Harding Academy starts strictly at eight o?clock in the morning and ends at three thirty-three in the afternoon. If students are late to a class or late in the morning they accumulate a tardy for each time. If three tardys are accumulated then the student must attend D-Hall at strictly seven o'clock in the morning until school starts. Harding Academy is also on a block planner. They have eight periods but to describe when these periods are each day would take up my whole paper. I observed Mrs. Brumfield who is the only Family and Consumer Science teacher there. She teaches a high school Family Living class, a high school Consumer Science class, a senior girls Bible class, and a junior high girls Living Skills class.
Students are well behaved and show respect towards Mrs. Brumfield. There is a lot of socializing with the teacher before and after class but also a lot of teaching and learning is going on. Students are wanting to make good grades and wanting to go to college which most of them will. Classes are well thought out and if events do not happen like they are planned the teacher is prepared and handles everything well.
The Consumer Science class was just beginning to make a blanket that turns into a pillow when I started observing and I was able to see this class the whole way through the project. I liked that because I could see how she was more than just one day. I was able to see how she dealt with deadlines, with teaching the students how to sew (all together, one on one, at the beginning, let them go, etc?).
The Bible class I observed was of senior high girls. Watching them was very intriguing. This was a good class that was dealing with relationships with guys because these girls are going to college where marriage is going to be a real life issue. Girls at this age acted very different from the junior high girls that I observed the period after them (on some days). The junior high girls were still very blunt and hurtful to each other and in a stage where they are vulnerable and unsure of there identity. The senior high girls were now ready to face the real world and were confident for the most part. Ms. Brumfield dealt differently with each class and did a wonderful of filling the needs of each set of ages.
The other senior high class called Family Living was studying about physical and mental abuse. There were probably a handful of students who fit this description at the Academy. The students watched a video and payed very close attention to it taking down very good notes that most college students can not do here at Harding University.
Overall I love the fact that students are well behaved there and several different ages and subjects are taught. I love that Bible can be taught instead of it being illegal to even speak about. I love that students actually enjoy being there.
