliked, and most importantly why.

I've had a few days to think about this interaction and I still feel the same.  As students with the School of Education we are given this amazing opportunity to visit classrooms around the district, to see what they are like and most importantly a chance to interact with students of many different ages and backgrounds.  I believe that this is the most significant, enriching opportunity that we get during the course of our college education, and that it should not be wasted sitting in the corner.  We are there to learn from these students, and they are ready and willing to teach us more than our books will ever tell us, if only we will let them.