On Monday February 24, 2000 I visited Mrs. Bindus’ third and fourth grade split class at Tappen Elementary. Her classroom consisted of a mixture of third and fourth grade students who were tested and labeled as gifted in various subject matters. Mrs. Bindus was responsible for teaching the children language and reading skills. The class consisted of an equal number of boys and girls, along with a wide variety of cultures. According to my observation, Cushner, McClelland, and Safford (2000) were correct when they stated, "Schools, in particular, are cultural crossroads in a society where distinct but overlapping student, teacher, and school cultures intersect"(93). There were many different religious beliefs, family backgrounds, nationalities, races, social classes, and personalities represented in the class. All of the sources of cultural identity expressed in Human Diversity in Education was represented in Mrs. Bindus’s class (Cushner, McClelland, Safford, 2000).

We met with Mrs. Bindus before her pupils returned from recess to discuss the technology in her classroom. There were two computers in the classroom for twenty students. One of the computers had a camera on it that faced the class. Every minute a picture was taken of the class at work and immediately placed on the web for parents to view. Mrs. Bindus stated, "The parents are able to feel part of the educational process by watching their child’s performance in the classroom"(personal communication, February 24, 2000). Along with the cameras, Mrs. Bindus works diligently to build and update her classes web site. Various pieces of information are placed daily on the web site concerning events in her classroom, the student’s progress, upcoming events, and as mentioned earlier a photograph of classroom activity every minute. The web page also contains a daily trivia question that is worth extra credit if answered correctly. Mrs. Bindus’ classroom exemplified a third wave school (Cushner et al., 2000). The technology was very impressive and up to date. The students of her class are very lucky to be on the cutting edge of technology.

When the children returned from recess some of them returned to their seats and began to work on projects, while others crowded around the computers to view the new additions to their web site. The children looked excited and eager to learn. It was obvious from the beginning of the observation that Mrs. Bindus practices progressivism (Clark, 2000). Her students were given the free will to do as they pleased when first entering the classroom. By letting her students explore the contents of the class web page, they were learning through discovery and working together in communities around the computers. It was also evident when she started class with a vote that she practices the progressivism theory of education (Clark, 2000). She asked the children if they wanted to go to the library first or start class with a game of vocabulary bingo. The excited students choose bingo, took their seats, and gave their full attention to Mrs. Bindus.

Throughout the bingo game the children were very attentive and eager to show their knowledge of the week’s vocabulary words. It was evident that the children craved learning and felt the need to be successful. While watching the intense game a kid by the name of Kevin caught my attention. Kevin was forced to sit away from his fellow classmates in the corner of the classroom. After observing him for a while he appeared to be the class-clown. Mrs. Bindus explained that his test scores showed that he was a genius and he recently was advised to join her gifted class. Kevin was entering into the hostility stage of the U-Curve hypothesis (Cushner et al., 2000). Kevin was forced into an unknown environment with unknown people, which resulted in feelings of ambiguity and anxiety. Mrs. Bindus explained that he is slowly becoming comfortable with the class and his classmates, in other words he is slowly moving towards the humor stage of the U-Curve hypothesis (Cushner et al., 2000).

After viewing the classes intense bingo game, the students journeyed to the library for their daily reading time. Again Mrs. Bindus practiced the progressivism ways of teaching by giving her students the option of choosing their own book. The students seemed to be engulfed in their chosen books as our observation time came to an end. Much was learned during the observation period about being a successful teacher with the aid of technology. The third wave technology in the classroom along with the progressivism teaching style of Mrs. Bindus aided in the student’s ability to excel in the classroom. It is my dream to one day have a successful class similar to Mrs. Bindus’ third/fourth grade gifted language arts class.

Bindus, J. Interview. 24 Feb. 2000.

Clark, Debra. "Theories of Education". Inquiry into the Profession. White Hall, 15, Feb.

2000.

Cushner, K., McClelland, A., & Safford, P. (2000). Human Diversity in Education (3^rd

ed.). Kent: Kent State University.